title: Monitoring and assessing vaccine safety: a European perspective.
abstract: The success of vaccination programs is an uncontroversial reality--in Europe as well as worldwide. On the other hand, the perceived risk of adverse events in the general public is the most important threat for implementing successful vaccination programs in Europe. For this reason, monitoring and assessing vaccine safety is a priority for public health. Vaccine safety is assessed both before and after vaccine authorization. In postmarketing settings, different activities related to vaccine safety usually involve several different stakeholders. In 2005, a new EU agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, was established with the aim to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases. Implementing stable links between different stakeholders and defining clear roles in the EU is paramount in order to provide optimal and transparent information on adverse reactions following immunization, with the final goal of increasing compliance to safe and effective vaccination programs.
authors.affiliation: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, SE-171 83 Stockholm, Sweden. pierluigi.lopalco@ecdc.europa.eu
authors.forename: Pier Luigi
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Lopalco
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Johansen
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ciancio
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: De Carvalho Gomes
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kramarz
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Giesecke
mesh_terms: D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D000818:Animals; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000639:trends; D011358:Product Surveillance, Postmarketing / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D011634:Public Health / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D012307:Risk Factors; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends; D014612:Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines