ECDC, together with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, organised a stress test of the logistical aspects of COVID-19 vaccination deployment plans. Twelve EU/EEA Member States participated in this stress test, a focused simulation exercise conducted in two rounds, one in mid-December 2020 and the second in early January 2021.

This technical report provides an updated overview of the progress of national COVID-19 vaccination strategies including vaccine deployment plans and their rollout in the EU/EEA. It also provides new insights into some of the critical aspects and challenges of the implementation.

The purpose of this document is to provide an initial illustration of how the COVID-19 response could unfold in the vaccination era, given the emergence and replacement of the predominant strain with a novel, more transmissible variant.

This document builds on a previously published ECDC report, ‘Key aspects regarding the introduction and prioritisation of COVID-19 vaccination in the EU/EEA and the UK’ [15]. By using mathematical modelling, this document provides EU/EEA countries with information on factors that may affect the choice of COVID-19 vaccination

This document outlines the initial developments in EU/EEA member states and the UK regarding vaccine deployment plans and national vaccination strategies for COVID-19 vaccines, including interim considerations for priority groups, evidence to be considered for the prioritisation of target groups, logistical considerations and monitoring systems for post-marketing surveillance (e.g. vaccine coverage, safety, effectiveness and acceptance).

This document provides an overview of the key aspects related to the initial phases following the introduction of one or more COVID-19 vaccines in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK). The aim is to support but not define EU policy on COVID-19 vaccination.