11.P. Round table: Vaccines and Vaccinations: Where next for European policy and politics?

Abstract Background 2025 has shown us the fragility of communicable disease control around the world and many countries’ vaccination systems challenged by polarization and strengthened anti-vaccination movements. Tremendous advances in vaccine technology, notably mRNA vaccines, have opened up exiting possibilities but older problems such as vaccination inequity within and between countries have not been addressed. Objectives This round table draws political and policy lessons from study of the global and European vaccination policies in order to highlight challenges and effective policies and responses to promote vaccine development and acquisition and effective vaccination campaigns. Its specific focus is on the politics and pollical economy of vaccines and vaccinations: what challenges do policymakers face and how can public health leaders effectively encourage them to adopt evidence-based policies on vaccine development and vaccination campaigns? Format Bekker will chair and each speaker will initially speak for 3-5 minutes with one slide capturing key messages. Greer will open by identifying key issues that make the politics of vaccines and vaccinations distinctive, framing the issue in light of the different politics of vaccine acquisition and regulation, a problem of science, innovation, money and intellectual property, and then the politics of vaccination programs, a problem of education, primary health care, and social policy. Massard da Fonseca will address the challenges of vaccine policy, focusing on European Union's shared approach to regulation and market access, framing it in comparative perspective and as part of a globalized research and production system that creates specific challenges for policymakers. Falkenbach will then speak to a specific challenge, the relationship between populist radical right politics and anti-vaccination mobilization. The next two speakersGiucciardi, and King, will each speak to the shared issues and effective policies faced in northern, southern, and central/eastern EU countries respectively. This will leave approximately 25 minutes for discussion with the audience which will be facilitated by Bekker and Greer. Coherence between the presentations will be assured by: • the authors’ collaboration on the politics of vaccines and vaccination in Europe, including shared participation in a forthcoming book, Vaccination Politics: The Comparative Politics of COVID-19 Vaccination (2025); • the clear division of labor, with Greer framing the issues, Massard da Fonseca and Falkemnbach presenting transversal issues and Guicciardini, and King presenting their manifestation in different countries; • a clear shared focus on key lessons that reflect not just the experiences of COVID-19 but also other challenges such as the threat of pandemic influenza, opportunities such as mRNA vaccines, and knowledge of broader political contexts such as the development of the EU's Vaccine Strategy. Key messages • Vaccine science is advancing rapidly but resistance movements and international inequity in access threaten to derail progress in helping population health. • Robust and context-specific policies can sustain research and improve trust in vaccines and capacity to deliver them. Europe is well positioned to advance vaccination and vaccine science.