London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Join us to mark World Immunization Week 2020 with a series of remote events on 'vaccines throughout the life course'. The theme of World Immunization Week this year is #VaccinesWorkforAll. The WHO has produced a series of case studies and materials highlighting the important impact of vaccines around the world. 

The VaC programme aims to highlight research work at LSHTM and within our networks on vaccines, each day looking at a vaccine or disease that is important to a specific age group or at a particular stage of life. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic the VaC will continue to promote work on diverse vaccines in given the vital role that immunization plays in global health.

Day 1 of World Immunization Week on Friday the 24th of April we start with an event looking at vaccines in pregnancy with a joint webinar with the MARCH Centre focusing on work towards a Group B Streptococcus (GBS) vaccine for pregnant women. We are also joined by one of the directors of the leading GBS charity in the UK which provides information and support to families affected by GBS.

Day 2 on Monday the 27th of April we move onto vaccines in newborns with a focus on the Hepatitis B vaccines. We get perspectives on this important vaccine from researchers and clinicians working in African contexts including in the Gambia. The threat to this vaccine in the context of COVID-19 will also be discussed. This event will not be live, but a webinar recording will be streamed on the day.

On Day 3, Tuesday the 28th of April we have a live webinar on pneumococcal vaccines as part of the focus on vaccines in young children. Experts from LSHTM in London and at the MRC Unit the Gambia contribute to this event covering research on the schedule of pneumococcal vaccines, the need to understand pneumococcal transmission, recent modelling work and work on pneumococcal phyogenetics.

On Day 4 Wednesday the 29th of April we focus on vaccines in adolescents looking at the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Students from the STIRIG and VaC student groups present findings from their survey among student peers on HPV vaccination rates and knowledge. 

The final day of the programme on Thursday the 30th of April  we look at vaccines in older adults mainly addressing the UK context. We are joined by both internal and external speakers who will discuss why vaccines are an important preventative tool for elderly populations and how we can address some of the challenges of reaching these groups.

On Friday May 1st we round off the week and this series of webinars with a special event on COVID-19 in the context of vaccine development and impact of the pandemic on routine vaccination programs. LSHTM researchers will share insights into the current landscape and timelines of COVID-vaccine development and reflect upon the “collateral damage” that could potentially result through the deviation of attention away from routine immunization programs. We also hear from LSHTM experts who have worked on vaccine development and clinical trials in other pandemic situations and discuss lessons learned from these experiences.

Download the full programme.

Webinar recordings here

• Day 1: Group B streptococcus (GBS) in pregnancy - https://bit.ly/WIWVaCGBS
• Day 2: Vaccinating newborns against Hepatitis B in pregnancy - https://bit.ly/WIWVaCHepB
• Day 3: Understanding the impact of pneumococcal vaccines - https://bit.ly/WIWVaCPneufile 
• Day 4: Immunization and adolescents – the HPV vaccine - https://bit.ly/WIWVaCHPV
• Day 5: Prevention and vaccines in older people  https://bit.ly/WIWVaCEld
• Day 6: COVID-19 vaccines to the rescue? https://bit.ly/WIWVaCCOVID