While in the USA over 9 million children received all three important doses of vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) in their first year of life, WHO In the European Region in 2023, another half a million people missed one or more of these first important steps towards full protection, according to WHO/UNICEF coverage estimates.

In line with global trends, the newly released data show only a partial recovery from the declines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and wide differences in vaccination coverage across countries. WHO European Region, both between countries and between vaccines.

Some countries have maintained high routine vaccination coverage despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, while others are still struggling to return to pre-pandemic annual vaccination levels, including for DTP and measles vaccines.

All 53 countries in the region – which covers Europe and Central Asia – achieved 90% or more coverage for at least one vaccine in their national immunization plans.

Inclusion and/or introduction of other vaccines, including against human papillomavirus (HPV) and rotaviruses have steadily increased at the regional level in recent years.

“Vaccines are one of the most effective tools we have to save lives and protect our future,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “Over the past year, many countries have made exceptional progress in expanding vaccination coverage, including through catch-up campaigns to contain measles outbreaks. But we cannot stop there. Countries must continue to strengthen their vaccination programmes until we have achieved all the targets set out in the European Vaccine Agenda 2030.”

Diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough

While the European Region has the highest coverage with the first dose of DTP (DTP1) among the six WHO Regions in 2023 at 97%, still 1% below the Region’s pre-pandemic level of 98% in 2019 and representing a range of 82-99% between countries. While 15 countries in the Region achieved 99% DTP1 coverage in 2023, another 24 countries remained below their 2019 levels. At the third dose (DTP3), 25 out of 53 countries achieved ≥95% coverage at the national level, while 30 are still below their pre-pandemic levels, with coverage ranging from 73% to 99%. Eleven countries experienced a decline and nine successfully increased DTP3 coverage from 2022 to 2023.

Measles and rubella

Coverage with the first dose of measles vaccine (MCV1 – generally the combined measles-mumps-rubella vaccine) increased by one percentage point from 94% in 2022 to 95% in 2023 (with a range of 24-99%), but coverage with the second dose (MCV2) stagnated at 91%. This means that 500,000 children missed their first dose and 900,000 children did not receive their scheduled second and final dose of measles vaccine on time in 2023.

This annual gap in coverage results in an ever-increasing pool of children at risk, which, despite efforts by many countries to provide catch-up vaccination, has resulted in a total of over 61 000 measles cases and 13 related deaths in the Region in 2023. Only 11 countries have achieved the coverage target of ≥ 95% for MCV1 and MCV2 required to eliminate measles.

Human papillomaviruses (HPV)

The HPV The vaccine protects against cervical cancer and other cancers and has been part of routine immunization schedules for girls and, in some cases, boys in 46 countries in the Region since this year. At least two more countries plan to introduce the vaccine in 2025.

Progress in HPV Vaccination rates are stable in most countries that have introduced the vaccine so far. Over 1.9 million girls have been fully vaccinated against HPV in 2023, over 164,000 more than in the previous year. While coverage declined in 10 countries from 2022 to 2023, regional coverage with the first dose increased to 39% for girls and 25% for boys.

Poliomyelitis (polio)

Third-dose polio vaccine coverage remained stable at 95%, consistent with pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Thanks to comprehensive outbreak control efforts, including catch-up vaccination, an outbreak of vaccine-borne poliovirus in Ukraine was declared over in 2024.

Steady increase in coverage with other vaccines

The inclusion and/or introduction of several other vaccines into routine immunization schedules has steadily increased despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For example, coverage with the third and final dose of pneumococcal vaccine (PCV) increased from 81% in 2019 to 86% in 2023.

Uptake of the rotavirus vaccine administered to newborns in 26 countries in the Region increased from 25% in 2019 to 41% in 2023, and uptake of vaccination against Haemophilis influenzae type b (Hib3) also increased significantly, from 81% in 2019 to 94% in 2023.

Latest posts by Hippocratic Post (show all)