Source: European Parliament
Vaccination programmes and services are a competence of national authorities. The Commission supports Member States in increasing and maintaining high vaccination coverage rates and in a lifelong approach to vaccination. It is a theme of #UnitedInProtection[1], the Commission’s campaign promoting safe and effective vaccines’ benefits.
Immunosenescence is a scientific challenge. In general, a clear understanding of the protective human immune response to infection is key to selecting and designing the right vaccine antigens.
New or more specifically targeted formulations may be needed to improve response to existing vaccines in different population groups such as the elderly that may mount a suboptimal immune response to vaccination.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) regularly generates estimates of vaccine effectiveness for key vaccination programmes, such as seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines[2], with specific attention towards older groups.
The ECDC also regularly provides summaries of scientific data available on the performance of newer vaccines[3] which may help to address some of the challenges related to immunosenescence.
This scientific evidence, together with existing complementary research in the field, can help to inform on where gaps exist, including areas where research and development for newer and more effective vaccines targeting specific population group needs is key.
The ECDC also regularly publishes overviews on the performance of national immunisation groups, such as for seasonal influenza vaccination in older age groups[4].
Such overviews include public health considerations on how Member States and stakeholders can strengthen the implementation of existing programmes.
- [1] https://vaccination-protection.ec.europa.eu/index_en.
- [2] Please consult Vaccine Effectiveness, Burden and Impact Studies (VEBIS) on the ECDC website for an
overview of ongoing studies and latest results available: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/infectious-disease-topics/related-public-health-topics/immunisation-and-vaccines/vaccine-0. - [3] https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/systematic-review-update-efficacy-effectiveness-and-safety-newer-and-enhanced.
- [4] https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/survey-report-national-seasonal-influenza-vaccination-recommendations.