Divergent COVID-19 vaccine policies: Policy mapping of ten European countries

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  • Robin van Kessel
  • Rebecca Forman
  • Ricarda Milstein
  • Alicja Mastylak
  • Katarzyna Czabanowska
  • Thomas Czypionka
  • Isabelle Durand-Zaleski
  • Anja Hirche
  • Magdalena Krysinska-Pisarek
  • Laia Maynou
  • Bjelle Roberts
  • Aleksandra Torbica
  • Vrangbæk, Karsten
  • Yuxi Wang
  • Olivier J. Wouters
  • Elias Mossialos

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the fragmented nature of governmental policy decisions in Europe. However, the extent to which COVID-19 vaccination policies differed between European countries remains unclear. Here, we mapped the COVID-19 vaccination policies that were in effect in January 2022 as well as booster regulations in April 2022 in Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. Methods: National public health and health policy experts from these ten European nations developed and completed an electronic questionnaire. The questionnaire included a series of questions that addressed six critical components of vaccine implementation, including (1) authorization, (2) prioritization, (3) procurement and distribution, (4) data collection, (5) administration, and (6) mandate requirements. Results: Our findings revealed significant variations in COVID-19 vaccination policies across Europe. We observed critical differences in COVID-19 vaccine formulations authorized for use, as well as the specific groups that were provided with priority access. We also identified discrepancies in how vaccination-related data were recorded in each country and what vaccination requirements were implemented. Conclusion: Each of the ten European nations surveyed in this study reported different COVID-19 vaccination policies. These differences complicated efforts to provide a coordinated pandemic response. These findings might alert policymakers in Europe of the need to coordinate their efforts to avoid fostering divergent and socially disruptive policies.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2804-2810
JournalVaccine
Number of pages7
ISSN0264-410X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)

    Research areas

  • COVID-19, Europe, Policy, Policy analysis, Policy monitoring, Vaccines

ID: 343301166