EU child vaccination rates slip in many nations since the COVID era

A comprehensive review published Thursday examined trends in seven childhood immunisations—diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, meningitis B, polio, pneumococcus, measles and rubella—across the 27 European Union members over a 40-year span, drawing on World Health Organization and UNICEF statistics. The authors note that overall EU coverage has reached historically high levels, with Luxembourg and Portugal exceeding 95% for all seven shots, whereas Romania falls below 80%.

However, since the COVID era, a worrying reversal has emerged: sixteen countries recorded lower uptake for at least four vaccines, and in nations such as Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden, all seven vaccines declined. Germany and Spain showed drops in five vaccines, while France and Italy saw mixed changes. The most pronounced falls were in meningitis B and polio, observed in twenty countries, followed by hepatitis B and diphtheria-tetanus-polio. The downturn began between 2019 and 2022, and researchers stress the urgent need to sustain high vaccination rates to avoid resurgence of infectious diseases.