The International Diabetes Federation Europe (IDF Europe) has yesterday issued a position statement on ‘The Vaccination of Persons living with Diabetes’. The policy conclusions by this reputable international organization are advising that to ensure that persons with diabetes are fully protected from vaccine-preventable diseases, IDF Europe recommends that healthcare systems and governments should urgently implement the following actions:
- Raise awareness among, and educate, persons with diabetes and healthcare professionals (HCPs) on the benefits and risks of vaccination in relation to the management of their condition, and encourage HCPs to discuss and offer vaccination as a matter of course to persons with diabetes
- Make all relevant vaccines available and easily accessible free of charge to all persons with diabetes, including for hard-to-reach, marginalized and disadvantaged groups
- Ensure persons with diabetes get prioritized to receive COVID-19 booster injections as soon as possible, and as appropriate, organize concomitant vaccination for flu and COVID-19 boosters
- Set up more effective monitoring systems for vaccination coverage to inform future policy making
- Implement WHO/Europe’s Tailoring Immunization Programmes to develop solutions “to support, motivate and enable people to be vaccinated.
In line with the action point 3 being made by IDF Europe, the Maltese Diabetes Association is urging once again the Maltese health authorities to take the necessary steps to urgently prioritize persons with diabetes in the Covid-19 booster vaccine programme. Such persons should avail themselves of the Covid-19 booster vaccine immediately and without further delay.
