Overview of influenza vaccination policy in Beijing, China: Current status and future prospects

Vaccination is the best available way to prevent influenza infections and related complications. Little information is available on vaccination policy in the world's most populous country, China. In China, influenza vaccine is not included in the national immunization programme. Citizens seek the vaccine on their own. Since 2007, Beijing, ahead of most cities in China, has offered free influenza vaccine for seniors aged at least 60 years and for primary and middle school students. There has been limited evaluation of the policy. We introduce and evaluate the government-funded influenza immunization policy in Beijing. Available data showed that the policy greatly increased the vaccine uptake rate in the population qualifying for free vaccination. Evidence of impact in a single influenza season on all high-risk populations was unclear. We suggest that further evaluation over multiple influenza seasons and in each high-risk group are required to inform future policy development in Beijing.