EU health ministers want to improve information on vaccination in Europe and combat vaccine reluctance. They adopted, on Friday 9 December, conclusions on vaccination, considering it to be one of the most effective tools for preventing disease and improving public health. The findings highlight the role of the ECDC and regulatory authorities in promoting different types of vaccination, raising public awareness and making vaccines available.
During the discussion in the public session, the Czech Minister of Health, Vlastimil Válek, who chaired the EU Council, recalled that the conclusions deal with, notably, the fight against vaccine reluctance and the education of health care professionals. To this end, the ministers support the creation of a forum of experts against vaccine reluctance.
The Member States also ask the European Commission to study the added value of a digital version of the vaccination certificates.
The Commission is invited as well to provide Member States, upon request, with non-binding guidance on how to combat vaccine reluctance in collaboration with the ECDC.
The Presidency stresses that the conclusions should lead to the creation of digital tools for exchanges between States and with citizens. Member States are invited to use interdisciplinary expertise to enhance efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation about vaccines.
The Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, welcomed the EU Council’s conclusions as a “wake-up call”. The forum of experts will, she said, enhance dialogue and discuss best practice. Ms Kyriakides said that she was very concerned about the issue of information on vaccines. She proposed that the expert forum should take the form of a sub-group linked to the European Commission’s new expert group on health, in order to play a holistic role on the issue.
Link to the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/4lu (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)