Technical meeting
(Belgium, May 2026)

Vaccine records and recall systems in Europe to strengthen adult vaccination

 

 

Meeting Objectives

  • Assess the current landscape of adult vaccination records across Europe to understand existing systems and data infrastructures.
  • Exchange lessons learned from national and regional vaccination record systems, focusing on implementation experiences, challenges, and innovations across European contexts.
  • Discuss differences in data completeness, interoperability, and accessibility, and highlight how vaccination record data have or should inform vaccination policy decisions.
  • Explore data utilization, existing gaps, and research opportunities arising from vaccination registers, and identify areas for cross-border collaboration to strengthen European systems and comparability.
  • Address data security, ethical, and legal considerations in health record management, including personal health data protection, consent mechanisms, and compliance with the European Health Data Space framework to ensure secure and privacy-preserving data exchange.
  • Discuss the added value and feasibility of a European Vaccination Card (EVC)
  • Evaluate and share effective reminder and recall strategies for adult vaccination, comparing approaches used across Europe and identifying communication and outreach strategies that effectively improve vaccine uptake and public engagement.

Intended impact

This invitation-only AIB technical meeting in May 2026 aims to advance a shared European understanding of how adult vaccination records and reminder/recall systems can be designed, implemented, and used to improve vaccination coverage and equity. By bringing together experiences from diverse European, national and regional contexts, the meeting will identify best practices, common challenges, and critical gaps in data completeness, interoperability, governance, analysis and use. The discussions are expected to inform future policy and research priorities, support alignment with the European Health Data Space, and clarify the added value and feasibility of a European Vaccination Card. In addition, by comparing reminder and recall strategies, the meeting will contribute to evidence-informed approaches for more effective communication and outreach to adults, ultimately strengthening vaccination programmes, cross-border collaboration, and improve vaccination monitoring and validation of  immunization systems across Europe.

Target Audience

  • Public health authorities and policymakers, European and international organizations, experts in immunization registries, digital health, interoperability, data governance, and research;

    • representatives of (EU) projects working on similar projects;
    • healthcare professionals and professional bodies involved in adult vaccination, data registries and organizations engaged in vaccination uptake and trust;
    • AIB advisors and observers

Background document

  • To be added
  • The background document contains background information on the topic of the meeting, a selection of scientific references and abstracts related to the different presentations.

Agenda

         Thursday, 7 May 2026

     SESSION 1: Opening, Introduction and Objectives
     Chairs: Pierre Van Damme and Paolo Bonanni

  • Opening remarks
    Ingrid Keller (European Commission)(TBC)
  • Welcome and Introduction of the Adult Immunization Board (AIB)
    Paolo Bonanni (University of Florence, Italy)
  • Overview of the objectives of the meeting (background and rationale)
    Pierre Van Damme (University of Antwerp, Belgium)

         SESSION 2: Setting the scene: Current landscape of adult vaccination records and data infrastructure across Europe
         Chairs:  Stefania Maggi (TBC) and Mariano Votta (TBC)

    • Designing and implementing an immunization information system (IIS)
      Roberta Pastore (WHO)
    • Building the backbone: IIS and digital technologies for vaccination in Europe
      Anna Odone (University of Pavia, Italy)
    • Upcoming Council Recommendations on respiratory infections; leveraging data monitoring
      Colin Russell (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
    • Optimizing adult pneumococcal vaccination: leveraging IIS architecture for smarter pathway design
      Tudor Pitulac (OpenSky Data Systems)

        SESSION 3:  Lessons learned from national and regional vaccination record systems
        Chairs: Odile Launay (TBC) and Gary Finnegan (TBC)

    • European coordination of vaccination record systems; focus on MesVaccins from France
      Jean-Louis Koeck (Syadem, France)
    • Denmark: from registers to impact: using IIS for research, reminders, and surveillance
      Peter Henrik Andersen (Statens Serum Institute, Denmark)
    • Belgium: Vaccinnet
      Rosanne Wouters (Vlaamse Overheid, Departement Zorg, Belgium)
    • Validation of the Swedish vaccination register – Accuracy and completeness of register data
      Anna Nilsson (Karolinska Institute, Sweden)

