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On 31 May the Commission will hold a workshop in Brussels with the aim of launching an action-oriented discussion to explore how cooperation at EU level can increase vaccination coverage, address shortages and strengthen routine immunisation programmes. Interested parties are invited to follow the workshop via web streaming* and/or to join the conversation on Twitter (#VaccinesEU).
* See workshop programme and streaming link on the event page.
Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, will point out that "Within the EU, there are ongoing measles and rubella outbreaks and we are even exporting measles to other parts of the world. This can and must be stopped! Vaccine hesitancy is without a doubt one of the key challenges as regards low acceptance and uptake in a number of EU countries, and it must be tackled head on."
The workshop will gather EU institutions and agencies, national authorities, healthcare professionals, patients, civil society, academics and the scientific community who are expected to discuss and propose ideas for collaborative work and partnerships. The day will be divided into three sessions as follows:
Session 1: Vaccine hesitancy – new partnerships to tackle growing hesitancy in the EU
- What collective action could be taken to address vaccine hesitancy among the general public? What tools could be used?
- What actions are necessary to encourage health care professionals to advocate vaccination?
- How can civil society contribute to overcome vaccine hesitancy? What role can the industry play?
Session 2: Sustainable vaccine policies in the EU – promoting access
- What actions are necessary to strengthen vaccine surveillance monitoring and to increase the visibility of the impact of vaccination programmes?
- In which areas would it be important to continue/strengthen and support new EU actions to address challenges linked to sustainability of vaccination programmes?
- What are the needs of vaccine manufacturers and how could a better dialogue help to achieve better vaccination results, and better delivery and forecasting?
Session 3: Making vaccine research and development more effective in the EU
- In which areas would you consider it important to continue/strengthen and support new EU actions to address key challenges in vaccine R & D?
- What would the most appropriate framework be for the collaboration of Public Health Authorities and civil society with the vaccine industry on issues related to implementation research?
Facts & figures on vaccination
- More than 100 million children are vaccinated annually against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, tuberculosis, polio, measles, and hepatitis B, and vaccination prevents an estimated 2.5 million deaths each year worldwide.
- In the EU, it is estimated that seasonal influenza vaccination currently prevents up to 37,000 deaths each year – despite a low vaccination coverage with only 80 million persons vaccinated out of 180 million Europeans for whom influenza vaccination is recommended.
- Vaccination programmes led to the eradication of smallpox, the near eradication of polio, and an estimated 74% reduction in measles deaths over the last 10 years.
- Although reported measles cases have decreased by 94% since 1980, progress has been at a virtual standstill for the last five years.
- The polio-free status of the WHO European Region since 2002, is now at risk, due to low population immunity and immunisation gaps.
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