A planned workshop in Brussels next year aims to push European Union member states toward stronger policies on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and maternal vaccination. The closed-door event, set for 19 March 2026, will bring together leaders from civil society organizations and patient advocacy groups across eight EU countries.
Who’s behind the meeting and who will attend
The initiative comes from Active Citizenship Network, the European branch of the Italian NGO Cittadinattiva. Their project, called “Protecting the value of prevention across Europe: focus on RSV & maternal vaccination,” is supported by Pfizer. Attendees include groups from Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Spain. These organizations work on vaccination policy in their home countries. The gathering is billed as a chance to share strategies and coordinate efforts at the EU level.
Experts and advocates on the agenda
Independent pediatricians from the European Confederation of Primary Care Paediatricians will present updated data on maternal vaccination and the burden of RSV in infants. Advocacy groups such as the Global Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (GFCNI) are also scheduled to speak. Their focus will be on how citizen engagement can strengthen public vaccination campaigns. The meeting follows recent position papers from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), titled “Protecting infants against respiratory syncytial virus this winter,” and the World Health Organization (WHO), which released a position paper on immunization to protect infants against RSV disease. Organizers say the event is meant to help participants translate those documents into local action.
A first-of-its-kind presentation from Italy
For the first time at a European-level forum, the “Italian RSV Observatory: Equal access to prevention” will be presented. The observatory was created by Cittadinattiva to track vaccination access and barriers in Italy. Its debut at the Brussels meeting signals a push to export that model to other countries.
Related: EU Looks to Share Health Data Across Borders
The observatory’s early findings aren’t detailed in the announcement, but its inclusion suggests organizers want to move from data collection to policy advocacy. Whether that translates into binding EU legislation remains an open question — the gathering itself is a closed-door meeting, not a public hearing.
Why RSV and maternal vaccination matter now
Respiratory syncytial virus is a leading cause of hospitalization in infants worldwide. In Europe, winter surges strain pediatric wards every year. Maternal vaccination — giving the shot to pregnant women so antibodies pass to the newborn — is one of the newer tools being rolled out. The WHO and ECDC both now recommend it, but uptake varies sharply by country. The event’s emphasis on “protecting the value of prevention” reflects a broader worry among public health officials: that prevention gets less funding and attention than treatment, even when vaccines are available. Patient groups argue that without sustained civil-society pressure, RSV immunization could fall into the same slow-adoption pattern seen with other adult and maternal vaccines.
Pfizer’s role as the sole funder is disclosed in the materials. The company markets an RSV vaccine for older adults and has a maternal vaccine candidate in development. Critics of industry-backed advocacy events sometimes question whether corporate funding shapes policy priorities, though organizers note the content is driven by independent experts and patient voices.
One slightly unexpected detail
The meeting’s title includes the phrase “protecting the value of prevention” — a phrase that sounds like a slogan but is actually the official name of the multi-year project.
Related: Safety Tips for Buying Adult Products on the Internet
It’s a mouthful even for a policy meeting.
Still, for organizations that deal with RSV and maternal immunization, the gathering offers a rare chance to compare notes across borders. Most of the attendees represent countries where RSV vaccination is either just starting or still being debated. Italy, for example, has not yet introduced a universal maternal RSV immunization program, though regional pilots exist. Greece and Poland are in similar positions.
The event’s closed-door nature means the public won’t see the debates in real time. Organizers say a summary document will be released afterward. That document, if it includes concrete commitments or country-level action plans, could be the most useful output for advocates outside the room.
Leave a Reply