MEPs are gearing up for the next plenary session where they will question the European Commission about declining vaccination rates in Europe due to increasing misgivings expressed in this regard by citizens. During a vote on 20 March, the environment and public health committee adopted its main messages.
The draft resolution co-drafted by the main political groups, expresses concern about the fall in the public’s trust regarding vaccinations, which stands at a particularly high-level in Europe. It indicated that 215,000 cases of diseases that could have been prevented by vaccination, particularly the flu, were identified during the 2008-2015 period in Europe.
Dialogue and transparency
In this context, MEPs began by condemning the dissemination of unreliable, misleading or unscientific information about vaccinations. In this regard, they are calling for a scientific and factual dialogue with civil society. In this same perspective, they are also calling for greater transparency in the assessment of vaccines, funding for independent research programmes and the potential side effects of vaccines. During the vote on 20 March, they supported the amendment by Guillaume Balas (S&D, France), which calls for the confidentiality of the debates by the European's Medicines Agency (EMA) assessment panel to be lifted. The MEP is also proposing that the scientific and clinical data used in the conclusions of the panel which is of an anonymous nature, as originally guaranteed, should be made public.
Bringing down prices
For all other issues, the environment and public health committee said that it was concerned by the limited budget specifically available for vaccination in several member states and by the high prices and major price disparities in certain crucial vaccines. It asserted that it is not acceptable that the cost of a batch of vaccines for a child is 68 times more expensive in 2014 than it was in 2001. It is also urging the member states to collectively negotiate vaccine prices through joint procurement agreements introduced by the EU.
The European Commission is due to present an initiative in the second half of 2018 for enhancing cooperation on diseases that could be prevented by vaccinations. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)