Strengthening the EU vaccine ecosystem: managing the digital transformation

Digital transformation is taking place rapidly in all sectors across Europe, but the challenges presented by wide-scale digitalisation have been particularly apparent in health systems. European health systems are facing an unprecedented inflexion point; there is a unique opportunity to build upon the public health lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining existing momentum towards digital improvements in healthcare.

Of the various facets of our health systems, few are set to be as heavily impacted by these unique circumstances as vaccination. The European vaccine ecosystem, from research and development, to supply chains and logistics, to user uptake and acceptance, has undergone an extraordinary upheaval in the past few years as countries raced to immunise their populations against COVID-19. Among the changes that took place, many of the most impactful, such as the EU Digital COVID Certificate, were propelled by digital transformation.

Now, as we work to develop a European Health Data Space and launch digital health tools like MyHealth@EU, it is essential that we ensure that the European vaccination ecosystem is fully considered and included in the continuing digital transformation of our health systems. As much as vaccines are emotionally and politically tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as much as we want to move past the pandemic era and towards a brighter future, it is critical that we bring our vaccination ecosystem forward with us, because effective routine vaccination programmes remain a cornerstone of a healthy Europe. This event will bring together a range of perspectives and provoke collaborative discussion about how we can collectively shape the future of vaccination in Europe.