          SESSION 4: Role of data quality, interoperability, and access in shaping vaccination policy
          Chairs: Shahin Huseynov (TBC) and Roberta Pastore (TBC)

    • Interoperability of IIS in the EU
      Tamara Buble (Croatian Institut of Public Health, Croatia)
    • Policy brief: Improving national vaccination decision-making through data
      Sandra Evans (SE Health Policy, United Kingdom)
    • Insights from the Vaccine Monitoring Platform: reflections to shape a European Vaccination Card
      Alessandra Buoninfante (European Medicines Agency) (EMA)

         SESSION 5: Improving European vaccination data: research potential and cross-border cooperation 
         Chairs: Roman Chlibek (TBC) and Thomas Weinke (TBC)

    • Working with patient data when raw data is not available
      Marie Analiz April (Liz) Limpoco       (University of Hasslt, Belgium)
    • Digital integration between hospitals and local health authorities for enhanced vaccination coverage among frail patients: the CareVax study protocol
      Patrizia Laurenti (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (UCSC) and Gemelli University Hospital, Italy)
    • Estimating vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation and death using electronic health records (EHRs)
      Toon Braeye (Sciensano, Belgium)
    • Pilot from Latvia: implementation of Clinical Decision Support (CDS) system
      Dace Zavadska (Riga Stradins University (RSU), Latvia)

         SESSION 6: Safeguarding health records with privacy, consent, and EHDS compliance
         Chairs: Giovanni Gabutti (TBC) and Tudor Pitulac (TBC)

    • European Health Data Space Regulation
      Petre Cermak       (European Commission) (ONLINE)

    • Harmonization after the GDPR? Divergences in the rules for health data sharing
      Fruzsina Molnár-Gábor (Heidelberg University, Germany) (ONLINE)

    • Panel Discussion: From data to implementation: building vaccination record systems that work for citizens, science, and society

    • Panelists:
      • Francois Kaag (Cardynal (ITG), France)
      • Bo Lars Thorvald Terning Hansen (Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway)
      • Marta Giovanetti (Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Italy)
      • Francesca Tassinari (University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain
      • Mariano Votta (Active Citizenship Network (ACN)) 

      TBC

             Friday, 9  May 2026

         SESSION 7: Value and feasibility of a European Vaccination Card (EVC)
         Chairs: Birgit Weinberger (TBC) and Per Ljungman (TBC)

    • Lessons learnt from the implementation of the portable European Vaccination Card in seven countries
      François Kaag (Cardynal (ITG), France)
    • EUVAC: supporting the development and national deployment of a cross-border digital vaccination card
      Sofia Terzi (IDIKA S.A., Greece)

         SESSION 8: Strategies for improving adult vaccine uptake: reminders, recalls, and best practices
         Chairs: Emilie Karafillakis (TBC) and Peter Henrik Andersen (TBC)

    • Effectiveness of email-based reminders to increase vaccine uptake
      Anna Odone (      University of Pavia, Italy)
    • Effectiveness of Text Messaging Nudging to Increase Coverage of Influenza Vaccination Among Older Adults in Norway (InfluSMS Study)
      Bo Terning Hansen (Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway
    • Key lecture: Tailored reminder strategies for underserved populations: evidence from a randomized trial in breast cancer screening
      Allegra Ferrari (University of Antwerp, Belgium)

    • Reducing psychological reactance to health promotion and preventive measures messages
      Elena Bessarabova (University of Oklahoma, United States) TBC (ONLINE)

         SESSION 9: Breakout Groups and meeting closing
        Chairs: Javier Diez-Domingo (TBC) and Greet Hendrickx (TBC)

    Summary slides/ Katherine Newell  (P95)

    • Discussion and closing of the meeting