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

  • Background document (pdf)
  • The background document contains background information on the topic of the meeting and a selection of scientific references. 

Agenda

         Thursday, 7 May 2026

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

     SESSION 2: Setting the scene: Current landscape of adult vaccination records and data infrastructure across Europe
     Chairs:  Stefania Maggi and Angela Bechini

    SESSION 3:  Lessons learned from national and regional vaccination record systems
    Chairs: Odile Launay and Helena Maltezou

      SESSION 4: Role of data quality, interoperability, and access in shaping vaccination policy
      Chairs: Roman Chlibek and Roberta Pastore 

     SESSION 5: Improving European vaccination data: research potential and cross-border cooperation 
     Chairs: Birgit Weinberger and Giovanni Gabutti

     SESSION 6: Safeguarding health records with privacy, consent, and EHDS compliance
     Chairs: Thomas Weinke and Tudor Pitulac 

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 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))

     

         Friday, 9  May 2026

     SESSION 7: Value and feasibility of a European Vaccination Card (EVC)
     Chairs: Shahin Huseynov and Per Ljungman

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

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

Summary slides/ Katherine Newell  (P95)

  • Discussion and closing of the meeting