Workshop on Vaccination: Seeking new partnerships for EU action on vaccination
The workshop was organized by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, and explored how cooperation at EU level can increase vaccine coverage, address shortages and strengthen routine immunization programs.
Despite the huge successes of vaccination programs, Europe could do better with more effective vaccination programs and higher rates of uptake. There are ongoing measles outbreaks in a number of EU Member States, and the worrying result that Europe is now exporting measles to other parts of the world. Growing vaccine hesitancy is one of the key challenges in low vaccine acceptance and uptake in a number of Member States, and a number of countries are currently facing vaccine shortages. Against this background, there is great potential for close cooperation at EU level.
The discussion sessions at this event were on the topic of:
- Vaccine hesitancy – new partnerships to tackle growing hesitancy in the EU
- Sustainable vaccine policies in the EU – promoting access
- Making vaccine research & development more effective in the EU
- The global picture
France expressed its interest to lead a joint action on vaccination co-funded by the Health Programme Work Plan 2017 in order to address the common goal of increasing vaccine coverage rates in Europe. This joint action will be developed in 2017 and should start in 2018.