Childhood vaccination rates in Europe have stalled, a new study finds.
The drop in vaccination rates signals increasing risks to individual and herd immunity, the researchers warn following the study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe medical journal.
Vaccination is among the most effective public health interventions, yet vaccine hesitancy in the European Union (EU) is driving declining coverage and resurgences of vaccine-preventable diseases, the researchers from Italy say.
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Jabs are the most effective way to prevent many infectious diseases, says Britain’s National Health Service (NHS).
It lists the jabs and when children need them, noting: “It’s important that vaccines are given on time for the best protection, but if you or your child missed a vaccine, contact your doctor to catch up.”
As disinformation spreads, the NHS notes that vaccine information on social media may not be based on scientific evidence and “could put your child at risk of a serious illness”.
Always get your vaccine and health information from trusted sources, such as the NHS or World Health Organization (WHO), it says.
“All the current evidence tells us that getting vaccinated is safer than not getting vaccinated,” the NHS says.
The researchers looked at vaccination rates across seven vaccines in EU countries between 1980 and 2024.
These were jabs for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP), hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, measles, pneumococcus, polio and rubella.
Since 2019, 16 countries saw rates decline for four or more vaccines, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden, where all seven vaccines studied had a recent downward trend.
In Germany and Spain, vaccination rates for five of the seven vaccines declined, whereas in France and Italy, coverage of four vaccines increased while three decreased.
Luxembourg and Portugal achieved at least 95% coverage for all seven vaccines, while Romania was the lowest with less than 80%.
Researchers say the drop in vaccination rates started between 2019 and 2022, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic and its immediate aftermath.
The decline may reflect pandemic-related disruptions to routine childhood vaccination services, they add.
“International, national and community actions are needed to reverse trends.” – dpa
