YC4PV presents vaccine awareness manifesto to European Commission

YC4PV present the manifesto in Brussels

A manifesto making recommendations on how to improve the uptake of vaccines and raise awareness of immunization among European has been presented to the European Commission.

The initiative has proposed three Call-To-Action strategies:

Promote Education for Prevention and Vaccination Awareness by enhancing education to young people, starting from primary school. Additionally, stimulating interprofessional collaboration between healthcare professionals and the scientific community will encourage engagement to civil society and promote accessible educational material on the value of vaccination.

Foster the Life Course Approach to Vaccination by encouraging the EU to improve the use of existing national platforms, which provide up-to-date and personalised reminders to citizens and healthcare professionals to facilitate the responsiveness towards timely vaccination. Regular appointments with patients throughout all stages of life – from childhood to old age, as well as opportunities for citizens to receive vaccination beyond traditional healthcare settings (such as universities, pharmacies, workplaces and travel sites), is also advised.

Accelerate Digitization to Improve Prevention and Vaccination by urging the creation of an EU platform, including accessible and reliable information on vaccine safety and vaccine-preventable diseases from the existing scientific literature. Improving trust is also fundamental, thus exploring the possibility of a 'verified account' system on social media to certify reliable information on vaccination and other public health-related issues with a trust mark-based visual system.

The Manifesto was received and endorsed by MEP Brando Benifei, as well as Isabel de la Mata, Principal Adviser for Health and Crisis Management at the European Commission.

On the patient side, Usman Khan, Executive Director of the European Patients forum urged partners from the initiative to keep all stakeholders involved in the decision-making processes and highlighted the importance of having young people advocating for a healthier Europe.

The initiative is led by ThinkYoung, a youth-focused think tank and Vaccines Today supporter organisation which started YC4PV last year.

This group of young professionals coming from different backgrounds and guided by international experts ranging from scientists and researchers, healthcare professionals, vaccine manufacturers, and public health officials were encouraged to exchange ideas towards finding the actionable solution in the field of vaccine hesitancy while advocating for the crucial role of vaccination and prevention across the EU.

Vaccination is largely viewed as one of the most cost-effective ways of avoiding disease, with some having already been eradicated by rigorous immunisation campaigns.

However, although vaccination has become increasingly safe and effective, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has ranked vaccine hesitancy among the top ten global health threats worldwide.

Advancements in vaccine policy, technology, and public health infrastructure have improved vaccine access, including through the expanded scope of practice laws and enhanced ability to track vaccination status across delivery settings.

However, the reasons why people choose not to vaccinate are complex, with complacency, inconvenience in accessing vaccines, and lack of confidence identified as some.

The European Commission has already started its 2019-2022 roadmap towards the implementation of actions for strengthening cooperation against vaccine-preventable diseases.

The full YC4PV manifesto can be seen at:
https://www.thinkyoung.eu/yc4pv
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