Vaccination is one of the most important cost-effective public health interventions, with a traditional focus on children, is both underutilized and undervalued.  While there is a solid understanding of the current global policy environment regarding the health, and social and economic benefits of vaccines there are serious inequities within and across countries related to optimal use of vaccines throughout each stage of life.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally shifted the global awareness of the devastating impact of vaccine-preventable diseases.  The Vaccines4Life Summit provides a critical point of connection to be informed, to share learnings and to be part of a multisectoral force to take collective action toward integrating effective immunization policies within primary and long-term care settings, aligned with the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021-2030 and the WHO Immunization Agenda 2030: A Global Strategy To Leave No One Behind.

When: Tuesday, 9 November 2021

Where:  Virtual
                   In-person at The Hilton Niagara Falls Hotel
Time:
9:00AM to 4:00PM
Registration fee:  In-person: $100 USD*
                                        Virtual: $70
*Delegates that register to attend the in-person conference will get a discount rate of  30% to attend the pre-conference event

About the Summit:
The V4L Summit is a virtual and in-person global stage for knowledge exchange and mobilization founded upon 3 critical pillars of life course immunization strategies to leave no one behind: prevention, access and equity.  Explore the intersection of the fields of immunization, ageing, public health, health policy, health economics, government, journalism, digital marketing and communications alongside decision-makers, global thought leaders and frontline healthcare professionals in this premier full-day pre-conference event.

Objectives:

  • To mobilize knowledge from leading global experts on the importance of prioritizing prevention, ensuring access for all, and reducing inequity in the context of adult vaccination
  • To empower delegates from across sectors and disciplines with the information and tools needed to improve vaccination uptake rates across the life course in this pandemic era
  • To inspire urgent action to improve adult vaccination, through strategic communications, building the business case, and promoting the important role of pharmacists, patient advocacy groups and health care professionals in ensuring access to vaccination for all

Register now


To download the program schedule for the Vaccines4Life Summit, click here.

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Speakers

Dr. Mine Durusu-Tanriover

Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

Hacettepe University Vaccine Institute, Department of Immunization Policies, Ankara, Turkey

She graduated from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in 2000 and finished her residency training in internal medicine in 2005 in the same university. She has been serving as the consultant of the Acute Care Unit for several years, mainly admitting patients from the emergency department with acute decompensation of chronic diseases; lower respiratory tract infections, organ failure and acute, undiagnosed conditions.

Dr. Durusu Tanriover worked as the Co-Chief of Hacettepe University Oncology Hospital and the Quality Coordinator of Hacettepe University Hospitals, a Joint Commission International accredited, 1200-bed academic medical center between 2016-2020. Her research area mainly consists of adult vaccination, quality improvement, patient safety and chronic disease management. She has been involved in the Global Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network project as an investigator and site coordinator since 2012 and participated as a subinvestigator in the phase 3 clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines available in Turkey. She is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles.

Representing the Turkish Society of Internal Medicine, she is a member of the National Adult Immunization Guideline Task Force and Medical Specialty Council Curriculum Preparation Task Force. She is the founder and the first chair of the Young Internists Working Group and honorary fellow of the European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM). She is a member of the Quality and Professional Issues and the Adult Vaccination (ADVICE) Working Groups of EFIM. Dr. Durusu Tanriover is currently the Secretary of the Middle East, Eurasia and Africa Influenza Stakeholders Network.

Dr. Antonio Torres

Full Professor in Medicine at the University of Barcelona (UB) and Head of the Respiratory Intesive Care Unit at Hospital Clinic.

Born in Barcelona in 1954, he is Full Professor in Medicine at the University of Barcelona (UB) and Head of the Respiratory Intesive Care Unit at Hospital Clínic. He is considered a physician of reference both nationally and internationally in lung infections, including pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiectasis, immunocompromised patients, weaning, noninvasive ventilation (NIV), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS-ALI).

He leads the research group on Applied Research in Respiratory Diseases of the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), from where he facilitates translational research studies. He also coordinates a CIBER group on respiratory diseases (Ciberes) and takes part in several European projects. He has co-authored more than 300 scientific publications and has supervised 24 Phd theses.

Research interests
Dr. Torres has developed several lines of investigation in the field of respiratory infections and artificial ventilation:
1- Infections in patients in intensive care unit:
2- Infections in patients outside the intensive care unit.
3- Artificial ventilation

Gonçalo Sousa Pinto

Lead, Area of Development and Transformation of the Profession at the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)

Through this role, he supports the work of FIP member organisations and individual pharmacists around the world in advancing pharmacy practice and implementing pharmaceutical professional services in the areas of responsible use of medicines, in the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases as well as infectious diseases, including vaccination services.

