A new ECDC report, issued today, provides policymakers in EU/EEA with a number of objectives and considerations on COVID-19 vaccination of 12-18-year-olds. The report highlights the current recommendations and status of COVID-19 vaccination of adolescents in EU/EEA countries, describes the epidemiology of COVID-19 in this age group and discusses vaccine effectiveness against transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
European Immunization Week (EIW) is marked across the European Region every year in the last week of April. It aims to raise awareness of the importance of immunisation for people’s health and well-being.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) today kicked off a new initiative aimed at strengthening post-marketing monitoring of the safety, effectiveness and impact of COVID-19 vaccines in the EU/EEA.
In the Technical Report Risk for SARS-CoV-2 transmission from newly infected individuals with documented previous infection or vaccination, published today, ECDC examines the evidence on the extent previous SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination prevents onward transmission from infected individuals to susceptible contacts.
Vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 disease are well under way in all EU/EEA countries, and more detailed information is now available on the ECDC website.
Following the conditional marketing authorisation and deployment of the first COVID-19 vaccines in the EU/EEA, all countries have started vaccination campaigns by vaccinating people in priority groups. To monitor the progress of vaccination efforts across the EU/EEA, ECDC has set up a monitoring system for collection of key vaccine rollout indicators.
On 22 December ECDC released the technical report titled ‘COVID-19 vaccination and prioritisation strategies in the EU/EEA’, following the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommendation for authorisation of the vaccine Comirnaty, developed by BioNTech and Pfizer.
ECDC welcomes the authorisation of the first vaccine against COVID-19 in EU/EEA. We have been looking forward to this moment for a long time.
On 21 December, EMA recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for the vaccine Comirnaty, developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people from 16 years of age. On the same day, the European Commission has granted market authorisation for EU-wide use.
Based on a systematic literature review, ECDC assessed the efficacy, effectiveness and safety of newer and enhanced inactivated seasonal influenza (flu) vaccines among those 18 years or older. These assessed are MF59® adjuvanted, cell-based, high-dose, and recombinant haemagglutinin influenza vaccines.