EU countries should prepare for seasonal respiratory diseases – health agencies

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) recommend targeting people at risk in vaccination campaigns against respiratory viruses as the cold season is starting. 

“We will soon see the arrival of autumn and winter, where we anticipate a resurgence of seasonal influenza and RSV. We also see increases in SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the EU/EEA and anticipate the viruses will co-circulate in the coming months,” said Andrea Ammon, director of the ECDC during a press conference on Thursday (21 September).

The ECDC and EMA recommend that the vaccination campaigns ahead of the cold season should first target people who are more at risk of having severe disease, like people above sixty years old, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems.

“It is challenging to predict exactly when the circulation of respiratory viruses will increase or peak. Their co-circulation will put vulnerable people at risk of severe illness and death, with increased pressure on healthcare,” Ammon said. 

The co-administration of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines is possible, but it is not a decision that will be taken at the EU level. 

“Member States will make decisions on their national vaccination campaigns depending on the epidemiological conditions and the availability of vaccines in their countries,” said Emer Cooke, director of the EMA. 

In addition to the vaccination campaign, both EU health agencies recommend taking personal measures such as frequently washing hands, ventilation, wearing a face mask in case of symptoms or staying isolated if positive for one of the viruses. 

“The good news is that we are much better prepared than in the past years as effective vaccines and treatments are available to protect the European citizens,” Cooke said. 

EMA’s director gave the example of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. “Last autumn, we saw large numbers of RSV infections among the very young and the very old. We now have two vaccines and one medicine to protect adults aged 60 and over, newborns and children against RSV,” she said. 

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Keeping a close eye on COVID

Member states are paying close attention to the spread of the COVID-19 virus this autumn, as travels during summer have led to an increasing number of cases. 

“There are signs of increased transmission in some parts of Europe. As of August 20, 2023, the number of COVID-19 cases had increased by 11% compared to the previous 28 days,” Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, told Euronews.

Given the increasing number of infections and the cold season coming, all experts agree that vaccination is the best way to be protected against the virus and protect from severe disease and hospitalisation.

“To date, eight safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 have been authorised by the Commission for use in the EU, following positive scientific recommendations from the European Medicines Agency,” a spokesperson from the European Commission told Euractiv. 

In addition, two new adapted COVID vaccines, based on the mRNA technology, have been approved by the Commission in September: one from BioNTech-Pfizer (on 1 September) and one from Moderna (on 15 September). They are effective in fighting the sub-variant XBB.1.5.

EU health agencies recommend vaccines targeting Omicron subgroup for autumn

On Tuesday (6 June), EU health agencies recommended updating COVID-19 vaccines to target XBB strains, a subgroup of Omicron, with hopes to advance protection from infection and mild-symptomatic disease. 

“I encourage those concerned, especially those aged 60 years and above, persons with weakened immune systems and underlying health conditions, to get their booster dose with the latest updated vaccines targeting the variants that are currently spreading as soon as possible,” said Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health, in a press release. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the EU has secured 4.2 billion doses of vaccine.

Anticipating the increasing number of COVID cases, some EU countries even have decided to bring forward the start date of their vaccination campaign. In France, it will begin on 2 October, while it was initially supposed to start on 17 October. 

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]

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