Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates and Incentives in Europe.

During 2021-2022 many countries in the European region of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted mandatory and incentive-based vaccination measures to stimulate immunization against COVID-19. The measures ranged from positive incentive-based programs (i.e., cash incentives, meal discounts, and lotteries) to introducing COVID-19 certificates and enforcing the universal mandatory vaccination with fines. We assessed the effect of such interventions on COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the population of eight countries within the region. An interrupted time series (ITS) analysis was performed using an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) approach to account for autocorrelation and seasonality. The results showed the immediate positive impact of vaccination incentives on vaccine uptake in most cases, with the highest impact being cash incentives for the population (1197 per million population per day). Discount incentives did not show any significant impact. The introduction of COVID-19 certificates was associated with a significant immediate or gradual increase in daily administered vaccine doses in all the countries included in the study, up to 117,617 doses gained per million per month. The effect of mandatory vaccination for all or some groups of the population varied from a continuous decrease in daily administered doses (332 per million capita per day), no significant effect, or a delayed or temporary increase (1489 per million capita per day).

Effectiveness of Mandatory and Incentive-Based Routine Childhood Immunization Programs in Europe: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

There is a lack of comprehensive and systematic data and evidence regarding the effectiveness of mandatory and incentive-based vaccination schemes. The results of such programs in some countries have not been adequately studied. A number of countries have recently introduced tightening vaccination measures, and it is important to analyze and assess the results of these programs. The unprecedented situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mass vaccination made the topic of the effectiveness of vaccination policies and mandates even more relevant. The aim of the study is to assess childhood vaccination programs implemented in selected countries. The study focuses on initiatives implemented in the European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO). A total of 466 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 26 articles on seven countries were included in the synthesis. Additionally, we obtained and performed an analysis of data on the impact of COVID-19 on vaccine coverage and incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases, and the implementation of vaccine mandates in the selected countries. The evidence collected and analyzed in this review allowed us to conclude that the introduction of children routine vaccination mandates increases vaccine coverage and reduces the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases when compared to the situation before the introduction of the mandates.

COVID-19: The World Community Expects the World Health Organization to Play a Stronger Leadership and Coordination Role in Pandemics Control.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been accompanied by the return of the concept of national state and exhibited signs of crisis of globalism and liberalism. The pandemic affected most aspects of society and human activity, including socioeconomic impact. Economic problems, shortages of medical supplies and personnel, xenophobic sentiments, and misinformation led to the use of unethical practices and human rights violations. To navigate through this crisis, many countries resorted to traditional diplomacy in the absence of effective international instruments. Thus, the world faced the urgent need in functioning global governance. The pandemic also manifested the increasing importance of international organizations as sources of technical expertise, providing scientific basis for politicians to legitimize their decisions and actions. The article addresses the topic of implications of the pandemic for governance and forecasting a post-pandemic future. The research focus of this paper, therefore, is the assessment of the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in prevention and response to pandemics. The work is aimed at identifying the functions of the WHO and assessing its activities in prevention and control of pandemics and response to the COVID-19 pandemic in particular. Furthermore, the objective of this article is to identify gaps in the WHO pandemic control efforts and formulate recommendations on addressing them.