Since 2022, and as of 17 July 2023, 19 neonates with severe Echovirus 11 (E11) infection have been reported in the EU/EEA, by France, Croatia, Sweden, Spain, and Italy, and nine of these neonates have died.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have decided to formally retire the EASA-ECDC joint Aviation Health Safety Protocol (AHSP), while acknowledging its significant value during the high SARS-CoV-2 circulation periods during the pandemic.
ECDC and EMA have issued a joint statement on adapted COVID-19 vaccines and considerations for their use during the upcoming autumn 2023 vaccination campaigns.
Between 2018 and 2020, nearly 20 000 surgical site infections (SSIs) were reported from a total of over 1.2 million surgical procedures in 13 EU/EEA countries participating in ECDC-coordinated SSI surveillance. Over 2 500 hospitals are part of this surveillance network.
ECDC presents lessons learned from the response of Europe’s public health sector to the pandemic and highlights follow up actions addressing relevant issues which could improve Europe’s pandemic preparedness.
At the start of European Immunization Week, the ECDC report “Poliomyelitis situation update” reveals that between 2012 and 2021, approximately 2.4 million children in the EU/EEA may have not received three doses of polio-containing vaccines on time. Additionally, the newly published ECDC “Measles Annual Epidemiological Report 2022” highlights the risks when having pockets of an under-vaccinated population or groups not immunised at all.
To decrease the impact of COVID-19, and related hospitalisations and mortality, countries should plan for a continued roll-out of COVID vaccines in 2023.