Document: Manual for strengthening monitoring of respiratory virus immunization coverage
Review period: 5–31 August 2025
Deadline for comments: 31 August 2025, 23:59 CEST
The World Health Organization (WHO) is inviting feedback on a new technical reference manual developed to support countries in strengthening the monitoring of immunization coverage for seasonal influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines. This Manual for strengthening monitoring of respiratory virus immunization coverage offers practical guidance on the importance of immunization coverage monitoring, coverage estimation methods and sources of information, monitoring system designs, and approaches to assess coverage estimate reliability for respiratory virus immunization programmes.
The manual responds to country-identified challenges and builds on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and prior seasonal influenza programmes. It supports efforts to enhance programme performance, identify and address equity gaps, and improve global reporting of immunization coverage for respiratory virus vaccines.
Purpose of the Manual
This manual provides a structured approach to help national and subnational immunization programmes to:
- Understand the role and importance of immunization coverage monitoring in improving programme performance;
- Examine different methods for estimating immunization coverage, in particular in population groups targeted for seasonal influenza, COVID-19, and RSV immunization;
- Evaluate different immunization monitoring system designs and existing data sources to facilitate the collection of necessary data for immunization coverage estimation, including existing regional- and global-level resources;
- Explore approaches to assess the reliability of coverage estimates, once available, and how they can be used to inform decision-making; and
- Report available immunization coverage estimates to regional- and global-level actors through the WHO-UNICEF Joint Reporting Form on Immunization.
Intended Audience
The manual is intended primarily for national health authorities who are responsible for the management, implementation, and monitoring of seasonal influenza, COVID-19, and/or RSV immunization programmes in their countries. It may also serve as a resource for subnational health authorities, WHO regional and country offices, implementing partners, and stakeholders involved in immunization system strengthening and monitoring.
Who Should Review This Manual
WHO welcomes feedback from:
- Member States, particularly health authorities managing adult (specifically, seasonal influenza, COVID-19, and RSV) immunization programmes and immunization monitoring systems;
- Technical experts in immunization coverage estimation, vaccine-related health information management and systems, and programme monitoring and evaluation;
- Regional and global partners supporting immunization system strengthening; and
- Anyone with interest or experience in immunization programme monitoring and delivery.
How to Submit Comments
Comments on the draft manual are welcomed through 31 August 2025. Feedback will inform revisions before final publication.
Please provide input via the online survey accessible here. All comments received by the deadline will be reviewed by WHO in finalizing the manual for publication.
If you have any questions or issues with the survey or would like to discuss the draft guidance further, please contact influenzavaccination@who.int. Thank you in advance for your feedback and engagement in this process.