Czech health ministry to buy 15% more flu vaccines in 2026

Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtěch (ANO party) said at a press conference on Tuesday that the state will buy 15% more flu vaccines than usual this year and hopes there will be enough for everyone who wants one — even though Czechs' interest in the seasonal shot traditionally remains low.

This season the vaccines reached general practitioners later than usual: manufacturers update the formula every year based on World Health Organization recommendations, tailoring it to the expected virus strains. The State Institute for Drug Control has assured that the delayed delivery of some vaccines should not disrupt the recommended vaccination window — October and November: over the past two years the flu season has typically started before Christmas, and protection builds up roughly two weeks after the shot.

Who gets vaccinated, and how often

Vaccination currently targets people over 65 first — Vojtěch stressed that they in particular should not delay getting the shot. Pensioners receive the flu vaccine free of charge, covered by health insurers, and have priority for vaccination, though their interest has long remained low, even as it gradually rises.

About 25% of people over 65 have been vaccinated, while among patients with chronic conditions the health ministry puts the figure at just 13-24%, depending on the diagnosis. The WHO recommends that at least 75% of both groups be vaccinated. As confirmed by Roman Chlíbek, head of the Czech Vaccinology Society, vaccination coverage across the population as a whole remains low — around 8%. Healthcare workers themselves set no better example: between 7% and 24% of them are vaccinated, with the rate noticeably lower among nurses than among doctors.

What this means for the budget

Flu remains one of the most dangerous respiratory illnesses. Last season it led to 34,000 hospitalizations and 3,554 deaths, with more than 90% of the deceased aged over 65. For young, otherwise healthy people flu is rarely life-threatening, but it can knock them out for a long stretch and cost them income.

Ladislav Dušek, director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics, said that in 2025 respiratory illnesses accounted for 27,000 person-years of temporary incapacity to work — equivalent to about 2.1 sick days per year for an average working, health-insured person. According to the Czech Social Security Administration, almost 1.1 million sick notes were issued last year for all respiratory illnesses combined, of which 150,000 were specifically for flu, with patients off sick for an average of more than 12 days.

Source: novinky.cz