Joint procurement scheme for HPV vaccines

Priority question for written answer  P-002188/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Alin Mituța (Renew)

HPV vaccination campaigns across the Member States have been extremely uneven in terms of strategy, implementation, funding and results. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), prices for these vaccines can vary greatly, ranging from USD 4.5 to 178 apiece, while an imminent global supply shortage of vaccines seems highly likely. Furthermore, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, national health systems are facing enormous added pressure and treatments for other diseases have been greatly affected and suffered sharp decreases in funding, including HPV vaccination campaigns.

In order to ensure equitable access to healthcare and meet the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan flagship initiative of vaccinating 90 % of the EU target population by 2030, is the Commission considering setting up a joint procurement scheme for HPV vaccines in line with the COVID-19 procurement model?

Could the EU4Health programme or other EU funds be used to cover the vaccine procurement costs?