OBJECTIVES : Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective health interventions, saving millions of people from illness, disability and death each year. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a need to strengthen crisis management and health systems. Disease prevention and improving vaccination coverage in Europe are key elements contributing to resilient health systems and ensuring better health outcomes for all. For resiliency of health systems to be enhanced, sufficient monetary resources and stability of funding must be secured. The objective of the study was to understand the current immunization funding landscape across the 28 European Union countries (EU28).

METHODS : Targeted literature search was conducted on national government websites in EU28 to collect data on immunization budget (IB) or expenditures (IE) and healthcare budget over the period (2015-2019). WHO and OECD were used when data was not available from national sources. Descriptive analyses were performed; IB or IE was calculated per capita, and as a percentage of healthcare budget. Data were converted to euros (€).

RESULTS : Either, IB or IE data were available for 26 of 28 countries among which national source data were accessible for 21 countries and for the remaining five countries data were obtained from secondary sources. No data were available for Belgium and Greece. Over 2015 to 2019, IB or IE per capita ranged from 0.91€ (Poland) to 23€ (Sweden). IB or IE represented between 0.06% (France) and 3.44% (Luxemburg) of the healthcare budget. Luxemburg and Latvia were the only countries spending more than 1% of the healthcare budget on immunization while remaining 24 countries were spending less than 0.5%.

CONCLUSIONS : There is a need for uniformity and availability of data, including a common definition of IB or IE throughout EU28 countries.