Indonesia's Elder Vaccine Ranking: Flu Tops List

Indonesia has many older citizens who face illnesses that vaccines can stop. Yet the country often lacks a clear way to pick which vaccines to fund first. To tackle this, a group of experts from different fields came together. They wanted to see which shots would help older people the most.

They used a method called SMART vaccines to compare four options: flu, pneumococcal, shingles, and RSV shots. Ten factors were examined, such as how many healthy years are saved, how serious the disease is for seniors, and the money impact. Each factor got a weight based on what the experts thought mattered most. The top factors were healthy years gained, relevance to senior health priorities, avoided early deaths, budget effect, and cost effectiveness.