European Immunisation Week 2026: EU funding in action to prevent diseases and protect lives

Every year, the European Immunisation Week reminds us about the key role that immunisation plays in preventing diseases and protecting lives. 

Under the theme “for every generation, vaccines work,” this year’s edition marks its 20^th anniversary and focuses on highlighting how vaccines have safely protected people, families and communities for generations – and will continue to do so. 

HaDEA is managing EU-funded projects working on improving vaccine uptake and literacy and advancing vaccine development. These projects are contributing to making the European Union better prepared for potential future disease outbreaks. 

Projects funded under EU4Health addressing vaccine hesitancy and supporting vaccination strategies 

EUVABECO  aims to provide EU countries with detailed implementation plans that can support national vaccination strategies. Concretely, the project is currently: 

• Piloting the European Vaccination Card in four countries, as defined in an EU4Health study commissioned by HaDEA;
• Implementing  a clinical decision support system (CDSS) that provides personalised recommendations based on patient data;
• Identifying  priority population groups at risk, while strictly adhering to personal data protection rules; 

• Implementing a disease propagation modelling (a mathematical framework used to project the impact of interventions) to help identify strategies most likely to succeed under varying conditions. 

The co-OPERATOR project is working to develop a knowledge hub, a virtual observatory and a training system to address COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and improve vaccine uptake and literacy in participating countries (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal). 

By gathering and disseminating knowledge, best practices and resources related to vaccination strategies, co-OPERATOR aims to help promote vaccination programmes effectively, consequently contributing to reducing the incidence of infectious diseases. 

The project’s review of COVID-19 and influenza vaccination readiness has shown that vaccine hesitancy determinants in Europe largely mirror those identified globally, highlighting the need for coordinated and evidence-based communication strategies.  

Further insights from the project show that strengthening vaccine literacy and communication skills among healthcare professionals are paramount to addressing public concerns effectively. Based on lessons learned from the pandemic, the project also stresses the need to refocus on seasonal vaccinations such as influenza. 

VAX-Action is working to tackle and reduce vaccine hesitancy in Europe by designing, implementing and evaluating tailored, evidence-based interventions for targeted populations and frontline healthcare workers.  

The project’s key outcomes include a digital training intervention for healthcare workers that has improved their confidence to use motivational interviewing techniques and address vaccination with hesitant or refusing patients. In parallel, an intervention targeting vaccine-hesitant individuals aged over 65 has shown the need to develop a common framework specific to each country and context. Overall, VAX-Action's findings show that effective interventions against vaccine hesitancy require both workforce capacity-building and context-sensitive strategies. 

Discover more vaccination projects funded under the EU4Health programme in the factsheet published by the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety.

Projects funded under Horizon Europe ‘Health’ advancing vaccine development  

Completed in 2025, RBDCOV has focused on testing the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a new booster vaccine against COVID-19. 

As a result of its extensive research, RBDCOV has demonstrated that the Bimervax vaccine is safe and effective for children and adolescents (from 12 to 18 years old) and people with immunosuppression. 

The CAPTIVATE project (Correlates of protective immunity-driven investigation of malaria vaccine combination strategies) is working to develop the next generation of malaria vaccines by targeting multiple stages of the deadliest malaria parasite, P. falciparum. 

The project has developed a new AI algorithm to better understand immune responses and is now validating it through clinical samples, advancing progress towards the development of the vaccine. 

Relevant links: 

• EU4Health vaccination projects 

Background

EU4Health is the fourth and largest of the EU health programmes. The EU4Health programme goes beyond an ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis to address the resilience of European healthcare systems. The programme provides funding to national authorities, health organisations and other bodies through grants and public procurement, contributing to a healthier Europe. 

HaDEA manages the vast majority of the total EU4Health budget and implements the programme by managing calls for proposals and tenders from 2021 to 2027. 

Horizon Europe is the research and innovation programme of the EU for the period 2021-2027. The aims of Cluster 1 ‘Health’ include improving and protecting the health and well-being of citizens of all ages by generating new knowledge, developing innovative solutions and integrating where relevant a gender perspective to prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat and cure diseases.  Horizon 2020 was the predecessor of Horizon Europe, and it ran from 2014 to 2020. HaDEA manages the legacy Horizon 2020 projects to ensure the completion of this framework programme and supports the auditing process of the finished projects.