{"id":989,"date":"2019-03-27T03:26:59","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T03:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsnewsforyou.com\/?p=989"},"modified":"2019-03-27T03:26:59","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T03:26:59","slug":"dangers-of-vaccine-hesitancy-where-does-the-eu-stand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/?p=989","title":{"rendered":"Dangers of vaccine hesitancy: where does the EU stand?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shutterstock\/Montebasso. All rights reserved.While the World Health
\nOrganisation\u00a0warns of major
\nmeasles outbreaks\u00a0spreading across Europe, vaccination has
\nstepped into national and EU political debate as a major health issue. Looking
\nat the\u00a02018 Italian general election, some candidates scrambled to deliver
\na clear position on this matter. Adopted last summer, a\u00a0new Italian law
\non vaccines\u00a0introduced 10 mandatory (and free of charge)
\nvaccinations for preschool and school-age children. Parents now have to present
\nvaccination certificates to schools which must notify the local health
\nauthorities when they fail to present those documents. The Democratic Party and
\nForza Italia political parties champion the so-called \u2018Lorenzin Law\u2019 while the
\nright-wing Northern League and the 5 Star Movement call for immunizations to be
\nleft to parents\u2019 discretion, regardless of WHO warnings on measles outbreaks.<\/i><\/p>\n

France followed in Italian
\nfootsteps\u00a0and made\u00a011 vaccinations
\nmandatory from January 1, 2018.\u00a0As it was\u00a0stated by French
\nPrime Minister \u00c9douard Philippe, it is unacceptable that children
\nare still dying of measles in a country where some of the earliest vaccines
\nwere pioneered. Indeed, south west France has been recently hit by a measles
\nepidemic: in the\u00a0region of
\nNouvelle-Aquitaine\u00a0since November the outbreaks have resulted
\nin 269 confirmed cases of measles, of whom 66 were admitted to hospital for
\ntreatment. Even more worrying, the region has a too low vaccination rate to
\ncope with the epidemic (between 70% and 81% of people are vaccinated, lower
\nthan the level recommended by the World Health Organisation \u2013 95%).<\/p>\n

The\u00a0fall in public confidence in
\nvaccines\u00a0has become more and more of a challenge which has contributed to
\nlow rates of immunisation against the rise of highly contagious disease across
\nEurope. Media controversies, some political propaganda and the spread of fake
\nnews (from big pharma conspiracy to autism) have fuelled a dangerous mistrust
\nof vaccines.<\/p>\n

Does the EU want to play a role on
\nthis issue?\u00a0The European Commission is currently exploring ways for Member
\nStates to work together on immunizations. Vaccination policy is a competence of
\nnational authorities; however, a lot can be done with the support of Brussels.
\nPresident Jean-Claude Juncker has singled out the issue in\u00a0his State of the
\nEU address, where no other reference to health policy was made.
\nReading through\u00a0Juncker\u2019s White
\nPaper, vaccines hold a significant position in EU political debate
\nand policies. To prove that, a\u00a0proposal for a
\nCouncil recommendation\u00a0on national vaccination policies is
\nexpected in the months to follow.<\/p>\n

President Juncker\u00a0commented\u00a0on
\nthe measles epidemic in Italy and Romania: \u201cIt is unacceptable that in 2017
\nthere are still children dying of diseases that should long have been
\neradicated in Europe (\u2026) This is why we are working with all Member States to
\nsupport national vaccination efforts. Avoidable deaths must not occur in
\nEurope\u201d.\u00a0So,\u00a0what can the EU do to tackle vaccine hesitancy across
\nEurope?\u00a0EU incentives and best practice sharing could tackle vaccine
\nhesitancy, especially in the frame of the increasing impact of digitalization
\n(e.g. countering fake news messages on social media, promoting aware-raising
\ncampaigns). Also, it is likely that better aligned vaccine schedules can help
\nto increase trust and confidence in immunisation programmes.<\/p>\n

Article 168 of the Treaty on the
\nFunctioning of the European Union (TFEU), provides that Union action must complement
\nMember States policies and cover monitoring, early warning, and combating
\nserious cross-border threats to health, by coordinating national policies
\naccordingly.\u00a0Epidemics are by definition cross-border and shared threats.
\nNo single country can cope with them alone. Vaccination is one of the most
\nimportant medical measures developed in the twentieth century and the best
\ndefence we have against contagious and serious (sometimes deadly) diseases.
\nThanks to vaccines, smallpox, polio and many other fatal diseases have been
\neradicated. Vaccines hesitation and the related decreasing immunization
\ncoverage represent a shared European threat. They put at risk human health by
\ncausing resurgence of infectious diseases long since considered under control
\n(in 2017, Europe observes a\u00a04-fold increase\u00a0in
\nmeasles cases compared to 2016).<\/p>\n

There are several areas where EU can
\nand must act:<\/p>\n