WORKING GROUP ON LIFECOURCE IMMUNIZATION

  
             
 

Promoting Life Course Vaccination Strategies as the Basis of Health Systems Resilience and Preparedness Across Europe

  
             
 

The Life Course Immunisation Working Group aims to advise evidence-based strategies, practices, and policies to:

  • Provide evidence that vaccinations for all ages against all vaccine-preventable diseases are the main strategy to pursue to reduce unnecessary hospitalisations, minimise the danger of other disease outbreaks and build community immunity against a number of diseases.
  • Close the vaccination gap between childhood and adult vaccines
  • Establish and maintain national budgets for all available and effective vaccines

 As part of the Life Course Working Group there are linked Special Focus Teams covering:

  1. Healthcare Professionals – HCP vaccine uptake and advocacy strategies
  2. Adolescents – Increasing adolescent vaccine rates and vaccine acceptance
  3. Chronic Conditions – Vaccine strategies and policies for at-risk groups
  4. Pregnancy – Increasing vaccination uptake among pregnant women? One-Shot two lives

As issues arise each year the Teams may form into full Focus Groups with an annual meeting and action plan. Also, new Special Focus Team may be formed to react to needs and events.

  
             
 

Would you like to join the group and participate in the meetings and the work? Send us a request 

    
             
             
 

MEMBERS AND PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

  
 

Daniel Bausch (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) ● Siddartha Datta (World Health Organization) ● Anna Odone (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan) ● Carlo Signorelli (University Vita-Salute San Raffaele of Milan) ● Roy Philip (University of Limerick, Ireland) ● Mihai Craiu (Carol Davila University of Medicine, Romania) ● Alison Maaasen (Euro Healthnet) ● Maria Viegas (European Medical Students' Association) ● Sam Nye (Confederation of Meningitis Organizations) ● Elizabeth Adams (European Federation of Nurses Associations) ● Marianne Chagnon (European Union of Medical Specialists) ● Jess McNamara (European Pharmaceutical Students' Associations) ● Daphne Holt (Coalition for Life-Course Immunisation) ● Nenad Miljković (European Association of Hospital Pharmacists) ● Barbara Rath (Vienna Vaccine Safety Initiative) ● Mariano Votta (Networking Active Citizenship Network) ● Catherine Weil Olivier (Paris VII University) ● Silvia Romeo (Think Young) ● Daniela Quaggia (Networking Active Citizenship Network) ● Jane Barratt (International Federation on Ageing) ● Tracey Chantler (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) ● Vytautas Usonis (Vilnius University) ● Dace Zavadska (Global NITAG Network) ● Ber Oomen (European Specialist Nurses Organisation) ● Diana Ramasauskaite (Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Clinic) ● Peggy McGuire (European Institute of Women’s Health) ● Lieke Sanders (Institute of Public health and the Environment, Netherlands) •Catherine Weil-Olivier (Paris VII University) ● Martine Ingvorsen (Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety) ● Steffen Amann (European Association of Hospital Pharmacists) ● Elena Moya (Confederation of Meningitis Organisations) ● Valtyr Thors (Children’s Hospital Reykjavik) •Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen (University Medical Center Utrecht) ● Irene Rivero-Calle (University Clinical Hospital of Santiago de Compostela) ● Malcolm Taylor (Coalition for Life-Course Immunisation) ● Gertraud Daye (NGO Committee on Ageing, UN) ● Hanna Nohynek (National Institute for Health and Welfare THL Helsinki) ● Philippe de Wals (Laval University, Quebec, Canada) ● Francisco Gimenez-Sanchez (Balmis Institute of Vaccines, Spain)

  
             
             
 

BRIEFINGS FROM MEMBERS

  
       
             
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AREAS AND DISCUSSION POINTS EXAMINED BY THE GROUP

  
  How can we build on our COVID experience to reinforce adult vaccination infrastructures and move to a lifecourse immunization approach in EU countries?  
         
  Should obligatory vaccination against COVID for specific groups, such as healthcare professionals, pave the way for similar interventions for other vaccines (e.g influenza)?  
         
  VACCINATIONS IN PREGNANCY - What is the best strategy to increase vaccination uptake among pregnant women?
One-Shot two lives		  
         
  Lifecourse vaccinations are a cornerstone of health system resilience. What must be done from a policy perspective to secure the prioritisation of vaccinations in healthcare budgets in the COVID-19 era?  
     
  Closing the gap of the missing adult vaccinations by tackling low funding and lack of guidance. How should we close the gap of missing adult vaccinations? Especially as an effective adult vaccination infrastructure will be so important for COVID vaccination implementation?  
     
     
 

SUGGESTED ACTIONS AND CAMPAIGNS

  
 

Based on all the work and collaboration between the Working Groups, both in the Expert mapping surveys and the Working Group Meetings that are organised each year, the reports include Observations, Challenges, Strategies and Suggested Campaigns/Actions for each barrier or observation. Working alongside partners and supporters we will then tackle as many areas and conduct as many proposed actions as possible to overcome barriers to vaccination uptake.

  
   
             
 

LATEST ARTICLES, PUBLICATIONS AND NEWS

  
  Click below to view new articles, publications and news related to Influenza vaccinations. As a group, we strive to provide advice on strategies and policies based on best practices and up-to-date scientific evidence and surveillance.