Dhaka: Experts at a workshop laid emphasis on the inclusion of the influenza vaccine in national clinical guidelines and health strategies for the treatment of at-risk populations in Bangladesh. They expressed this view at the workshop titled 'Role of influenza vaccine in treatment of priority at-risk populations in Bangladesh: Future directions' in the city, said a press release.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), with technical assistance from the Communicable Disease Control (CDC) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, organized the workshop. The two-day workshop was held on September 1 and 4.
The workshop revealed that seasonal influenza causes serious illness to about 5 million people worldwide every year and results in approximately 650,000 deaths. A recent survey conducted in 19 hospitals in Bangladesh found that up to 59 percent of patients admitted to hospitals with fever and cough in June 2025 were infected with influenza, a significant increase from previous years. The period from April to September, covering summer to monsoon, marks the influenza season in Bangladesh annually.
Experts emphasized the importance of vaccination for at-risk populations, including the elderly above 60 years, children below 5 years, pregnant women, healthcare workers, and individuals with diabetes, heart disease, respiratory, and kidney diseases. They recommended vaccination in February-March to ensure maximum protection before the influenza season begins. Despite the World Health Organization's emphasis on regular annual influenza vaccination as the most effective preventive measure for this group, the vaccination rate in Bangladesh remains low due to a lack of awareness, policy gaps, and various procedural challenges.
On the first day of the workshop, specialists in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology, nephrology, and respiratory medicine participated in discussions aimed at formulating a strategy to incorporate influenza vaccination into routine clinical care for at-risk populations. On the second day, IEDCR Director Professor Dr. Tahmina Shirin presented results from hospital-based influenza surveillance initiated in 2007. She highlighted that the peak of transmission occurs in June-July and that timely vaccination can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality in the at-risk population.
Professor Tahmina Shirin stressed the economic viability and cost-effectiveness of vaccination for this population in Bangladesh. She underscored the importance of vaccination timing, advocating for vaccination in February-March to ensure maximum protection before the influenza season.
Specialist physicians identified several major barriers to influenza vaccination uptake, including the unavailability and high cost of vaccines, fear of side effects, lack of awareness, cold chain and storage problems, and absence of national and institutional policies. They proposed addressing these barriers by publishing national data through research, increasing vaccine availability and reducing prices, implementing awareness programs via media and social media, advocating through expert and medical societies, and incorporating the influenza vaccine into national treatment guidelines.
ICDDR,B researcher Dr. Md. Zakiul Hasan pointed out that healthcare providers are four times more at risk of infection than the general public, yet the vaccination rate among them remains worryingly low.