Italians are not afraid of the
flu, underestimate its risks and in many cases do not know it
can be fatal, the CENSIS research institute said Wednesday.
Only 43% of Italians over the age of 50 know that influenza
can have mortal complications, the report said.
Flu vaccine coverage among over 65s has fallen to 52% from
68.3% in 2005-6, it said.
The Higher Health Institute estimates that between 15,000 and
18,000 elderly Italians died from flu complications last year,
against a recent average of around 8,000.
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