strategic resilience

Immunisation as Strategic Resilience: Why Europe Must Invest in Prevention

This opinion piece argues that immunisation should be recognised as a strategic investment in resilience, not merely a tool for preventing acute childhood infections. The author highlights how infections trigger cascades of complications including cardiovascular events, cognitive decline, and antimicrobial resistance. Citing Ireland's RSV vaccination programme which reduced hospitalizations by 76%, the piece argues adult immunisation can generate returns up to 19 times initial investment. With most EU member states allocating less than 0.5% of healthcare budgets to vaccination, the author calls for sustained investment across the full vaccine ecosystem.