Health Technology Assessment for Vaccines: Why It Matters and What Europe Must Get Right (George Valiotis)

The presentation was delivered and recorded during the 10th Lifecourse Prevention Summit 2025.

In this briefing, George Valiotis introduces Health Technology Assessment and its growing relevance to vaccine policy in Europe, explaining how HTAi provides a structured, evidence-based framework for evaluating whether new interventions represent an improvement over existing ones. He examines the European Commission's move toward joint clinical assessments across EU member states — regulations already in effect and planned to become mandatory for vaccines by 2030 — and discusses both the opportunities and the significant challenges this creates. While a unified approach could improve consistency, efficiency, and equity of vaccine access across Europe, Valiotis acknowledges the considerable barriers: divergent national infrastructure, data gaps, resource constraints, and the difficulty of applying population-level decisions across very different health systems.

His central message is that Europe is pioneering an important space, and that success will depend on enhanced cooperation, data sharing, and capacity building across countries. This session further explores the subject in depth, highlighting key takeaways, implications for policy and practice, and insights from the expert presenter to help inform future strategies.