Highlights: European Immunization Week

Editorial Board

Editorial Board

April 29th, 2013

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‘New tools for parents and health professionals, on-going outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, a renewed push to wipe out polio, and an invitation to be part of the biggest commercial in history – Missed European Immunization Week? Check out our summary, told via Storify.’

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European Vaccination Week 2013

With serious measles outbreaks in the UK, Turkey and Georgia, European Immunization Week was an opportunity to raise awareness of vaccine-preventable diseases and to share practical tools for parents and health professionals in an effort to increase immunisation rates.

Edité par VaccinesToday· Mon, Apr 29 2013 02:44:27

For Vaccines Today, European Immunization Week (EIW) is the centrepiece in a busy calendar of events designed to raise awareness of vaccine-preventable diseases. This year’s EIW was our most active yet with fresh content published every day.
The World Health Organization (WHO) European region aims to be free of measles and rubella by 2015. Significant progress has been made in a number of countries, notably the Nordic nations and a number of central and eastern European countries where disease surveillance systems are strong and childhood immunisation rates are high. But a reminder of how easily progress can be threatened made the headlines throughout EIW which ran from April 22-27.
European Immunization Week 2013whoeuro
WHO aims to increase demand for immunisationWith a serious measles outbreak the UK affecting more than 800 children, health authorities across Europe are reaching out to health work…
EIW saw the UK record its 1,000th case of measles this year and health officials confirmed the first measles-related death – a 25-year-old man in Wales. Parents queued outside hospitals and clinics to have their children vaccinated while authorities rolled out catch-up campaigns to target adolescents and young adults who may have missed out on the MMR vaccine in the 1990s.
Swansea #measles outbreak: Mother’s grief as son dies bbc.in/14IDKjs #EIW2013 #WakefieldschildrenVaccinesToday
Rush for MMR jabs after south Wales measles outbreakchannel4news
Comment by Zsuzsanna Jakab & David Salisbury in @TheLancet: The miracle & tragedy of #measles #vaccine bit.ly/11SQEUr #EIW2013WHO/Europe – VPI
The response to the outbreak has been praised but its impact may not be felt for some time.
Swansea measles: 2,500 receive MMR jab at drop-in clinics ow.ly/kvmJM #health #wellbeing #Wales #healthrisk #measles #vaccinationAlyson Fennemore
#Measles immunisation plan targets 1m English children #GetVax #EIW2013 bbc.co.uk/news/health-22…SteveFouch
Measles: Rachel’s storynhschoices
Meanwhile, efforts to improve uptake of all recommended vaccines across Europe continued with the launch of new tools for improving vaccination rates, including a new app which could help parents record which vaccines their children have received, and set reminders for future immunisation appointments.
@WHO_Europe offers Member States new vaccine-reminder app code for smartphones bit.ly/15JqvP0 #vaccineswork #EIW2013WHO/Europe – VPI
WHO/Europe step-by-step TIP guide helps identify what influences parental behaviour re. #vaccination bit.ly/10FeeFD #EIW2013WHO/Europe – VPI
The European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control (ECDC) launched a new online tool making it easier for parents to know which vaccines their children should have. It is also possible to compare the vaccine schedules of two countries – a major boost for families moving from one European countries to another.
ECDC vaccine scheduler: new tool for #health professionals w/ vaccination calendars in European countries #EIW2013 bit.ly/14LJ6dLECDC
When should my child be vaccinated?One of the most frequent questions parents have when discussing vaccines is when to bring their child to be immunised. This question is n…
France launched a simplified vaccines calendar which authorities hope will make it simpler for the public to follow official immunisation recommendations.
France launches simplified vaccines calendar to mark #EIW2013 invs.sante.fr/Publications-e…VaccinesToday
In parallel to EIW, World Immunization Week highlighted ongoing efforts to eradicate polio and to improve routine immunisation systems in the world’s poorest countries.
Immunization drastically improves a child’s chances of survival. #vaccineswork pic.twitter.com/3cvF64nVlYUNICEF USA
2020 Vision: A Vaccines Summit in Abu Dhabi, co-hosted by Bill Gates, highlighted the potential to improve access to vaccines in the developing world and save 20 million lives by the end of the decade. .
. @BillGates outlining the Decade of Vaccines and how we can save 20 million lives by 2020 #vaccineswork #endpolio pic.twitter.com/BO9ZDvERRHMichael Sheldrick
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is working to ensure that no child suffers from polio. gates.ly/ZrVzPA #vaccinesworkGates Foundation
And the End Polio Now campaign launched an audacious effort to create the world’s biggest commercial, inviting people to send photos of themselves for inclusion in an advertisement promoting the final push towards eradication.
World’s Biggest Commercialrotaryinternational
Ending polio: the time is nowExperts from 80 countries say the window of opportunity for defeating polio will not stay open for long. A new push for eradication begin…
European Immunization Week helped to deepen the connections between vaccine advocates and saw strong activity of Twitter hashtags such as #vaccineswork #GetVax and #EIW2013. While there was no shortage of positive stories and statistics to share, the immediate challenge of controlling measles in Europe and defeating polio globally focused minds on the work that remains to be done.