Vaccination politics in Southeastern Europe: Lessons from COVID-19 for the future

Abstract The politics and policies of vaccination campaigns in southeastern Europe, particularly the non-EU countries of the region, work very differently to those elsewhere. A greater variety of vaccines match greater political complexity, reflecting the activity of powers such as Russia and Turkey, while vaccination campaigns must operate with relatively low resource levels and a pervasive distrust of vaccinations and the public health system in general. This intervention focuses on drawing lessons about and for the public health systems of southeastern Europe, with a particular focus on building acquisition strategies, trust, and capacity for any future pandemic.