Assessing Vaccines and Vaccination Programmes in the Field

Abstract

Background: The impact of universal vaccination programmes in terms of reduction of disease burden is not
questioned very much in the scientific community. Nevertheless assessing safety and efficacy of vaccination
products in the field is an essential part of the success of any vaccination programme. In addition to that,
there are several aspects of vaccination programmes that have to be evaluated and carefully assessed in order
to improve the overall quality of vaccination programmes.
Methods: Several different epidemiological methods have been developed during the last decades for these
purposes. A critical review of innovative epidemiological methods used for assessing vaccines in the field was
undertaken.
Results: Availability of innovative methods and progress made in the field of health informatics allow easy
evaluation of large volumes of information.
Conclusions: In addition to scientific and technical support, political commitment is required in order to
increase the amount of resources available for public health professionals. International organisations can
play an important role at the EU level.