http://blog.ehesp.fr/mediasantepublique?s=vaccination

Un article très intéressant par Jean Yves Nau à propos des médias et la vaccination, en ce qui…

Misinformation and complacency are at the core of the current measles outbreaks in the United Kingdom. Fortunately, hundreds of adults and children are lining up to get the protection they missed in recent years. But the threat is far from over: despite massive turnout for MMR vaccination drop-in sessions organized in response to the outbreaks, Public Health Wales warns that 3,800 children have still not had both doses of the MMR vaccine. Read more:…

Von

Birte Bödeker – Robert Koch-Institut

Britta Reckendrees – Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung 

(see English version below)

Wir freuen uns, dass auch dieses Jahr wieder tolle Aktivitäten im Rahmen der EIW angeboten werden! In Deutschland werden sowohl auf Bundes- als auch auf Landes- und kommunaler Ebene die verschiedensten Aktivitäten durchgeführt. Von Pressearbeit über eine bundesweite Aussendung von…

A poster created by our colleagues in France. Thanks for sending it in.

The 2013 round of laboratory accreditation was completed today with 108 WHO network laboratories the length and breadth of the Region getting the WHO stamp of approval. These polio and measles/rubella labs play an important role in protecting the populations they serve and it‘s reassuring to know that they conform to stringent guidelines. For our colleagues who do the accreditation work, it is a massive job. The ink is barely dry on the letters confirming accredited status and work on 2014…

As of September 2012, 19 EU/EEA countries had implemented a routine HPV vaccination programme and 10 had introduced catch-up programmes. Coverage rates, according to ECDC (http://bit.ly/WyCwOH), range from 17–84% and are generally lower than expected. A recent study at the University of Minnesota looked at ways to maximize the potential success of HPV vaccination programmes among teens:…

Rotaviruses infect nearly every child by the age of 3–5 years and are globally the leading cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhoea in children under 5 years. WHO estimates that in 2008, approximately 453 000 rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE)-associated child deaths occurred worldwide. The large majority of children who die from this disease live in low-income countries. In a recently released position paper, WHO recommends that rotavirus vaccines be introduced in all…

Widespread use of measles vaccine since 1980 has led to a substantial decline in global measles morbidity and mortality. Over 10 years after measles were eliminated in the WHO Region of the Americas, outbreaks continue in Europe and other WHO Regions pointing to serious gaps in immunization coverage. WHO urges national governments and partners to ensure that measles elimination efforts receive high priority and adequate resources.  

Read more in the WHO…

European Confederation of Primary Care Paediatricians (ECPCP) news story:

http://www.ecpcp.eu/video_news_release.html

Measles outbreaks in the United Kingdom are showing no signs of slowing down, and a spate of recent news articles have drawn attention to this fact. The Health Protection Agency says 964 measles cases were reported in the first six months of the year, which is more than 12-month totals for many of the past 15 years. Uptake rates of the MMR vaccine have improved in some areas, but the target rates are still not being met. This is prompting HPA officials to remind parents about MMR vaccination…

Hi everyone,

I edit the Vaccines Today website and we are planning to open a new section in the coming months called Your Stories.

The idea is simple: we want more personal stories from guest authors about their experience with vaccination. We're looking for contributions from parents, doctors, researchers, public health officials, campaigners and anyone else with a story to tell.

Many…

The medical director of the Canadian Olympic team was recently quoted in The Globe and Mail as saying, “One of the things we’ve always said to the athletes is, the Olympics is where the viruses of the world come to meet." Bob McCormack is warning his team of Canadian athletes to be especially careful about…

When European governments’ credit ratings were downgraded it became more expensive to raise money  for health development projects

For the past six years, the GAVI Alliance has been raising money on financial markets through the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm). This is achieved by selling…

This family's experience with measles is a stark reminder of just why the MMR jab is so important: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-18745872

The UEFA European Football Championships have come to an end. While the entire nation of Spain is still celebrating an impressive victory, things have quieted down significantly in Poland and Ukraine, the two host countries. But the National Institute of Public Health in Poland still has EURO 2012 on the brain. Following the UEFA championships, the Institute is conducting an online survey to see whether and how effectively public health messages related to the event reached their target…

Hi everyone,

Vaccines Today is launching a new competition designed to get students (particularly, but not exclusively, medical students) interested in immunisation issues.

This is the first (and pilot) edition of the Communication Challengebut we hope it could be expanded next year. We are looking for a fun and creative communication concept which can enhance…

Today, the WHO European Region marks 10 years since it was certified free of poliomyelitis (polio). Stopping transmission of indigenous wild poliovirus in the 53 countries in the Region was a landmark in the effort to eradicate polio globally, and helped accelerate international momentum towards that goal.

Dr George Oblapenko played a pivotal role in the certification process. He joined WHO/Europe in 1990 as a medical officer in the area of polio elimination. On retiring…

Thank you to all those who participated in last week's Live Q&A session on building trust in vaccines. It was a very engaging discussion and there were a number of interesting topics covered during the 90-minute session. 

Following on the success of this initial Q&A, we plan to host additional sessions in the coming months. We hope even more campaign site members will choose to join in and share their thoughts during our next Live Q&A.

In the meantime, the full…

Celebrities have been blamed for pedalling inaccurate information to the public about vaccines. So should pro-vaccine celebrities be mobilised to undo the damage?

Doctors and public health authorities have been…

Following the Region-wide success of European Immunization Week 2012, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS invite you to participate in a Live Q&A session on the EIW campaign site.

The Live Q&A will take place on Thursday, 10 May 2012 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. (CEST - Copenhagen).…