MEPs call for greater promotion of vaccination campaigns

A comprehensive report backed by the European Parliament has called for a significant increase in vaccination campaigns across the European Union.

In a strategy for EU health policies from 2008 to 2013, MEPs said: "Disease prevention efforts and vaccination campaigns, where effective products exist, should be stepped up significantly.. Their report called on the European Commission to draw up an ambitious plan for preventive actions for the entire 5-year period that included vaccination promotion.

"Spending on health, particularly on prevention and early diagnosis of diseases, is not only a cost but also an investment," making EU citizens more economically productive through avoiding sickness, the MEPs said.

Elsewhere, the report also called for EU action to make all antibiotics prescription-only, with doctors being issued guidelines to limit their use "to cases in which the use of an antibiotic is indeed necessary". It also suggested the EU should strive to improve marker tests "to encourage a more cautious use of antibiotics".