Unlocking the Potential of Immunization for All Ages

Vaccination is recognized as one of the most cost-effective ways of helping to reduce disease and related morbidity and mortality, and promote good health and wellbeing, leading to significant societal and economic value.

One of the core ambitions for the World Health Organization (WHO) Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) is to expand immunization services beyond infancy to include the whole life course and ensure “a world where everyone, everywhere, at every age, fully benefits from vaccines for good health and well-being”. To achieve these goals, strategies will be crucial to build and sustain robust routine immunization programs for all ages.

Amidst evolving epidemiology, the impending winter season and the WHO declaring an end to the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, this session explores the critical importance of sustained prioritization of immunization across the life course, to help protect population health and reduce the burden of vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases on health systems and economies.

Experts will focus on the practical measures needed to firmly embed life course immunization: the role of health care workers in building vaccine confidence; appropriate National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) composition and how pharmacists can improve access and simplify pathways.

This session will be interactive and enable discussion on research findings and how they relate to IA2030.