Childhood vaccination rates in the EU show signs of reversal post-pandemic

A new study reveals that childhood vaccination coverage across the European Union is declining after decades of steady progress, raising concerns about increased risks of preventable disease outbreaks amid pandemic-related setbacks.

A new analysis published in The Lancet Regional Health, Europe suggests that childhood vaccination rates have started to slip across much of the European Union after decades of steady progress, raising fresh concerns about the risk of outbreaks of preventable diseases. The study, which examined seven routine childhood vaccines, found that the overall picture is still one of high coverage in many countries, but that the trend has become more fragile since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Drawing on World Health Organisation and Unicef data, the researchers tracked uptake of vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, polio, pneumococcal disease, measles and rubella across all 27 EU countries between 1980 and 2024. Over that period, coverage rose sharply in most places, but the gains were not evenly distributed, and recent years have shown signs of reversal in a growing number of states.

By 2024, Luxembourg and Portugal stood out as the best performers, with coverage of at least 97% across all seven vaccines studied, according to the analysis. Romania remained at the other end of the scale, with vaccination rates below 80%. The study also found that 16 EU countries recorded declines in at least four of the seven vaccines, while Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden showed downward trends across all seven.

The sharpest recent falls were seen in vaccines linked to meningitis B and polio, which declined in 20 countries, followed by hepatitis B, which fell in 18, and the combined diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, which dropped in 17. By contrast, the trends for measles and rubella appeared less negative, suggesting that the deterioration has not been uniform across all childhood immunisations.

The researchers said the findings amount to a warning sign rather than a full explanation. They noted that the Covid-19 crisis may have disrupted health services and deepened mistrust and misinformation, but said the study was not designed to isolate the causes of the decline. Their central message was that governments need to keep vaccination coverage high and stable to reduce the chance of long-avoided infections returning. The paper also points out that vaccination has helped prevent more than 154 million deaths worldwide over the past 50 years, especially among children.