EU health ministers discussed Ukraine, vaccination, monkeypox and cancer during an informal meeting in Prague on Wednesday 7 September.
They were joined by the Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, the Ukrainian Minister of Health, Viktor Liashko (via video conference), the Executive Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA,) Emer Cooke, the Director of the World Health Organization’s Regional Office (WHO Europe), Hans Luge, and representatives from Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.
Ukraine. The ministers discussed training for Ukrainian doctors and health care personnel as well as support for universities and professional training in Ukraine. Ms Kyriakides added that work was underway to, among other things, improve the response to antimicrobial resistance in Ukrainian hospitals and to make medical transfers of patients from Ukraine more efficient. The Czech Minister of Health, Vlastimil Válek, for the Presidency of the EU Council, emphasised the reception of people fleeing Ukraine, support for their job search, schooling for their children and access to health care.
Vaccination. Ministers also discussed vaccination beyond Covid-19. For Minister Válek, there was a consensus among participants that long-term support for vaccination was needed. Mr Válek stressed the need to restore people’s confidence in vaccination. For Commissioner Kyriakides, Member States must use clear and consistent messages to increase confidence in vaccines and reduce vaccine hesitancy.
Stella Kyriakides urged Member States to quickly put in place vaccination strategies in preparation for the coming months and to start vaccination quickly. For the Commissioner, these strategies must include clear communication to citizens “so that they know which vaccines they are eligible for”, including new adapted vaccines (see EUROPE 13013/14). The Commissioner recalled the recommendations of the EMA and ECDC (see EUROPE 13015/20).
With regard to Covid-19, the Commissioner stressed the need for epidemiological surveillance systems, strategies for the reintroduction of public health measures, if necessary, and capacity building in health systems, in addition to vaccination.
The Commissioner referred to the first meeting of the Bureau of the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) at ministerial level: “It was an open and frank discussion about our vaccine strategy with BioNTech and Moderna to align vaccine supply and demand”, she said, adding that she had been assured that the vaccines supplied from September onwards would be adapted vaccines. Ms Kyriakides said that deliveries of vaccines adapted to the BA.1 sub-variant to Member States had begun earlier this week.
Monkeypox. The number of cases in the EU has decreased over the past 6 weeks, Ms Kyriakides noted, recalling the purchase of additional vaccine doses funded by the EU budget (see EUROPE 13016/25). The Commissioner announced that a joint procurement of the antiviral Tecovirimat was “progressing well” and that she hoped to have some good news to share soon.
Fighting cancer. The ministers discussed Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, which aims to increase the standards of cancer care and standardise protocols, said Mr Válek. Ms Kyriakides pointed out that the screening protocols are dated from 2023.
The Commissioner announced the presentation of a European Commission proposal for a revision of cancer screening protocols on 21 September. She thanked the Czech Presidency for putting the issue of cancer on its agenda. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)