Call for experts for Scientific Expert Panel on RSV vaccination in adults

Update

6 March 2026

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has launched a call for experts to join a new Scientific Expert Panel (SEP) to support the development of an EU/EEA technical guidance on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination to protect adults. The guidance, planned for publication in 2027, will provide evidence-based, non-binding recommendations to inform national immunisation strategies.

Several RSV vaccines have recently been authorised in the European Union for use in adults, with indications expanding across different age and risk groups. As countries consider how best to integrate these vaccines into their programmes, ECDC will provide a structured and transparent assessment of the available evidence using an Evidence-to-Recommendation framework.

The SEP will act in an advisory capacity. It will review and endorse key evidence questions, assess evidence syntheses prepared by ECDC – including surveillance analyses, systematic reviews and modelling outputs – and contribute to judgements on the balance of benefits and harms, certainty of evidence, and relevance to different adult populations. The panel will also provide input on draft recommendations and identify important research gaps and monitoring priorities.

Through this initiative, ECDC aims to ensure that adult RSV vaccination policy across the EU/EEA is informed by robust scientific evidence and transparent expert deliberation.

The panel will comprise 10 members with expertise across five domains:

Epidemiology and surveillance;
Clinical and public health practice;
Virology, immunology and vaccine science;
Biostatistics, modelling and health economics;
Health systems, behavioural sciences and implementation.

The SEP mandate is expected to run from May 2026 to June 2027 and is anticipated to include two face-to-face meetings alongside written consultations. Details on the scope of the work, eligibility criteria and application requirements are set out in the Terms of Reference.

Applications must be submitted by 5 April 2026. For questions, interested applicants may contact RSV [dot] SEPecdc [dot] europa [dot] eu (RSV[dot]SEP[at]ecdc[dot]europa[dot]eu).