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Recently, the European Commission published information on the vaccine confidence and the delivery of vaccination services in the European Union (EU). Both reports revealed the need for EU action to tackle on the one hand misinformation and the lack of awareness of the general public and on the other hand, the lack of coordination among Member States.

The vaccine confidence report underlined the crucial link between confidence and coverage rates. To better understand why immunisation rates are declining throughout the EU. Confidence of the public in the EU and among general practitioners in the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the UK was surveyed. Since confidence varies from vaccine to vaccine, the report focused on measles, influenza and vaccines in general. Data show that the population group over the age of 65 years is generally more confident about the safety and importance of vaccination than those under the age of 65 years.

In conclusion, the report highlights that the recent measles outbreak should be used as an opportunity. Coordinated approaches should be taken to remind the EU population about the importance of vaccination and the danger of vaccine-preventable diseases.

The study on the organisation and delivery of vaccination services in the EU was prepared by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. It is divided into three parts to provide a comprehensive overview on the current situation. It summaries information on vaccine uptake and vaccine-preventable diseases. In addition, it contains details on the systematic review of health system-related factors and their impact on vaccine uptake as well as country fiches that outline the organisation and delivery of vaccination programmes.

The combination of these three components provides on the one hand an insight on what has been achieved and on the other hand highlights areas were further …