About

The decline of vaccination coverage observed in recent years in EU Member States has led to new outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this situation, posing challenges to the continuity of routine vaccination programmes. Factors related to vaccine hesitancy, which is the delay or refusal of vaccination due to concerns about safety and effectiveness, play a key role in vaccination coverage.

Confidence in vaccines and vaccination policies, in health professionals and in the health industry, is a key driver of vaccination behaviours. However, there are also barriers linked to the convenience of vaccine administration which prevent people from getting vaccinated.

While efforts have been made to identify, monitor, and address EU citizens’ vaccine concerns, there is a need to further investigate obstacles to vaccination. Such obstacles include:

• insufficient availability of vaccine supplies
• limited availability of health professionals to administer vaccinations, including both the number of vaccinators per capita and the different categories of health professionals authorised to administer vaccines
• geographical distance of vaccination services from citizens
• financial affordability of vaccination services for citizens
• administrative and practical steps necessary to obtain a vaccination (e.g., getting a prescription from a health professional, purchasing the product from a pharmacy and returning to a health professional  for the actual administration of the vaccine)
• convenience of vaccination services in terms of opening hours, booking appointments and similar matters, and whether or not  vaccination is offered in workplaces, schools or other local settings
• direct outreach by vaccination services to citizens, for example via postal reminders or SMS

Overcoming Obstacles to Vaccination is a 3-year project funded by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) on behalf of the European Commission. It focuses on seven vaccines: COVID-19; Human papillomavirus (HPV); Influenza; Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR); Meningitis; Polio; and Tetanus.

The objectives of this project are to:

• Identify obstacles to vaccination of a physical, practical, and administrative nature and the adverse impact these obstacles have on EU Member States and vaccination coverage rates.
• Identify promising practices implemented by EU Member States which can overcome such obstacles.
• Develop recommendations that address the obstacles identified and which are tailored to different actors, including policymakers at EU and national levels, competent health authorities in EU Member States, and EU and national health professionals, patients and citizens.

To achieve the objectives, this project will:

• Map the obstacles to vaccination faced by citizens across all EU Member States. 
• Identify promising practices addressing obstacles to vaccination that have been developed by health authorities within EU Member States. 
• Select promising practices based on the evaluation framework within the European Commission’s Steering Group on Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Management of Non-Communicable Diseases (SGPP). 
• Organise on-site visits in countries where promising practices have been shortlisted and/or selected. These pilot projects will provide visiting health authorities with an opportunity to witness how these promising practices work.
• Pilot three promising practices in nine volunteer EU Member States. These pilot projects will last 12 months and will test selected practices to verify their relevance and whether they can be transferred. 
• Develop recommendations for overcoming obstacles to vaccination reflecting the activities conducted by the project.
• Implement two large-scale surveys in all Member States, one among the general population and one among healthcare professionals. These surveys will be used to develop a statistical model to assess the extent to which physical, administrative, and convenience obstacles impact on the non-vaccination decision making process; and ultimately to assess how much of a higher coverage rate could be achieved if these obstacles were overcome.

Vaccination is a tool to prevent infectious diseases. Reducing the adverse impact of obstacles to vaccination will benefit a wide range of stakeholders. 

The Overcoming Obstacles to Vaccination project is relevant to public health authorities, academics, and researchers in the field of vaccination policies who contribute to defining national and/or regional vaccination strategies. The project is also relevant to professionals and practitioners in a range of healthcare fields. Project results, including the identification of barriers and how to overcome them, will be available on the website. 

The website is open to the public and provides an overview of the seven vaccination journeys and how to overcome some of the obstacles faced on a day-to-day basis, as well as further information pertaining to national health authority webpages.

This project is funded by the EU4health programme and commissioned by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). However, the views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HADEA. Neither the European Union nor HADEA can be held responsible for the content.

Project number: HADEA/2021/OP/0010.

The Overcoming Obstacles to Vaccination project is led by Verian in partnership with the European Health Management Association (EHMA), ifok, the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP), and the European Regional and Local Health Authorities (EUREGHA).