No images? Click here
Quarterly Newsletter:
September 2025
Issue #17
Editorial
Trust in science: Countering misinformation for a healthier future
Tobias Cousens, Commercial Lead, International Commercial Office, Pfizer, and Vaccines Europe Board Member
Vaccine confidence is a cornerstone of public health. It rests on trust in science and the people and institutions who apply it. That trust must be earned – every day – through evidence-based decision-making, rigorous standards, and a culture of integrity and transparency. From clinical development to manufacturing and real-world monitoring, vaccines are held to some of the highest scientific and regulatory thresholds. Explaining those processes clearly, sharing data openly, and acknowledging uncertainty when it exists are essential to sustaining confidence.
Today, that confidence is under pressure. The rapid spread of vaccine misinformation – often amplified online – distorts evidence and erodes public trust. The consequences are not abstract. Europe is already seeing a significant rise in measles cases, a stark reminder that when vaccination rates fall, preventable diseases return. Countering misinformation requires faster, clearer communication, credible messengers, and consistent use of high-quality evidence.
Immunisation is not only vital for individual and community health; it is central to Europe’s health security, resilience, and competitiveness. Strong vaccination programmes protect vulnerable people, keep schools open, reduce pressure on health systems, and support a productive workforce. They also strengthen preparedness for future threats by sustaining the manufacturing capacity, surveillance networks, and scientific talent Europe needs.
We therefore welcome the European Commission’s new Global Health Resilience Initiative to bolster vaccine confidence and combat misinformation. Healthcare professionals rely on recommendations from the institutions, including the European Commission, the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Public trust in those institutions is vital to ensure optimal immunisation coverage rates and protect people from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Over the last 15 years, Vaccines Europe has supported Vaccines Today, an online platform for reliable vaccine information, run by an editor and an independent Editorial Board. Such initiatives form a solid foundation for building trust in science and can be instrumental in countering misinformation. The vaccine industry stands ready to play its part with transparency and scientific integrity.
Together, we can build the trust needed to protect people, prevent outbreaks, and secure a healthier, and more resilient Europe.
Vaccines Europe External Engagement
How are vaccines developed?
We were pleased to host an engaging session at the EFPIA Life Sciences Week on 23 September, exploring how vaccines are developed, the barriers to innovation in Europe, and how they can be overcome. Many thanks to our brilliant speakers Jean-François Toussaint and Andrew Deavin, to all participants who
joined us, and to Sibilia Quilici for moderating.
Jean-Francois reminded us that we are witnessing a vaccine revolution. Despite challenges – from the complexity of vaccine development to the low investment in immunisation programmes – there is cause for excitement. Vaccines Europe member companies currently have 98 vaccines in development, 42% of them targeting diseases for which no vaccines yet exist. Europe must seize this momentum by rewarding innovation, investing more in prevention, and ensuring sustainable immunisation budgets.
Andrew underlined that vaccines only make a difference if they are used. To deliver on their potential, we need a regulatory framework that supports faster access and builds resilience. Regulatory reliance can help accelerate global availability, while the upcoming Innovation and Biotech Acts offer a pivotal opportunity to shape a more flexible environment that fosters vaccine innovation.
Crucially, both speakers highlighted that Europe must reverse the decline in immunisation clinical trials by removing barriers and strengthening the expertise and infrastructure needed to attract investment and safeguard competitiveness.
PDA Shaping the Future of Vaccines Workshop
It was a pleasure to take part in the PDA Shaping the Future of Vaccines Workshop in Rotterdam on 22 September. In a small and exclusive setting, we brought together leading voices from across the vaccine ecosystem, including regulators, CEPI, academia and industry, to exchange ideas on vaccine innovation. The interactive workshop offered a 360° view of the vaccine innovation landscape and a platform to help shape its future by focussing on three key topics:
- Vaccine Development Strategies
- Advancing European Competitiveness: Innovation in Vaccine Regulatory and Manufacturing
- Case Studies on Advancing European Competitiveness: Innovation in Vaccine Manufacturing
Thank you very much to PDA, the Parenteral Drug Association, for organising this workshop and to all participants from PDA, the European Medicines Agency, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Medical Products Agency in Sweden, academia and industry.
This insightful discussion was the starting point of what we hope will become an annual tradition.
Roundtable on The Role of NITAGs in the EU HTA Regulation’s implementation for vaccines
Other events we participated in
- Rethinking HERA's role in the EU's public and global health security architectures - 25 September, Brussels (Belgium)
Upcoming events
- Closing immunisation gaps: A comprehensive EU framework for respiratory infection prevention - 15 October, Brussels and online
- European Health Forum Gastein 2025 - 30 September - 3 October, Bad Hofgastein (Austria) and online;
- Immunity for Health - 1-2 October, Ghent (Belgium)
- World Vaccine Congress Europe - 13-16 October, Amsterdam (The Netherlands):
- Keynote panel: "Beyond borders: Europe’s strategic role in powering vaccine innovation and transforming the global vaccine landscape";
- Panel: “Advancing Vaccines and Antibodies for Drug-Resistant Infections”;
- Keynote panel: "Frontier Technologies in Vaccine Innovation: What are the market trends and how is innovation addressing evolving health threats” .
