Europe at risk of epidemics due to persistent gaps in vaccination coverage in the countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU/EEA). A threat on which theECDC, European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, raises the alarm on the occasion of the European Immunization Week, which starts yesterday 23 April. “Despite the proven characteristics of safety and efficacy of vaccines, EU/EEA countries and around the world continue to experience outbreaks of preventable diseases due to insufficient vaccination coverage rates”, underlines the ECDC. “Regardless of the overall good performance of immunization programs in the EU / See during the Covid-19 pandemic and the enormous efforts months in place to implement them”, the agency notes “significant vaccination gaps and coverage disparities between countries and regions”, which could therefore represent a ‘fuse’ for epidemics in the area.
One of the concerns of the ECDC concerns poliomyelitis, considering that “between 2012 and 2021 around 2.4 million children in the EU/EEA may not have received the three doses of the anti-polio vaccine in due time”. While it is true that “the European Region was declared polio-free in 2002, the virus continues to be periodically detected in its wild form or in vaccine-derived strains in other regions. Thanks to adequate surveillance techniques and generally high vaccination coverage, these sporadic events fortunately did not lead to sustained transmission in the EU/EEA or the detection of human cases” of infection.
The agency also focuses on measles: “Although the 2022 ECDC epidemiological report shows a 99% decrease in cases compared to 2018, this is probably related to the prevention and control measures implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic “. The data indicate that “children under the age of one remain the group with the highest incidence of measles, as they are too young to be vaccinated and should be protected by community immunity.” But “given the suboptimal vaccination coverage in several countries”, for the ECDC “it is probable that in the future we will observe an increase in the number of reported cases of measles in the EU/EEA”.
The European Immunization Week (April 23-30) is “a key moment – emphasizes the ECDC – to raise awareness of the benefits and importance of vaccination for general health and well-being of people, throughout their lives. It’s also a chance to remind everyone that vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.”
Continued efforts to identify immunity gaps in people of all ages, including those who may have missed or delayed vaccination, are therefore essential, especially in hard-to-reach populations such as refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and others. vulnerable and disadvantaged groups”.
“Accelerated efforts are needed – continues the ECDC – to improve immunization campaigns and promote vaccine acceptance and vaccination adherence, to achieve and sustain high vaccination coverage against diseases preventable with these tools. The support and strengthening national routine vaccination programs remains a key priority for the ECDC, according to the principles of vaccine quality, safety and efficacy, as well as timely and equitable access”.