Our work in 2020

2020 in brief

The COVID-19 pandemic is the most extensive Public Health Event (PHE) ECDC has had to respond to since the Centre became operational in 2005. In 2020, supporting the EU COVID-19 response became indeed the dominant activity of the Centre.

Get informed for 2020 in brief

ECDC public health functions: main achievements

• Surveillance
• Epidemic intelligence
• Preparedness and Response
• Scientific advice
• Prevention and control
• Training
• EU institutions and Member States
• International relations
• Communication
• Microbiology

ECDC disease programmes: main achievements

From 1 January 2020, ECDC is organised in four permanent Disease Programmes (DPs):

• The Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-Associated Infections (ARHAI) Programme;
• The Emerging Food and Vector-Borne Diseases (EFVED) Programme;
• The STI, Blood-Borne Viruses and TB (SBT) Programme;
• Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Immunisation (VPI) Programme.

During the year, a fifth temporary disease programme, the COVID-19 and Influenza (CAI) Programme was set up to address all non-urgent issues related to COVID-19 and influenza not covered by the first line PHE organisation and other organisational entities.

Learn about our Disease programmes