This policy dialogue convened senior officials, technical experts, and industry partners to address the rising burden of influenza among older adults across the APEC region. Participants emphasized that influenza’s impact extends beyond individual health to broader social and economic costs, underscoring the need for enhanced prevention and control strategies to reduce hospitalizations, protect vulnerable populations, and ensure preparedness for seasonal epidemics and future pandemics.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to review and refine a draft recommendations paper to guide economies in implementing evidence-based, context-specific approaches.

Discussions centered on a set of priority strategies: expanding targeted vaccination programs for older adults (including the use of enhanced vaccines such as high-dose), strengthening surveillance and burden-of-disease estimation, improving early diagnosis and timely antiviral treatment, reinforcing infection control in long-term care facilities, and integrating influenza prevention into healthy ageing and NCD management strategies.

Participants shared examples from across APEC economies, including free vaccination programs, real-time immunization registries, pharmacy-based delivery channels, and provider incentive models. Cross-cutting themes included the importance of public trust, provider engagement, and multi-sector collaboration to sustain high coverage and preparedness.

The dialogue concluded with a call to action for economies to translate these insights into practical policies and programs. The final recommendations paper, informed by participant input, will serve as a living document to support implementation and continuous improvement. Participants agreed that sustained commitment, regional collaboration, and data-driven decision-making are essential to reducing influenza-related hospitalizations and deaths among older adults—ultimately generating social, economic, and health benefits across the APEC region.