The Annual Vaccinology Course

ECAVI organizes the annual vaccinology course that has now trained over 900 health workers and equipped them to be agents of change and champions for immunization in their localities. The overwhelming response by health workers from the previous adverts of the vaccinology course, with the ever-rising pending list of applicants seeking to attend the course, coupled with a broadening representation outside the traditional 11 Eastern Africa countries show that most vaccine handlers/managers are eager to be trained further and be equipped on current and new vaccines and how to improve the current immunization practices. Understanding the threat posed by vaccine hesitancy, how vaccines work, how they are developed, vaccine preventable diseases and their epidemiology, best practices and legal issues in vaccination are some of the topics that will be addressed in the course. The rising cases of health worker and community vaccine hesitancy, adverse events following immunizations, anti-vaccine sentiments, and resurgence of diseases like measles have all increased need for more advocacy and training on better standardized immunization practices and response. This training equips participants to be advocates/champions for immunization in their localities.