Establishing a Vaccine Confidence Strategy: EMA’s New Advisory Group Tackles Public Health Threats

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has introduced a dedicated vaccine confidence strategy through the launch of a new advisory group. Comprising more than 20 high-level experts from academia, healthcare, patient organisations, and public health bodies, the group held its first meeting on 29 April 2026. This initiative aims to tackle declining trust in vaccines, which poses a serious threat to public health by enabling the return of preventable diseases such as measles.

Declining vaccine confidence is now recognised as a major global challenge. Reduced trust leads to lower immunisation rates and increases the risk of outbreaks. The new advisory group forms a central pillar of EMA’s vaccine confidence strategy, focused on rebuilding trust through transparent, evidence-based communication and stronger science outreach.

Clear Objectives and Practical Collaboration

The group’s mandate includes conducting environmental analyses of vaccine hesitancy, advising on EMA’s existing confidence-building initiatives, improving public communication on vaccine benefits and risks, and amplifying key public health messages. It meets quarterly, with meeting summaries published for transparency, and works closely with EMA’s internal vaccines outreach team.

Practical efforts include developing accessible resources such as Vaccine Essentials — created with the European Academy of Paediatrics — and supporting campaigns like European Immunisation Week. The group also helps produce clear factsheets on diseases including measles, HPV, and RSV.

Transparent Governance and Evidence-Based Methods

To maintain credibility, the advisory group’s terms of reference, membership, and operational framework are all publicly available on the EMA website. Its work is embedded in EMA’s broader vaccine confidence strategy, which prioritises rapid identification of public concerns, rapid rebuttal of misinformation, and co-creation of scientific communications with medical societies and patient groups.

Strategic Implications for HEOR and Immunisation Programmes

By systematically addressing hesitancy and improving public trust, the advisory group is expected to drive higher vaccination coverage. This has direct benefits for health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), strengthening the real-world effectiveness and cost-effectiveness data used in HTA assessments and reimbursement decisions.

Higher trust reduces the economic cost of outbreaks and supports more accurate uptake modelling in budget impact analyses. Ultimately, EMA’s vaccine confidence strategy reinforces the importance of behavioural factors in economic evaluations and helps create a more sustainable environment for vaccine access and financing across Europe.