Recently, he coordinated and/or co-authored the following FIP publications to support and advocate the role of pharmacists in expanding access to vaccination services:

  • “Building vaccine confidence and communicating vaccine value: A toolkit for pharmacists” (Oct 2021)
  • “FIP Vaccination Handbook for Pharmacists” (2021)
  • “Pharmacy-based pandemic vaccination programme regulatory self-assessment tool” (2021)
  • “An overview of pharmacy’s impact on immunisation coverage: A global survey” (2020)
  • “Give it a shot: Expanding immunisation coverage through pharmacists” (2020)
  • “FIP global vaccination advocacy toolkit: Supporting and expanding immunisation coverage through pharmacists” (September 2019)

Gary Finnegan

Editor, Vaccines Today

Gary Finnegan is an experienced health journalist, editor and author.  He has a degree in physiology and an MSc in science communication, and he is a former Editor of the Irish Medical News and a newspaper columnist.

Gary has been the Editor of Vaccines Today since it was launched in 2011, is a trustee of the Coalition for Life-Course Immunisation, and he has served on the Advisory Board of the WHO Vaccine Safety Net network of trustworthy vaccine websites. He is a co-author of the Vaccine Misinformation Guide published by UNICEF in December 2020.

He was a national winner at the European Commission’s EU Health Prize for Journalists on three occasions and has won two Irish Medical Media Awards for online health journalism and opinion writing.

Lois Privor-Dumm

Senior Advisor, Policy, Advocacy & Communications and Director, Adult Vaccines, at the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 She is a global expert and advocate for equitable vaccination and access across the life-course.  Her research focuses on determinants of vaccine policy and uptake and vaccine acceptance.  In Baltimore, she worked with the Baltimore City Health Department and partners to establish the VALUE peer ambassador program and leads education efforts to build vaccine literacy, increase trust and enable access to COVID-19 vaccination in underserved communities. 

She works with various coalitions to engage communities and promote vaccine literacy, and is a member of the Maryland Department of Health COVID-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group and Vaccine Equity Task Force.  She also advises global institutions and partners on strengthening systems to deliver vaccines to older adults.

She joined Hopkins in 2005 and has worked in more than 70 countries helping to accelerate vaccine access.  She holds a Masters of International Business Studies from University of South Carolina, and Executive Certificates in Human-Centered Design and Innovation and Business Communication from Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business.

Michael W. Hodin

CEO, Global Coalition on Aging and Managing Partner, High Lantern Group

Michael W. Hodin, Ph.D. is CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging, Managing Partner at High Lantern Group, and a Fellow at Oxford University’s Harris Manchester College. He has spoken internationally on the topic of aging, including at G20, APEC, Davos, and the World Knowledge Forum (WKF). He is also a blogger on Medium.

From 1976-80, Mike was Legislative Assistant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. During this period he was also a Visiting Scholar at Brookings Institution, on U.S. Foreign Economic Policy. He was a senior executive at Pfizer, Inc. for 30 years, where he created and then led its International Public Affairs and Public Policy operations and served on Management Boards for a number of its businesses.

Mike is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and from 2010-2013, was Adjunct Senior Fellow with a focus on population aging. In 2013, Mike was invited by then-Committee Chairman Bill Nelson (D-FL) to lead a Members’ Roundtable with the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. Mike was also the recipient of the 2012 Fred D. Thompson Award from the American Federation for Aging Research. He sits on the Boards of the Foreign Policy Association, Business Council for International Understanding, NYC Blood Center, American Skin Association, American Federation for Aging Research and Emigrant Savings Bank, where he is Chairman of its compensation committee. Mike was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Ageing. And he sits on the Advisory Board for the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging.

Mike holds a BA, cum laude, Cornell University, M.Sc.in International Relations from The London School of Economics and Political Science, and M.Phil and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.

Cassandra Hall-Murray, PharmD

Senior Director, Global Medical Affairs

Adult Pneumococcal Vaccines Lead, Pfizer

Dr. Hall-Murray is a licensed clinical pharmacist and immunizer with over 25 years of clinical practice experience, with special interests in geriatric care, infectious diseases, and adult immunization. 

Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. Hall-Murray worked as a clinical pharmacist within long-term care, hospital, and home infusion therapy care, specializing in antimicrobial therapy management, and as an adjunct professor of pharmacy practice. Currently, she is the Medical Affairs global adult pneumococcal vaccines lead, after holding several Medical Affairs positions supporting vaccines and anti-infective products within the US.

Dr. Hall-Murray was honored to volunteer for her local Medical Reserve Corps over the past year, helping to support COVID-19 vaccination clinics throughout her community.

Dr. Jonathan M. Edelman

Vice President of Clinical Development at Seqirus

Dr. Jonathan M. Edelman is Vice President of Clinical Development at Seqirus, a Global Influenza Vaccine company, and Dr. Jonathan M. Edelman is Vice President of Clinical Development at Seqirus, a Global Influenza Vaccine company, and part of the CSL group. At Seqirus, Jon is responsible for the clinical research on a wide portfolio of influenza vaccines including those specialized for the very young and very old, as well as the general population. In addition, Jon is responsible for Seqirus’ pandemic influenza vaccines programs in cooperation with governments around the world.

