ECDC is collecting, sharing and disseminating information on national vaccination programmes and provides guidance for improving the overall performance of the vaccination systems in EU/EEA Member States. The latest data on vaccination coverage by country in the EU/EEA of different risk- and target groups are available in the reports listed on this page.
On 21 February 2013, WHO issued its recommendation for the composition of influenza vaccines for the 2013-2014 influenza season in the northern hemisphere. A short headline report on the vaccine recommendations for next season is available as well as a more detailed report which also contains information on the antiviral resistance and the laboratory-assessed match between this season’s vaccine and circulating viruses. (1,2)
To achieve increased and sustainable influenza vaccine coverage in Europe, the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccines should be improved, especially for the clinical risk groups and older people.
In May 2012 a WHO SAGE (Strategic Advisory Group of Experts) statement on immunisation delivered its opinion on seasonal influenza immunisation through the Weekly Epidemiological Record.(
A joint mission of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) to Romania has recommended immediate resumption of BCG (Bacille Calmette–Guérin) vaccination against tuberculosis in infants in the country.
Following a meeting of the global influenza collaborating centres in Beijing hosted by the newest Centre that in China the World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended that influenza vaccines to be used in the 2013 Southern Hemisphere (SH) influenza season should contain the same three strains as the vaccines that now are being used in the Northern Hemisphere (NH).
In September 2010 Sweden and Finland noted a number of children had developed narcolepsy seemingly in association with having received the pandemic vaccine used almost exclusively in those countries (Pandemrix)
WHO’s regular meeting of its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization meeting (April 2012) included receiving a report from a Working Group on influenza immunisation.
The study of Wood et al has shown a standard can reduce the inter-laboratory variability of the results and bring coherence to the inter-assay results as well.