European Commission meeting for national health professionals' and students' associations in EU Member States with low uptake of COVID-19 vaccines

On 29 November, PGEU co-chaired a European Commission meeting for national health professionals' and students' associations in EU Member States with low uptake of COVID-19 vaccines (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia). The purpose of the online meeting was to identify in which ways the Commission could support health professionals and students in those countries in terms of advocating for COVID-19 vaccination, e.g. in terms of communicative efforts. The PGEU members present contributed actively to the discussion and several potential follow-up actions were identified. These were further discussed between DG SANTE Director-General Sandra Gallina and the 3 Coalition for Vaccination co-chairs (PGEU, EFN, CPME) immediately after the event.

AESGP Webinar on Artificial Intelligence

On 9 November, PGEU presented at an AESGP (European self-medication industry) webinar on Artificial Intelligence. The event also included presentations from the European Commission, IQVIA and AESGP. PGEU presented its position on artificial intelligence, including the submitted feedback to the European Commission proposal feedback on the European Commission Proposal for an EU Regulation on Artificial Intelligence. In addition, several ongoing practices from PGEU members in the area of AI & big data were presented to the audience.

EMA annual PCWP/HCPWP meeting with eligible organisations

On 24 November, PGEU participated in the annual PCWP/HCPWP meeting with eligible organisations organised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Among the topics presented and discussed were European collaboration between regulators and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) bodies, clinical trials and repurposing of medicines. The meeting also offered the opportunity to discuss future challenges and key priorities for patient and healthcare professionals’ organisations related to the EMA work.