Vaccine hesitancy remains one of the most complex challenges for European public health. Raising awareness of the importance of vaccination is not enough unless it goes hand in hand with building trust and addressing emotions. It is a process that needs to be tailored to each country, reflecting the specific characteristics and resources of every territory.
co-OPERATOR, a project co-funded by the EU4Health programme, was created to strengthen the role of healthcare professionals in promoting vaccination.
On 13 October, the final conference “From Evidence to Action: European Pathways for Vaccination Promotion” took place at the European Parliament in Brussels and online. The event was hosted by MEP Giorgos Georgiou and moderated by Dr Robyn Gouweloos of the European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC).
In the first part of the conference, the partner organisations presented the project’s key results:
- a survey on how hesitancy varies across countries and how ready healthcare professionals are to promote vaccines;
- a mapping of existing training initiatives;
- three digital tools: the Training Platform, the Virtual Observatory for sharing best practices across countries, and an AI agent to support healthcare professionals and policymakers.
The training pathway is based on the 7C model of vaccination readiness. This model looks at people’s willingness to get vaccinated through factors such as confidence, risk perception, practical constraints and conspiracy beliefs. The pathway is structured around five domains:
- vaccine literacy;
- communication with patients;
- practical simulations;
- sharing of best practices;
- understanding socio-cultural factors.
In an initial phase, questionnaires were administered to the general public to contextualise the socio-cultural relationship between citizens and vaccinations. In Italy, 339 questionnaires were collected, and data from all partner countries can be consulted in the Co-Operator Virtual Observatory.
In Italy, for example, CESIE and Cittadinanzattiva gathered the views of citizens, healthcare professionals and institutional decision-makers through a series of national focus groups, involving 39 health professionals, policy makers and citizens. At European level, this work was complemented by the Policy Labs and by the transnational meeting hosted in Palermo in 2025.
This approach was acknowledged by Gábor Belák, Policy Officer at DG SANTE. According to Belák, the project succeeded in tailoring responses to vaccine hesitancy to local contexts, rather than relying on one-size-fits-all solutions.
However, Dr. Stavros Pitoglou, Chief Technical Officer and Head of Research at Computer Solutions S.A., pointed out how much remains to be done. Healthcare professionals who promote vaccination still lack structural and systemic support, in terms of both time and resources. Today, this commitment relies on individual effort rather than on a collective approach within care teams.
During the discussion on cross-country collaboration, Elena Petelos (University of Crete, Maastricht University, EUPHA) proposed creating a shared space for reflection. She addressed the proposal to the project partners, stakeholders and DG SANTE. The aim is to bring together the projects funded under the EU4Health call in recent years, joining forces to achieve a more institutional impact.
A key message for the future also emerged. Emotions, fear and distrust of institutions weigh on vaccination choices, and they must be taken into account in every future action and project aimed at promoting vaccination.
We are proud to have contributed to a journey that places those who build trust in public health every day at its heart, and we look forward to carrying its results forward in our communities.
About the project
coOPERATOR: Developing a Country-Observatory for sharing best practises for vaccination promotion is a project funded by EU4Health, European Commission.
Partners
- Technologiko Panepistimio Kyprou (Cyprus, coordinator)
- European Public Health Alliance (Belgium)
- CSI Center for Social Innovation Ltd (Cyprus)
- Ministerio da Saude – Republica Portuguesa (Portugal)
- Universita di Pisa (Italy)
- Computer Solutions SA (Greece)
- CESIE (Italy)
For further information
Read more about the project, visit the web site https://cooperatorvax.eu/ and follow us on Facebook and Linkedin.
Contact Mario Badagliacca: mario.badagliacca@cesie.org
