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| IVAC and Partners Launch Statement to Raise Awareness About Single-Dose HPV Vaccination
In December 2022, the World Health Organization endorsed a single-dose schedule for HPV vaccination for the primary target age group (9–14 years old). Since then, additional data continue to build the evidence base in support of its use.
IVAC has joined other global partners in signing a statement to raise awareness about the potential impact of a single-dose HPV vaccine schedule. As the world rallies to recover from disruptions to immunization coverage due to COVID-19 and other global crises, WHO’s endorsement represents a critical opportunity to provide vaccine access to more girls and protect more women against cervical cancer.
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World Health Assembly: Future of Tuberculosis Vaccines
This month, IVAC Deputy Director Rupali Limaye presented at From Innovation to Implementation: Preparing Now for New Tools to End Tuberculosis, an event adjacent to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. The event brought together global stakeholders to provide an overview of innovative and upcoming tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics, therapies, and vaccines. Dr. Limaye spoke about new TB vaccines in the pipeline based on her work on the Supporting, Mobilizing, and Accelerating Research for Tuberculosis Elimination (SMART4TB) project, a five-year initiative led by Johns Hopkins Medicine. |
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New Updates to VIEW-hub Vaccine Data Visualization Tool
VIEW-hub recently made updates to its interactive platform that provides data visualization on vaccine use and impact around the world. VIEW-hub users can now access global vaccine data either by vaccine or by country, making it easier than ever to quickly find exactly what you need. Other new features include topic pages and a redesigned navigation. |
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Harnessing the Power of Vaccines in Jordan: Steps in Introducing the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV)
By Ala’a Al-Shaikh, Baldeep K. Dhaliwal, Jasmine Huber, and Anita Shet
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated disruptions to essential health services, Jordan faced resource constraints that led to deprioritization of the introduction of new routine vaccinations into the national schedule, including PCV. In the Eastern Mediterranean region, an estimated 923,000 under-5 children die each year, with pneumonia accounting for over 20% of deaths among this age group. At Jordan's National Immunization Technical Advisory Group meeting in January 2023, the country revisited introducing PCV, and the NITAG has agreed that there is an urgent need to introduce this lifesaving vaccine into the country's immunization schedule. |
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Webinar Recording: Digital Resources to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence
Watch the recording from NACCHO's recent webinar on digital tools and strategies for increasing COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake as students return to school in the fall. The presentation featured IVAC's Emily Miller and also included two case studies from health officials using customized VIRA chatbots in Los Angeles, California, and Charlotte, North Carolina. |
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WORLD IMMUNIZATION WEEK 2023: HIGHLIGHTS
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Webinar Recording: Game Changers – Vaccine Innovations on the Horizon
As part of World Immunization Week in April, IVAC hosted a webinar to highlight exciting new vaccines and immunization technologies. Experts covered new vaccines that have the potential to greatly reduce the impact of devastating infectious diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, Shigella, and RSV, as well as groundbreaking technologies like microarray patches.
Featured speakers included:
- William Moss, MD, International Vaccine Access Center (Moderator)
- Birgitte Giersing, PhD, World Health Organization, Vaccine Prioritization & Platforms (microarray patches)
- Adrian Hill, KBE, DM, FRS, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford (malaria vaccines)
- Ruth Karron, MD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (RSV vaccines)
- Rupali Limaye, PhD, International Vaccine Access Center (tuberculosis vaccines)
- Kawsar Talaat, MD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Shigella vaccines)
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Trivia Takeover: Testing Your Immunization Knowledge
IVAC collaborated with the Bloomberg School of Public Health to host an interactive trivia event on the school's Instagram account. We asked challenging questions about vaccines and immunization throughout World Immunization Week and received an impressive 2500+ responses. Thanks to all those who participated! |
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Crying Out for Action: Protect Children from Pneumonia in Africa's Most Fragile Countries
By Anita Shet and Dickson Awah
Vaccination coverage data from 2021 indicate that less than half of the world’s children have received PCV, and 39 countries have yet to introduce PCV in their national immunization schedules. Child deaths due to pneumonia within four large countries in Africa—Chad, Guinea, South Sudan, and Somalia—are unacceptably high, with over 49,000 deaths in 2017 alone. The high cost of PCV is a major barrier to its introduction. Despite efforts to increase access to PCV, barriers persist and children will continue to die unless urgent action is taken. An upcoming PCV Workshop in Chad in September 2023 will bring together leaders of the four countries’ health and finance ministries along with world agencies and regional financing partners to identify solutions to this issue.
Learn more in this commentary, which was published on ReliefWeb and written in partnership with the Malaria Consortium. |
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COVID-19 Vaccine Decision-Making Among Pregnant and Lactating Women in Bangladesh
Authors include Rupali J. Limaye, Prachi Singh, Alicia Paul, Berhaun Fesshaye, Clarice Lee, and Ruth Karron
 In this study, published in Vaccine, the authors conducted 24 in-depth interviews with pregnant and lactating women in Bangladesh to examine key factors that informed the COVID-19 vaccine decision-making process. The researchers concluded that perceived vaccine benefits and vaccine safety, peer influence, health care provider recommendations, and vaccine mandates are critical factors that inform the decision-making process. Targeting these factors with multi-level interventions is paramount to improve vaccine acceptance among this vulnerable population.
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An Evaluation of the Early Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Zambia's Routine Immunization Program
Authors include Amy K. Winter, Saki Takahashi, Andrea C. Carcelen, Kyla Hayford, William J. Moss, and Simon Mutembo
In addition to morbidity and mortality from COVID-19, the pandemic also disrupted local health systems, including reductions or delays in routine vaccination services and catch-up vaccination campaigns. This study, published in PLOS Global Public Health, evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Zambia’s national immunization program and its impact on the number of missed vaccinations. Compared to 2018/2019, the study estimated minimal pandemic-related disruptions to childhood measles-rubella dose 1 (MR1) and doses 1 and 3 of the pentavalent vaccine (Penta1 and Penta3). However, efforts to maintain routine immunization services continue to be critical to minimize the risk of infectious disease outbreaks. |
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