Between 2012 and 2021, nearly 2.4 million children in Europe may not have received a full vaccination against poliomyelitis, leaving the risk of reintroduction of the virus to the European continent.
Data from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) was released this Monday, the start of European Immunization Week, and is the result of an update on the polio situation during this period, showing that “around 2.4 million children in the EU/EEA [União Europeia e Espaço Económico Europeu] may not have received all three doses of polio vaccines on time”.
In addition, the 2022 Annual Epidemiological Report on Measles recently published by ECDC also highlights the risks associated with under-vaccinated populations or non-immunized groups.
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“Although the European region was declared polio-free in 2002, the virus is still periodically detected in its wild form or as vaccine-derived strains in other regions. Fortunately, thanks to adequate surveillance methods and generally high vaccination rates, these sporadic events have not to persistent transmission in the EU/EEA or the detection of human cases,” says the ECDS in a statement.
The director of ECDC, Andrea Ammon, warns that in the statement “As long as there are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated populations in European countries and poliomyelitis has not been eradicated worldwide, the risk of reintroduction of the virus in Europe will remain.”
“Further, in the case of measles, which is highly transmissible, the virus can spread into parts of unprotected populations when vaccination coverage is not optimal. This could lead to outbreaks that could put pressure on health systems, including in countries that have eliminated measles.”warns Andrea Ammon.
The EDCD highlights that, despite the proven safety and efficacy of vaccines, European countries, as well as around the world, continue to experience outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases due to insufficient vaccination coverage.
“Regardless of the generally good performance of EU/EEA immunization programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the huge efforts to make this possible, there are significant immunization gaps and differences in immunization coverage between different countries and regions,” he emphasizes.
While the annual measles epidemiological report shows a 99% drop in cases in 2022 from 2018, this was likely due to the prevention and control measures put in place during the pandemic. Data shows that babies up to one year old are still the group with the highest measles incidence because they are too young to be vaccinated and therefore need to be protected by community immunity.
ECDC says European Immunization Week is “a key moment” to raise awareness of the benefits and importance of vaccination, which requires “ongoing efforts” to identify immunity gaps in all people, especially in vulnerable and difficult-to-access populations, such as refugees, migrants, asylum seekers.
“Accelerated efforts are needed to improve immunization campaigns and promote vaccine uptake and adoption to achieve and maintain high immunization coverage against vaccine-preventable diseases,” to defend.
Source: DN
