Vaccine hesitancy
While vaccines have gained significant public attention thanks to their instrumental role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, they have contributed to global health for decades. The value of vaccination is well established – for public health and for the economy. And yet, Europe is one of the most vaccine hesitant continents in the world.
Vaccine hesitancy is complex and context-specific, varying across time, place and vaccines. It is influenced by factors such as complacency, confidence, constraint, calculation, and collective responsibility[1] [2]. Vaccine hesitancy refers to delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability of vaccination services. It threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases and is one of the most serious threats to global health[3].
The latest report on the state of vaccine confidence in the EU revealed that the gains in vaccine confidence seen in 2020 have largely been lost in 2022. Another study also suggests that vaccine confidence has significantly declined since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic[4].
Vaccine hesitancy is a multi-factorial phenomenon, which requires research to understand it and identify workable and bespoke solutions. There have been significant advances made in this field and now is the time to implement concrete actions locally to address this major public health threat.
We all have a role to play to support and strengthen vaccine confidence. As a key partner in global health, the pharmaceutical industry can help by leaning to our areas of expertise: researching, developing and manufacturing high-quality vaccines, with demonstrated safety and efficacy profiles, to meet some of the world’s most challenging public health needs.
Safety and quality testing of vaccines are carried out at every stage of their lifecycle:
- Research and development: After rigorous testing by the vaccine developers, each vaccine candidate goes through scientific evaluation by independent regulatory authorities such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Every vaccine candidate goes through three phases of clinical trials to assess its effects before it is considered for approval. The vaccine is approved only if the regulatory authorities determine that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.
- Manufacturing: 70% of the time needed to produce a vaccine is dedicated to quality control. Furthermore, all vaccines are manufactured according to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) – the global standard for medicines production.
- Pharmacovigilance: Regulatory approval is not the end of the oversight process. Vaccine companies are legally obliged to have comprehensive safety monitoring and risk management (pharmacovigilance) systems in place. Pharmacovigilance refers to the activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other medicine-related problem associated with the use of the product. It ensures that the safety of vaccines is monitored while they are in use in routine clinical practice and allows the required measures to be put in place to minimise any risk detected.
- Phase IV clinical trials (post-approval studies) make a key contribution to the pharmacovigilance system. These are conducted after the approval of a medicinal product and aim to gather additional information about the vaccines’ performance over an extended period on safety, long–term effectiveness and monitoring of adverse drug reaction within a larger population. By closely monitoring the vaccines’ real-world effectiveness, researchers ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh any potential risk. Phase IV trials also allow healthcare professionals to gather more data on specific population groups, such as pregnant women, the elderly, or individuals with certain medical condition. This work represents the continued commitment of vaccine manufacturers to ensuring optimal vaccine safety and efficacy for everyone’s benefit.
On top of our key role in the R&D and manufacturing of high-quality and safe vaccines, we are communicating and collaborating to maintain and grow confidence in vaccination, by supporting vaccination confidence campaigns, initiatives to advance understanding the role of social media and behavioural sciences, and other research, communication and engagement projects.
We recognise the need for an independent and credible source of information about vaccines for the general public. This is why in 2011 (following the 2009 H1N1 pandemic), Vaccines Europe supported the establishment of Vaccines Today, an online platform for discussing vaccines and vaccination, in a fair and unbiased way. Its content is produced through interviews with experts from academia, patient groups, and industry experts, along with reports based on scientific literature and conferences. Vaccines Today is certified by the World Health Organization’s Vaccine Safety Net. Furthermore, Vaccines Europe actively engages in initiatives aimed to strengthen vaccine confidence such as #TeamVaccines.
We are engaged with Business Partner to CONVINCE, a global movement of employers of all sizes that seeks to build vaccine confidence and support uptake among employees.
The vaccines industry has a unique public-health centred mission: to drive a sustainable and resilient vaccines environment in Europe, protecting people against infectious diseases at all stages of life. The vaccines ecosystem is complex, and there is no place for silos – collaboration at all levels is key to tackle vaccine hesitancy.
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