Czechia’s health ministry has launched what it describes as a first-of-its-kind real-time data platform tracking respiratory infections and vaccination rates, revealing that fewer than 30% of the country’s most vulnerable patients are immunised against flu, one of the lowest rates in the developed world.
The new system covers the respiratory season running from September 2025 through April 2026 and has recorded more than 1.8 million respiratory infection cases. Over 6,700 healthcare providers are actively feeding data into the centralised infrastructure, generating more than 2.6 million reports.
For the first time, laboratories and residential social care facilities are also integrated, allowing near-instant tracking of outbreaks across the entire health and social system.
“Thanks to a fully digitalised system, we have for the first time a comprehensive overview of infection spread, vaccination coverage and care availability,” said Health Minister Adam Vojtěch at a recent press conference.
Heavy hospitalisation toll
Vojtěch credited the platform’s development to lessons drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that work had continued across successive governments.
The data paint a stark picture of respiratory disease in Czech society. Each season brings tens of thousands of hospitalisations and thousands of intensive-care cases, according to Ladislav Dušek, director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics. Nearly 4,000 deaths annually are linked to respiratory infections, with the vast majority occurring among seniors.
More than 200,000 of this season’s cases involved patients with multiple chronic conditions – the group considered most at risk. Yet vaccination uptake in that cohort has not broken the 30% threshold, leaving Czechia near the bottom of comparable rankings among developed nations.
Vaccination coverage needs improvement
Dušek said the new platform changes what is measurable. “We have tools that allow us to monitor not only the number of vaccinated individuals, but also the effectiveness of vaccination in preventing severe disease outcomes. That is a critical step in ensuring timely protection for the most vulnerable groups.”
He noted that in the chronically ill, severe infection substantially raises the probability of further complications, including death.
Analyses drawn from Czech data show that vaccinated seniors aged 65 and above are between 30-50% less likely to be hospitalised or die from flu than their unvaccinated peers – and the benefit is greatest for the oldest and sickest patients, precisely those who need protection most.
Officials acknowledged that healthcare workers themselves represent an area where vaccination coverage needs improvement – a theme they said would be addressed in the ministry’s next steps.
The ministry plans to expand the platform further, with an AI-assisted analytical module scheduled for launch in September 2026, ahead of the next respiratory season.
[VA, BM]
Source:
www.euractiv.com