Conor Stewart
Research expert covering health & pharmaceuticals in the UK & Europe
Vaccinations in Europe - Statistics & Facts
Vaccination is the process in which a person, usually a child, gains immunity from a disease by being injected with a weakened or destroyed version of the bacteria or virus. This ‘teaches’ the body to create antibodies and therefore a resistance to the illness. It is much safer than being exposed to and catching the disease in normal life. Vaccination has been responsible for the eradication of smallpox, which, before a vaccine was found, was one of the most widespread diseases for hundreds of years.
Presently, in Europe, the six-in-one vaccine, protecting against diphtheria, hepatitis B, Hib, polio, tetanus, and whooping cough will be administered in three doses in the first months of a baby’s life. Generally, children will receive the first dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination between the ages of 12 and 18 months, with the second dose administered around the age of three, just prior to the child entering formal education. Since the turn of the 21st century, the share of children receiving a measles vaccine has increased.
Measles and the importance of being immunized
In 2022, 92 percent of children of the relevant age in Europe received their first dose of the measles vaccination, while 90 percent received their second dose. However, the biggest spikes in measles cases in the past twenty years correspond with years in which a low share of children were vaccinated with two doses, therefore highlighting the importance of children receiving the full course of vaccination. It is recommended that 95 percent of the population should be vaccinated to stop the spread and eliminate diseases that can be prevented. Poland had the lowest rate of measles vaccination in Europe in 2022, with 80 percent of children getting the first dose of the measles vaccination. In 2023, around four thousand measles cases were recorded in the EEA, and Romania had the highest number of cases reported in a single country at almost 3.4 thousand.The rise of vaccine skepticism
In Europe, as in other places around the world, there has been a rise of vaccine skepticism and hesitancy lately, defined by the ECDC as a “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services.” The WHO identified vaccine hesitancy as one of the principal threats to global health. According to a 2022 survey, Slovakians have the highest vaccine skepticism in the European Union. In Bulgaria and Latvia, confidence in the safety of vaccines was also notably low. Regarding the MMR vaccine specifically, Portugal had the highest faith in the EU in this vaccine. Approximately 97 percent of respondents in Portugal believed that the MMR vaccine is important for children to have and that the vaccine to be safe. However, for many other European countries, this figure was below 80 percent.
