Childhood vaccination rates decline across parts of the European Union

Friday 18 September 2026 - 18:45

By: Azzat Manal

Childhood vaccination rates decline across parts of the European Union

Childhood vaccination coverage has weakened in several European Union countries in recent years, raising concerns among researchers and public health authorities about growing gaps in protection against preventable infectious diseases.

A study examining vaccination trends across the EU's 27 member states over more than four decades found that, although immunization levels had reached historically high standards, a broad deterioration emerged in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis drew on vaccination data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF and examined protection against several major childhood diseases.

The vaccines considered included those targeting diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, polio, pneumococcal disease, measles and rubella. Researchers found that 16 EU countries recorded declines across at least four of the vaccine categories examined. Coverage for all seven vaccine groups decreased in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden.

Germany and Spain also experienced declines across five of the vaccines, while France and Italy recorded increases for four vaccines and decreases for three. The most widespread reductions concerned meningococcal and polio vaccination, followed by hepatitis B and vaccines protecting against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

The differences between countries remain substantial. Portugal and Luxembourg recorded vaccination coverage of at least 97% for the seven vaccines examined in 2024, while Romania remained below 80% across the same group of immunizations.

The findings come against a wider European backdrop in which vaccination gaps have been associated with renewed outbreaks of preventable diseases. WHO and UNICEF reported that more than 127,000 measles cases were recorded across the WHO European Region in 2024, the highest annual total in more than two decades. The figure was more than twice the number reported in 2023.

Although measles cases subsequently fell sharply in 2025, with preliminary data showing almost 34,000 cases across Europe and Central Asia, WHO and UNICEF warned that the decline remains fragile because pockets of under-vaccination continue to leave communities vulnerable to new outbreaks.

The World Health Organization has emphasized that vaccination coverage of around 95% is generally needed in every community to maintain population protection against highly contagious diseases such as measles. In 2024, more than half of the countries in the WHO European Region failed to reach that level for measles and/or diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine health services in many countries and contributed to missed vaccinations, but researchers behind the EU study stressed that their analysis was not designed to establish the precise causes of the recent declines. Other factors, including unequal access to healthcare, gaps in routine immunization systems, misinformation and declining confidence in health authorities, have also been identified by international health organizations as challenges to maintaining coverage.

Despite these concerns, vaccination continues to provide substantial protection against infectious diseases. WHO, UNICEF and the European Commission estimate that immunization has saved around 154 million lives worldwide since 1974, with the overwhelming majority of those lives being children. High vaccination coverage has also helped Europe make major progress against diseases such as polio, rubella and diphtheria.

Health authorities therefore continue to call for stronger routine immunization programmes, improved access to vaccines and targeted catch-up campaigns for children who missed scheduled doses. The objective is to close immunity gaps before preventable infections regain wider circulation across European communities.