COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Vaccine Uptake, Vaccination Guidelines, and Vaccine Availability in Six Middle-Income Countries and Areas in Europe, May 2022-April 2024.

BACKGROUND

Updated regional data on COVID-19 epidemiology and vaccination can inform vaccine policies and implementation strategies.

METHODS

We used surveillance data on patients hospitalized from the European SARI Vaccine Effectiveness (EuroSAVE) network to describe COVID-19 epidemiology and COVID-19 vaccine uptake among adults hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in six middle-income countries and areas (CAs) in the WHO European region during 2022-2024. For SARI patients, we collected data on demographics, comorbidities, vaccination status, and hospital course, and a respiratory specimen, which was tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR. In October 2024, we surveyed national public health institute staff on national COVID-19 vaccine guidelines and availability.

RESULTS

Of SARI patients, 833/3982 (20.9%) and 367/3752 (9.8%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during May 2022-April 2023 and May 2023-April 2024, respectively. Of COVID-19 patients, 857 (71.4%) were ≥60 years old and 713 (59.4%) had ≥1 comorbidity. A higher proportion of COVID-19 patients required mechanical ventilation (30 [8.2%] vs. 23 [2.8%], p <0.001) and intensive care (70 [8.4%] vs. 48 [13.1%], p =0.016) during May 2023-April 2024 compared to May 2022-April 2023. COVID-19 vaccination in the last 12 months decreased from 25% in 2022-2023 to 3% in 2023-2024. Most CAs had not updated their COVID-19 vaccination guidelines to recommend annual vaccination, and only two had vaccines available.

CONCLUSIONS

Although COVID-19 was associated with severe disease among SARI patients, COVID-19 vaccination uptake was low among priority populations recommended for vaccination by WHO guidance. Continued efforts to understand reasons for low vaccine uptake and improve vaccine access will help protect those at greatest risk for COVID-19-associated morbidity and mortality.