LATEST ESWI NEWS

What are European countries doing to protect populations this Flu Season?

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ESWI co-signed an open letter to express our concern about the average low coverage rates for flu vaccination in Europe. We call for concrete action to meet the WHO 75% target among risk groups, especially in this season!

Read the letter here: https://www.vaccineseurope.eu/news/articles/open-letter-calling-for-urgent-action-to-address-alarmingly-low-coverage-rates-for-influenza-vaccination

VaxHunt: “The Quest to Prevent the Next Pandemic” winners!

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Congratulations to Guha, Sila, and Julia, winners of VaxHunt: The Quest to Prevent the Next Pandemic,  an online game launched by the Influenzer Initiative at #ESWI2020.

This interactive game engages players in one of science’s greatest challenges- universal vaccine protection against influenza.

If you missed your chance to play, fear not, a new in-person VaxHunt is in the works for #ESWI2021, if COVID-19 safety provisions permit. Since its debut in December, the virtual VaxHunt has also been globally launched with another round of prizes for high scorers:

1st place: $500 USD

2nd place: $250 USD

3rd place: $100 USD

The game features trivia and puzzle challenges where players explore:

  • The threat and history of influenza pandemics
  • Why we need a universal influenza vaccine (UIV)
  • The challenges of developing next-generation influenza vaccines
  • The innovative, transdisciplinary approaches that may unearth the UIV mystery and deliver on its potential

Our experience with COVID-19 has been a wake-up call to the ever-present threat an influenza pandemic poses to society. To prevent another pandemic, a universal influenza vaccine is imperative. Now is the time to fuel next-generation vaccine innovation by stimulating researchers, tech experts, thought leaders and investors to catalyze novel approaches and technologies. This challenging mission will require scientific breakthroughs, disruptive policy, and a new generation of bold flu fighters to accelerate critical vaccine research and development.

We hope you will share VaxHunt with your networks and make this important quest go viral!

*Players can also enjoy VaxHunt with the confidence that each module has been thoroughly reviewed by STEM.org Educational Research™(SER) and awarded its STEM.org Authenticated™ trustmark.

Copywrite: Sabin Vaccine Institute

World Immunization Week 2021 – Vaccines bring us closer

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World Immunisation Week – celebrated every year in the last week of April – aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. Immunisation saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognised as one of the world’s most successful health interventions. Yet, there are still nearly 20 million children in the world today who are not getting the vaccines they need, and many miss out on vital vaccines during adolescence, adulthood and into old age.

Using the theme ‘Vaccines bring us closer’, World Immunisation Week 2021 will urge greater engagement around immunisation globally to promote the importance of vaccination in bringing people together, and improving the health and wellbeing of everyone, everywhere throughout life.

Source: World Health Organization

 

#vaccinesbringuscloser

 

Coronavirus, flu and RSV colliding in the fall: conclusions of ESWI’s webinars and recommendations

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ESWI organised four webinars in June 2020 to address these questions and discuss them amongst peers, clinicians and policymakers.

INFLUENZA AND RSV IN A COVID-19 WORLD

CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF COVID-19, INFLUENZA AND RSV

INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR COVID-19, INFLUENZA AND RSV

CORNERSTONES OF PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND URGENT ACTIONS

The following is a summary of the main conclusions and recommendations from each of the four webinars.

thumbnail of Conclusions of ESWI’s webinars and recommendations

ESWI Young Scientist Awards 2020

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The fifth edition of the ESWI Young Scientist Best Body Of Work award goes to Dr. Robert de Vries, Utrecht University, The Netherlands for his substantial accomplishments to date in the field of understanding influenza virus dynamics.

The first edition of the ESWI Young Scientist Innovative Award, a research grant supported by Seqirus, goes to Dr. Kirsty Short, University of Queensland, Australia, for her innovative research in vaccine development.

Both Dr. de Vries and Dr. Short will receive an invitation to give a keynote lecture during the Young Scientists Plenary session at the 7th ESWI Influenza Conference in Valencia, Spain (13-16 September).

Stimulating the careers of promising researchers being one of ESWI’s objectives, several applicants have been invited to co-chair a scientific session at the 2020 Valencia  Conference.