• Marina Guisado-Clavero, Raquel Gómez-Bravo, Ileana Gefaell Larrondo, Lourdes Ramos Del Rio, Louise Fitzgerald, Shlomo Vinker, Bert Vaes, Georgi Tsigarovski, Péter Torzsa, Gunta Ticmane, Theresa Sentker, Alice Serafini, Martin Sattler, Sven Streit, Goranka Petricek, Ferdinando Petrazzuoli, Davorina Petek, Ábel Perjés, Nagu Penakacherla, Oliver Senn, Ana Luisa Neves, Katarzyna Nessler, Liubovė Murauskienė, Jöel Mossong, Liga Kozlovska, Anna Segernäs, Anna Krztoń-Królewiecka, Milena Kostić, Erva Kırkoç Üçüncü, Büsra Çimen Korkmaz, Snežana Knežević, Marijana Jandrić-Kočić, Lisa Kastbom, Ivanna Shushman, Oxana Ilkov, Kathryn Hoffmann, Bruno Heleno, Miroslav Hanževački, Dragan Gjorgjievski, Sabine Feldman, Philippe-Richard Domeyer, Maryher Delphin Peña, Asja Ćosić Divjak, Iliana-Carmen Busneag, Elena Brutskaya-Stempkovskaya, Sherihane Bensemmane, Sabine Bayen, Maria Bakola, Limor Adler, Radost Assenova, Sara Ares-Blanco, María Pilar Astier-Peña, and Heidrun Lingner.
• Investigation Support Multidisciplinary Unit for Primary care in Madrid, Gerencia Asistencial Atención Primaria, Servicio Madrileño de Salud, Madrid, Spain.
• Eur J Gen Pract. 2024 Dec 1; 30 (1): 24092402409240.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 vaccination campaign in several European countries involved collaboration between public health and Primary Health Care (PHC).ObjectiveTo highlight the role of PHC professionals in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, specifically in terms of vaccine administration, communication and contributing to vaccination population coverage.MethodsA descriptive retrospective study of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign across 28 European countries was conducted, covering data from December 2020 to November 2021. Data were collected by key informants recruited from each country, who were health professionals involved in their national vaccination campaigns. Utilising an ad-hoc semi-structured questionnaire, information was gathered on organisation, communication strategies, priority groups, vaccine types, and vaccination pathways in PHC.ResultsPHC participated in communication strategies in 10 out of 28 countries, and vaccination was voluntary in most of them. The priority groups for vaccination varied across Europe, and the availability of vaccines in PHC differed between countries within the European Union (EU) and non-EU countries. The BioNTech Pfizer vaccine was the most widely available vaccine in most countries, followed by Moderna and AstraZeneca. PHC administered COVID-19 vaccines to the population, being the nurses the most involved, followed by general practitioners. Vaccination appointments were available online in 18/28 or by phone in 15/28, direct appointments at health centres were available in 8/28. In several countries, healthcare professionals who administered vaccines were given extra compensation for their role.ConclusionPHC professionals played a crucial role in the successful distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines in European countries.

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