Respiratory diseases, including pneumonia, cost healthcare systems billions annually. According to some studies, in the US alone, over 9 billion dollars are spent annually on hospitalizations due to pneumonia, with average hospitalization costs of 20,000 dollars per case. In the EU, respiratory diseases account for about 10% of all healthcare costs, and pneumonia is the leading cause of hospitalization for adults over 65. Preventive vaccination significantly reduces these costs; for example, vaccination against pneumococcal disease and flu has been shown to reduce hospitalizations by up to 60%, easing the burden on healthcare systems during peak seasons while improving outcomes for patients.

On the occasion of European Antibiotic Awareness Day, and ahead of the respiratory infection season, a warning message was sent to the public from the healthcare community: "If we continue to irrationally use antibiotics to treat viral infections (with antibiotics from home medicine cabinets), by 2050, we will no longer be able to distinguish between mild and severe pneumonia; the only place to treat pneumonia will be hospitals, and more people will die from antibiotic-resistant infections than from diabetes, cancer, and other diseases."

When we add the fact that in the world and Europe, especially in the CEE region, fewer citizens are opting to use the potential of prevention of serious complications from infectious diseases through vaccination, we are facing a Pandora’s box full of unwanted outcomes for the youngest and patients with chronic diseases or those in older age groups.

RSV, flu, COVID-19, whooping cough, and pneumococcal disease are significant public health issues for the EU and pose a threat to the most vulnerable groups in society due to their ability to cause severe complications, hospitalizations, and deaths, especially among populations such as older adults, infants, and people with existing chronic conditions (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological conditions, cancer patients, immunocompromised individuals, etc.). These diseases place enormous pressure on healthcare systems, especially during the "winter season," as they can worsen the clinical condition of patients and contribute to economic burdens through healthcare costs and lost productivity.

Additionally, with the growing challenges of antimicrobial resistance and the emergence of new "mixes" of respiratory infections, continuous surveillance and efforts to implement immunization according to expert guidelines are crucial in mitigating the impact of these infectious diseases across Europe on a human, clinical, and economic level. This was emphasized by the president of the Croatian Epidemiological Society, Prof. Dr. Miroslav Venus, and Dr. Vesna Višekruna Vučina from the Croatian Institute of Public Health’s Vaccination Department, as delegate of the director of the Institute, Assist. Prof. Dr. Krunoslav Capak.

Recognizing the significant differences in immunization statistics against threatening respiratory infections between Eastern and Western European countries, along with existing challenges in access to innovations, availability of healthcare professionals, treatment outcomes, and increased mortality, Health Hub, as a regional healthcare think tank, in partnership with leading health institutions and speakers around Europe, positioned Croatia as a leader in advancing health-policy dialogues in the CEE region, in the interest of public health and preventing the consequences of infectious diseases that unfortunately do not recognize borders.

Health Hub brought together international and national experts to discuss one of the most important global priorities of our time – immunization strategy and public health protection by 2030, on the occasion of the UN’s global "Pact for the Future" initiative and the European Health Union of the European Commission.

Health Hub’s Policy Summit "Boosting Vaccine Confidence & Vaccines Uptake for #NextGenEU" was initiated in support of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global immunization efforts, the UN’s Pact for the Future, and the (post)pandemic Next Generation EU plan, along with recovery and resilience plans in all EU member states.