During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, most European Union countries, along with Norway and Iceland, implemented national vaccination campaigns targeting healthcare workers, pregnant women, and people with chronic illnesses, following international recommendations. Some countries expanded vaccination to additional age or occupational groups. Despite similar strategies, vaccination coverage varied widely, from under 1% to nearly 60%. These differences were driven by public concerns about vaccine safety, confidence in vaccination, communication, and logistical constraints. The findings suggest that stronger monitoring systems and clearer communication could improve vaccine uptake in future pandemics.
This overview was part of the VENICE-2 project collecting data on immunization programmes in EU countries on behalf of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). I helped with the data collection from some countries and revised the article, but most of the work was done by Jolita.