EU Commission wants to strengthen the application of EU rules on the protection of healthcare workers.

In 2018, the EU Commission presented a Recommendation to the Member States on how they can better work together in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. The DSV published an article in March 2018 on the EU Commission’s proposal for 20 measures to combat vaccine hesitancy.  At the start of this year, the DSV also reported on the Council Recommendation on strengthened cooperation against vaccine-preventable diseases.

However, according to a Parliamentary question submitted to the Commission by MEP Philippe Juvin, vaccine scepticism among the European population is still on the rise. He also points out that budgets for vaccination and disease prevention in the Member States are steadily declining.

In his answer, EU Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis points out that although the Member States are responsible for vaccination policy, the Commission supports their cooperation. The details of the proposed EU vaccination card and a core European vaccination schedule still have to be worked out. The Commission will further strengthen the application of existing EU legislation in the health sector, such as Council Directive 2010/32/EU.

In terms of the requirements for vaccines, Andriukaitis referred to the guidelines of the European Medicine Agency and the fact that €590 million in Horizon 2020 funding is being spent on independent research into vaccines. Andriukaitis finished up by stating that the Commission is planning to set up a platform showing the results of studies on vaccines as a means of boosting transparency.