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Despite the benefits of routine vaccination of newborns are known and widely documented, in recent years we are observing a gradual increase in the number of parents who express doubts and concerns about the safety of vaccines and the real need to submit their children to vaccinations included in the national recommendations. This attitude is reinforced by the current epidemiological profile, in Western countries, of many vaccine preventable diseases, accompanied by a low risk perception among parents. Institutions and all the actors involved in vaccination programs have a duty to investigate the reasons for the loss of confidence in vaccination among the population in order to identify and implement appropriate and effective interventions. The improvement of vaccination should, theoretically, goes on a double track, placing side by side the provision of effective vaccines, safe and necessary, and interventions designed to increase demand for vaccination among the population, improve access to vaccination services, improve the system as a whole. But to actually improve the vaccinations' offer it is necessary also to provide interventions aimed at regaining the confidence of the population in relation to vaccination and the institutions that promote them. Particular attention should be given to the aspects of communication and risk communication.

An immunization strategy can take advantage of various tools, among which the pediatrician and family practitioner These figures, have been assigned the role of accompanying the child and his/her family throughout development. One of the objectives of this role is also to take a major part in the support of immunization coverage of infants, especially in light of the sospension of required immunizations in the Veneto Region. For this reason it is necessary to open dialogue on immunizations together with pediatricians and family physicians. In addition, training of these professional figures, together with healtcare operators who work in the immunization clinics, has allowed the formation and standardization of the network, as the persons who attend the immunization clinics are no longer passive users but persons who require information exchange in order to make an informed choice about immunizations for their children. Surveillance of vaccination coverage is a useful tool for evaluating the trend in vaccination refusals, and in particular it takes into consideration the motivation behind the refusal to adhere to the polio vaccine recommendations even if for now the coverage is maintained above 95%. Concluding, another strong point for the immunization program is "Genitori Più" which finds its continuity with the Regional Prevention Plan.

The reform of the Vth Title of the Italian Constitution has given the Regions autonomous power over planning of their immunization programme and immunization calendar. This amendment has federalized Italy's vaccination system and, is justified by epidemiological evidence however casts doubt on its provision of equal rights to health care. The objective of this current study is to gain insight into the opinion of vaccine services officers in the Apulia region on federal immunization and the regional immunization programme. Research was conducted using an anonymous standardized questionnaire to which 302 vaccines services staff responded. 67.4% of respondents believe that the current federal vaccination programme should be maintained, whilst 20.2% believe that the current system should be eradicated and 12.4% believe it should be phased out gradually. The current apulian vaccination calendar provides free and active immunizations for all newborns for the pneumococcal, meningitis C, chickenpox and hepatitis A vaccines. The interviewees believe that the vaccinations provided in the regional immunization programme are very important (average importance out of 10 = 6.1/7). The positive response to the regional vaccination plan given by the health officers explains, at least in part, the conservative attitude tewards federal vaccination plans. It cannot be excluded that sacrificing regional autonomy over vaccination programmes might be considered by the vaccination officers as being responsible for the abandonment of the Region's long established immunization practices. The success of these practices is evident in the case of the Region's Hepatitis A immunization programme where the active provision of this vaccine has drastically reduced the endemicity of the illness in Apulia. These experiences of good practice should be adequately considered in before opting to phase out the current immunisation programme.