Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HERA)

The Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HERA) department’s mission is to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to health emergencies. DG HERA, created in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, will anticipate threats and potential health crises, through intelligence gathering and building the necessary response capacities. When an emergency hits, DG HERA will ensure the development, production and distribution of medicines, vaccines and other medical countermeasures – such as gloves and masks – that were often lacking during the first phase of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Since April 2022, Vaccines Europe is a member of the Joint Industrial Cooperation Forum (JICF) created by DG HERA, as a platform of interaction between Agency and industry representatives on different topics that would allow Europe to be better prepared for the upcoming cross-border health threats. Vaccines Europe representatives are actively providing input into different key areas from HERA’s Work Plan.