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Public Health

Overview

Vaccination is the primary tool for preventing disease and one of the most cost-effective public health measures available. 

Immunisation through vaccination is the best defence we have against serious, preventable, and sometimes deadly, contagious diseases.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccination prevents an estimated 3.5 million to 5 million deaths worldwide each year and reduces disease-specific treatment costs.

Thanks to widespread vaccination:

  • Smallpox has been eradicated.
  • Europe has been made polio-free.
  • many other diseases have been almost eliminated.

Vaccines used in the EU are safe and effective

There are very strict rules within the European Union for approving any vaccines put on the market.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) carries out the evaluation and supervision of vaccines, once these have been designed. Following very comprehensive testing, the European Commission can then issue a marketing authorisation.

Once on the market, EMA continues to evaluate the safety of the vaccines and performs post-authorisation surveillance. All these steps are devised to ensure maximum safety, with the ultimate concern being the health and well-being of the population.

All components of vaccines marketed in the European Union undergo intense scrutiny and have been, through various studies, deemed safe in the context of those vaccines.

Current challenges

Today, more than 100 million children worldwide are vaccinated annually against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, tuberculosis, polio, measles, and hepatitis B. 

Yet, while childhood immunisation programmes have saved millions of lives, EU and neighbouring countries continue to face outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases due to insufficient vaccination coverage rates. 

Moreover, a life course approach to vaccination is essential to maximise the full potential of immunisation across all ages. This means staying up to date on recommended vaccines, in accordance with national schedules and guidelines.

The potential barriers to vaccination are complex and include a combination of factors, such as limited access to immunisation services, disrupted supply, conflict and instability, or misinformation about vaccines.

Challenges to public confidence in vaccination, geographical differences in accessibility and uptake, and the rise of false and misleading information about vaccination are a cause for concern and a major challenge for public health experts.

Ensuring equitable access to vaccines for all EU citizens, fighting misinformation and disinformation, and improving vaccine confidence are objectives shared by the European Commission and EU Member States.

Action at EU level

Vaccination policy is a competence of national authorities, but the European Commission supports EU countries in coordinating their policies and programmes.

In December 2018, EU Health Ministers adopted a Council Recommendation on strengthened cooperation against vaccine-preventable diseases. 

This policy initiative calls for actions such as coordinating vaccine procurement, supporting research and innovation, and addressing vaccine hesitancy. The overall objective is to increase the uptake of vaccination in the EU from a life-course perspective.

In addition, the Commission supports EU countries in maintaining or increasing rates of vaccination by:

Between 2022 and 2025, the European Commission ran a #UnitedInProtection communication campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of a lifelong approach to vaccination.

The campaign aimed to support informed vaccination decision-making specifically against:

  • Measles
  • Seasonal influenza
  • COVID-19
  • Human Papillomaviruses
  • Hepatitis B virus
  • Pertussis (whooping cough).

The campaign had a special focus on relevant population groups in countries with a low vaccination uptake or confidence through targeted communication material and partnerships with health professionals.

One of the goals of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan is to eliminate cervical cancer by vaccinating young people against the Human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes it and is also linked to head and neck, and anal cancers.

Specifically, the Plan calls for vaccinating at least 90% of the EU's target population of girls and for significantly increasing the vaccination rate among boys.

In 2024, the Commission presented a proposal for a Council Recommendation on vaccine-preventable cancers to support EU countries in boosting the uptake of vaccination against Human Papillomaviruses (HPV) and Hepatitis B virus (HBV). 

Recommendations to EU countries will include facilitating access to vaccination, targeted communication on the importance of HPV and HBV vaccination in a cancer prevention perspective and better monitoring of vaccination coverage rates to inform public health action.

Safe COVID-19 vaccines for Europeans

Joint Action on Vaccination

The European Commission reinforced its support to national vaccination efforts to increase coverage, including through the Joint Action on Vaccination co-funded by the EU Health Programme (€3.55 million).

Launched in 2018, the Joint Action on Vaccination addressed vaccine hesitancy and sought to increase vaccination coverage in the EU. It is coordinated by INSERM (France) and involves 20 partners (among them 17 EU countries and 3 non-EU countries).

It also works towards strengthening cooperation of national immunisation advisory groups (NITAGs) with a view to increasing transparency and trust in the decision-making process regarding the introduction of new vaccines.

Coalition for Vaccination

A Coalition for Vaccination was established in spring 2019 and brings together European health professionals' and students' associations to advocate for vaccination in their work with citizens and peers. Members of the Coalition for Vaccination commit to delivering accurate information to the public, to fighting myths around vaccination and vaccines, and to exchanging best practices.

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