A Course on Vaccinology for Clinical and Public Health Practice: Policy Symposium and Workshop

This course was organised at the request of Prof. Rakesh Aggarwal, the Director of JIPMER and Prof. Gagandeep Kang, the Executive Director of THSTI and Professor at the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, India. The main objective of the course was to build technical capacity of stakeholders in the field of vaccinology through the workshop and share global experiences on how vaccine policies can be prioritised for decision makers through the policy symposium. The symposium covered topics such as decision-making and resource mobilisation, using evidence and strengthening technical capacity, emerging issues in vaccinology, and regional and global initiatives in vaccines. Meanwhile the workshop covered topics such as epidemiology and surveillance, vaccine trials and efficacy, and health economics of vaccines. The workshop employed various means of engaging with participants including a role-play and practical exercises among others.

The event hosted a total of 62 participants, half of whom were from India, while the rest came from Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi, Timor Leste, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Lao PDR, and the UK. The teaching faculty comprised academics, Program Managers, and policy makers from several national and international institutions and organisations. Overall, the participants found the course to be very useful and complementary to their current work. Subsequently, HITAP received requests for hosting such courses in other countries in Asia and Africa as well as supporting work on prioritisation of vaccines.

For full report please click here