A flu vaccination campaign has been launched in Azerbaijan at a time when seasonal illnesses are on the rise. According to the relevant order of Minister of Health Teymur Musayev, the vaccination campaign began on October 8, 2025. It should be noted that the vaccination process aims to protect public health and prevent diseases.
Speaking about the importance of vaccination in the spread of seasonal diseases, Təyyar Eyvazov, a specialist-expert and infectious disease specialist at the Ministry of Health, stated that in accordance with epidemiological patterns, an increase in acute respiratory viral infections and illness is observed every year during the autumn-winter months in countries with mild climates, including Azerbaijan.
“The aforementioned infections recur seasonally, including in the current autumn-winter seasons. The necessity arises to combat these infections, including influenza, precisely during the colder months of the year. Among anti-epidemic and preventive measures, vaccination is the most effective.
Considering that among ARVIs (Acute Respiratory Viral Infections), it is precisely the influenza infection that stands out for its unfavorable, comparatively more severe course and tendency to complications, we conclude that vaccination against influenza is sufficiently justified. If vaccinated individuals contract this infection, it is mostly asymptomatic, and in certain cases, a mild and uncomplicated course occurs. As a result, people are protected, the illness recovers quickly, and the number of days of temporary loss of work capacity and hospitalizations significantly decreases. Thus, as a result of vaccination, both the health of the population is protected, and it provides economic benefits by reducing the burden on healthcare during these seasons of the year, fully justifying the financial resources spent on vaccines”.
According to the expert, for several years now, influenza vaccination has been carried out in our country with the support of the Ministry of Health, and this has already become a tradition:
“I believe this is one of the significant achievements our state has made in protecting the health of the population. In global practice, only economically powerful countries make such measures accessible to their citizens. The vaccine brought into the country is a biological preparation sufficiently tested for its effectiveness and safety.”
T. Eyvazov also added that for vaccination to be effective, it is very important that this process is carried out some time before the expected increases in flu cases:
“Therefore, the influenza vaccination process has just begun in our country. Vaccination against influenza is voluntary and free of charge for the population. However, it is strongly recommended primarily for risk groups for severe illness and complications (children under 5 years old, pregnant women, elderly people, individuals with severe chronic diseases of respiratory organs and other organs, and those with immunodeficiency due to various reasons). By adequately covering people in this group and others (those with numerous contacts due to their profession – medical workers, social sphere employees, education workers, public transport employees, etc.) with vaccination, we can achieve a certain degree of prevention of the spread of influenza infection in the country and reduce economic losses from the infection, and the experience of previous years supports this claim.”