The development of new vaccines, the crisis of public confidence in vaccines and the global situation will be the three themes to be discussed at the World Summit on Immunization, to be held in Brussels on Thursday 12 September.
400 participants were expected to take part in this event, which will be attended by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commissioner for Health, Vytenis Andriukaitis, and the Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The crisis of public confidence in vaccines will receive particular attention after a Eurobarometer survey revealed that 38% of Europeans believe that vaccines can cause the disease against which they are supposed to be protected (see EUROPE 12243/5).
In a preparatory document to frame the Summit's discussions, the EU and WHO stress that there are “different legislative approaches to vaccination”. Further: “Making immunization a legal obligation can be an effective tool if it is carefully implemented for the context. However, evidence of its effectiveness is largely limited to high-income countries and governments should avoid mandates that could strengthen anti-vaccine sentiment”. Given the disinformation that is circulating on the subject, the European Commission adds that it will launch, after the event, a pilot campaign on social networks in several Member States to monitor vaccine disinformation. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)