Decisions on vaccines in use in different European countries

Individual European countries decide which vaccines should be part of their national vaccination programmes and funded by their national health systems. This is based on local conditions, such as how common the disease is, as well as economic factors.

Most national vaccination programmes in the EU/EEA include vaccines for up to twenty diseases which are given to people at specific ages. In addition, vaccines to protect against specific diseases are sometimes recommended for ‘high-risk’ groups, such as people with long-term health conditions or people planning to travel to other parts of the world.

Some vaccines protect against only one disease, but others protect against more than one. Sometimes, more than one vaccine may be given at once to protect against several infectious diseases. Combined use of vaccines is well established and based on scientific studies on its benefits and safety.

For more information about national vaccination programmes, see the ECDC vaccine scheduler and visit the official websites on immunisation of the EU/EEA countries here.