EU disease prevention agency's new chief seeks better public engagement

Bridging the gap between scientific information and the general public is a priority for the Austrian physician, who recently took over as the agency’s head.

Rendi-Wagner, who previously led Austria’s Socialist Party for five years, stressed the need for clear communication, reflecting on the confusion during the COVID-19 pandemic when the public often felt left in the dark.

“That uncertainty leaves people feeling insecure when they feel they have no clear guidance,” she said during her first press briefing as ECDC director at the European Health Forum Gastein, following her appointment in June.

Lack of accessibility was raised by a recent report from the European Court of Auditors, which criticised the ECDC’s public communication efforts during the pandemic.

The report noted that while the agency responded effectively to the crisis, it struggled to communicate clearly with the general public.

The EU auditors report pointed out that although most of the ECDC's key outputs were made public, they were primarily directed at health professionals and policymakers, rather than the general public.

Rendi-Wagner acknowledged this gap, noting that “it can be unsettling when people don’t understand the technical language used by doctors, epidemiologists, and virologists.”

She stressed the importance of addressing the public’s concerns and uncertainties to build trust, particularly when it comes to topics like vaccinations.

“Transparency is essential for gaining public trust,” she said, pointing to the Vaccination Monitoring Platform as a positive step.

The platform, developed by the ECDC and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, regularly evaluates the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, making this