Communications Highlights
The strategic value of adult immunisation for public health and economic resilience
As Europe continues to grapple with the challenge of an ageing population and rising chronic disease burdens amid economic pressures and growing vaccine hesitancy, adult immunisation has emerged as a powerful yet underutilised tool for safeguarding both public health and economic sustainability.
Read more in this blog by Florence Baron-Papillon.
Invest on prevention and immunisation now to get ahead of respiratory infection
Autumn and winter bring more than events, warm clothes and family gatherings. Every year, they also bring more respiratory infections such as flu, COVID-19
and RSV. As we head into the winter months, it is essential that prevention, including immunisation, is at the forefront of public health strategies.
Learn more in this blog by Guillermo De Juan Echávarri.
No prevention strategy for cardiovascular disease is complete without immunisation
In Europe, there are 62 million people living with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and 5,000 deaths due to CVD every day. To tackle this serious health threat successfully, the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan must incorporate immunisation as a foundational pillar of cardiovascular prevention. Embedding vaccination into the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan will save lives and build a more resilient healthcare ecosystem for the future.
Find out more in our press release and read our response to the call for evidence on the EU cardiovascular health plan here.
Vaccines Europe annual report 2024
Our mission to ensure Europe realises the full value of life-course immunisation to protect people's health, societies, and the economy cannot be achieved in a day. Step by step, together with our members and partners, we work towards this goal and share our progress along the way.
In August, we published our 2024 Annual Report – a testament to our collective commitment to public health and a snapshot of another year of hard work by our brilliant team and members. The report also showcases sustained initiatives – from our annual pipeline review, driving vaccine innovation since 2022, to Vaccines Today, our trusted platform providing reliable vaccination information since 2011.
From long-term investment in prevention, to advancing vaccine innovation and shaping supportive EU HTA – discover how we continue to strengthen immunisation across Europe.
Key Figures
Member States Best Practices
Lithuania
Lithuania rolls out HPV vaccination scorecard
A new online scorecard will allow the public, health professionals and scientists to study vaccination rates across Lithuania. The Lithuanian Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Dashboard is understood to be the first of several dashboards in the pipeline.
Read more in this Vaccines Today article.
Health Policy Highlights
State of the Union address
On 10 September, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her first State of the Union since beginning her second term last December. The annual address provided an opportunity to set out her policy priorities and reflect on the challenges and opportunities Europe will face in the year ahead.
In the field of health policy, President von der Leyen underscored the need for Europe to assume global leadership at a time of multiple and overlapping crises. Central to this ambition, she highlighted the urgent task of countering disinformation, which undermines progress across all areas of public health. As part of this effort, she announced the launch of a new Global Health Resilience Initiative.
Vaccines Europe welcomes the Commission President’s strong stance but stresses that rhetoric must be matched with decisive action. Nowhere is the erosion of trust in science more evident than in immunisation. The consequences are clear: falling vaccine uptake and resurgent outbreaks threaten to undo decades of hard-won progress.
Vaccines Europe hopes President von der Leyen’s address marks the beginning of a renewed commitment to safeguarding public health by tackling disinformation and reinforcing trust in science.
Critical Medicines Act
On 1 September, the SANT committee discussed MEP Tomislav Sokol’s draft report on the Critical Medicines Act (CMA), with amendments submitted before 19 September. The report has generally been well received by the European Parliament’s political groups and emphasises structured engagement with stakeholders, careful use of joint procurement, and avoiding unnecessary regulatory burdens on manufacturers. Opinions from the ITRE, ENVI, and IMCO committees are also feeding into the Parliament’s position, with developments expected to continue into next year.
The Critical Medicines Act reflects growing political momentum to address medicine shortages and access across Europe. Its core objectives of strengthening supply chain resilience and ensuring timely, equitable patient access are fully supported by the European research-based pharmaceutical industry.
What We Are Reading & Watching
Reliance for Post-Approval Changes: From Pilots to Practice - Summary Report from the DIA Europe 2025 Pre-Conference Workshop
RSV in cardiovascular care: When the lungs speak to the heart - research article in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases
Roundtable on the European Clinical Trial Ecosystem - multistakeholder report
Aluminum-Adsorbed Vaccines and Chronic Diseases in Childhood: A Nationwide Cohort Study - research article in Annals of Internal Medicine
Italy’s NITAG shift: implications for public trust in vaccines - article in The Lancet