Prior to joining Seqirus, Jon was the Therapeutic Area head for CLS Behring, the sister company of Seqirus, where he directed clinical research into human plasma derived products to treat many rare diseases. Jon has spent the past 27 years in the pharmaceutical industry, working first for Merck and company where he was for 17 years before moving to the CSL group.

Dr. Edelman received his bachelor degree in 1979 from Princeton University and his medical degree from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in 1983. He completed internship and residency in internal medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Jon was on the faculty of the Department of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania where he was an Assistant Professor in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Wistar Institute. While at the University of Pennsylvania, he focused on molecular developmental biology of the lung, studying the role of cell-matrix adhesion molecules.

Dr. Edelman has authored more than 70 publications in leading medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet.

Dr. Marta Nunes

Associate Professor, at the Vaccines & Infectious Diseases Analytics (VIDA) Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand

Dr. Marta Nunes is an Associate Professor, at the Vaccines & Infectious Diseases Analytics (VIDA) Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Marta developed her PhD work at the Department of Neurology & Neuroscience, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, USA and obtained her PhD from the University of Lisbon, Medical College, Portugal.

After her post-doctoral training at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France, where she developed different projects aimed at understanding the cell biology of Plasmodium falciparum and to identify molecular candidates for malaria vaccines for pregnant women. She moved to South Africa in 2009, where the focus of her research has been on the interaction of different putative pathogens on respiratory disease in children and the different manifestations in health and disease to these infections. To approach the problem of infant morbidity and mortality related to infections she is exploring the potential of intervening through vaccination of pregnant women to protect the women and their babies against infections.

This also includes the evaluation of this intervention in reducing adverse birth outcomes. Marta is also conducting large surveillance studies of hospital admissions related to SARS-CoV-2, Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

Dr. Peter Lloyd-Sherlock

Professor of Social Policy and International Development at the University of East Anglia, UK. 

His research focuses on public policy and older people in low and middle-income countries, including health and social care.  Dr. Lloyd-Sherlock is currently leading research projects related to COVID-19 and older people in Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and Argentina. 

He also runs an informal expert network on related issues: https://corona-older.com/.  Dr. Lloyd-Sherlock is a member of WHO’s Clinical Consortium on Healthy Ageing and the Lancet Commission on COVID-19 Humanitarian Relief, Social Protection & Vulnerable Groups. 

In recent months, he has developed a new focus on COVID-19 vaccination policies in low and middle-income countries. 

Radu Ganescu

President, national coalition of organisations for patients with chronic conditions of Romania (COPAC), and Vice-president of the European Patient Forum Board

In 2004, inspired to change an unwieldy health care system that offered few choices, Radu founded the Romanian Association of People with Major Thalassemia, together with other patients. In 2006, the Association became a member of International Federation of Thalassemia, which helped to promote modern treatment options, according to international guidelines.

In 2008, the organisation became a member of the National Alliance of Rare Disease and in 2010, the Romanian Coalition of Patients Organizations with Chronic Disease, which in turn became a European Patients’ Forum member organisation in 2011. In 2013, Radu was elected as President of Coalition of Patients Organization with Chronic Disease and continues to play this role.

During the last 7 years, together with the team, he has increased awareness of patients’ rights, developed many information campaigns, and increased the number of active patient organisations in Romania. He is dedicated to advance Romanian patients’ equal access to treatment and medical services and maintaining the quality of healthcare system.

Today the Romanian Coalition of Patients Organization with Chronic Disease is involved in 2 major national projects on screening of cardiovascular disease and cancer, supported of the EU, and implemented in partnership with medical societies and national authorities.

In 2014, Radu was elected as board member of the European Patients’ Forum, becoming treasurer in 2016 and vice-president in 2018. This was an opportunity to share his financial experience, working closely with the secretariat. He has been actively involved in key initiatives such as capacity building for patients’ associations, vaccination for patients with chronic diseases, and patient engagement in clinical studies and innovation more generally.


Vaccine Safety for Older Adults | 60 Second Fact Check Videos’ Campaign

The rise of mass communication and risk of misinformation on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines is a key factor influencing the suboptimal rates of adult vaccination.  It is vital for civil society to have equitable access to sources of accurate information based on the best science.

Building awareness, knowledge and translating this into improved messaging on vaccine safety requires collaboration among physicians, public health officials, governments, and civil society to ensure older persons, especially those with complex health needs, make an informed decision about vaccination and their health and wellbeing.

IFAs ‘Vaccine Safety for Older Adults | 60 Second Fact Check Videos’ campaign aims to increase awareness of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, reduce vaccine hesitancy, improve equity, and build trust within some of the most at risk populations.   

Public health experts, thought leaders and global influencers within the field of adult immunization and ageing share their perspective in order to strengthen and expand accurate, reliable and meaningful information on the proven success of vaccines that protect older persons and those with chronic conditions against life altering diseases.  


For information about the Conference, click here.