October is the month in which the 2025-2026 flu vaccination campaign begins. The Istituto Superiore di Sanità has given the green light and has distributed millions of doses throughout the country to reach the objective of 75% of the at-risk population vaccinated, exceeding the threshold reached last year, equal to just 52.5% of the elderly.
Precisely to achieve this objective, and as every year, vaccination is completely free for the categories that have priority and in many regions also for all citizens. Each region and each entity manages the vaccination campaign independently, but it is possible to consult the complete calendar, region by region.
What do you get vaccinated for?
It is possible to request not only the flu vaccination, but also co-administration with the anti-Covid-19 vaccine, updated to the most widespread and complex variant, the LP.8.1 of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The calendar region by region
Not all regions began distributing flu vaccines on the same day. In general, the start is expected by October, but some provinces and local health authorities have postponed it to early November.
Here is the calendar region by region:
- from 1 October in Campania, Lazio, Lombardy, Sicily, Tuscany, Veneto;
- from 6 October in Umbria;
- from 8 October in the Marche and Puglia;
- from 13 October in Abruzzo, Calabria, Emilia-Romagna, Molise, Valle d’Aosta;
- from 14 October in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Piedmont;
- from 15 October in Trentino-Alto Adige;
- from 20 October in Liguria and Basilicata.
In Sardinia the start of the vaccination campaign is divided by area: in Oristano it began on 20 October, in Gallura on 27 October, while in Sassari it is scheduled for 3 November.
The categories with priority
Like every year, the flu vaccination campaign is not mandatory, but for those who wish to get vaccinated it is useful to know that there are priority categories. These are the so-called “fragile citizens”, not just the elderly. It is a broad range that includes:
- people aged sixty and over;
- children aged six months to seven years;
- pregnant and postpartum women;
- people with vulnerabilities or chronic pathologies (diabetes, heart and respiratory diseases, immune system disorders);
- healthcare and social-healthcare personnel;
- police forces and firefighters (other exposed categories).
Who can administer the vaccine?
Another common question is who can give the flu vaccine.
Compared to the past, when it was possible to do so only through general practitioners and paediatricians, for some years it has also been possible to get vaccinated at:
- the health surveillance services of healthcare companies;
- hygiene and public health services;
- community paediatrics;
- the affiliated pharmacies.
In particular, the latter represent the real news: around 80,000 pharmacists have completed the Istituto Superiore di Sanità courses to vaccinate against the flu.
