Annual influenza vaccination of risk groups has been common practice in Europe and elsewhere for many years. Routine influenza immunisation of healthy children has been recommended in some countries, to reduce morbidity among children with the potential additional benefit of reducing the spread of disease and thus indirectly protect adults at high risk of severe influenza.

In support of the EU Council Recommendation of December 2009 on seasonal influenza vaccination, this technical report provides data on vaccination policies and strategies, vaccination coverage data, and data on barriers to vaccination for seasonal influenza in the EU/EEA countries.

Overview of vaccination recommendations and coverage rates in the EU Member States for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 influenza seasons.

Vaccination recommendations and coverage rates in the EU Member States for eight influenza seasons: 2007–2008 to 2014–2015.

This report summarises the results from two epidemiological studies to investigate a possible association between an unexpected increase in narcolepsy cases following the use of the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccines. The studies were conducted by the Vaccine Adverse Event Surveillance and Communication (VAESCO) Consortium under the auspices of ECDC and undertaken in Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This Technical Report In Brief accompanies the full Report ‘Narcolepsy in association with pandemic influenza vaccination- A multi-country European epidemiological investigation’.

Overall the evidence base for the efficacy and effectiveness of newer and enhanced influenza vaccines appears limited at present, with a number of potentially relevant studies identified as ongoing.

Understanding vaccine hesitancy and social media: which social media platforms do users preferably choose as source of information on vaccination and how does that influence their perceptions of vaccination? A systematic scoping review by ECDC and the Vaccine Confidence Project summarises knowledge and research on social media and vaccination.

ECDC is publishing the first external quality assurance scheme (EQA) for Bordetalla pertusis PCR,  participated by 21-one laboratories from 21 European Union/European Economic Area countries.

This report provides an update on seasonal influenza immunisation policies and vaccination coverage rates in EU/EEA Member States for the 2012–13 influenza season.