About the Course

Vaccinology is the science or methodology of vaccine development. Vaccines are life savior by preventing diseases and disabilities. Benefit of vaccines in public health is enormous. There is strong evidence that shows that infectious diseases like Polio, Diphtheria, Pertussis (whooping cough), Measles, Rubella (German measles), Mumps, Tetanus, Rotaviral diarrhea, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcal Pneumonia are effectively prevented by use of vaccines. These are very effective in dealing with pandemic situations like Covid-19 pandemic, and also with rising antimicrobial resistance. Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective public health intervention that have contributed in the decline of under five mortality & premature deaths among elderly. However, vaccine preventable diseases are still responsible for many preventable deaths in India and Low middle income countries because of the programmatic issues related to access of these vaccines especially to the vulnerable groups and vaccine hesitancy. Several licensed vaccines are available in the market like Human Papilloma Virus vaccine for prevention of cervical cancer, Influenza vaccine, Pneumococcal vaccine, but these are either not affordable due to high cost or are inaccessible due to regulatory issues which needs advocacy at the policy level. Also, there are diseases like malaria, dengue, AIDS which has a huge public health burden. Fortunately, newer vaccines against malaria and dengue are now available; however, their full potential in large-scale settings remains to be thoroughly evaluated.

There is a pressing need to build the capacity of the professionals in the field of vaccinology to ensure that its benefits are maximized at every stage, from vaccine development to introduction and large-scale implementation. However, there remains a critical gap in the availability of specialized training programs, courses, and workshops focused on vaccinology, particularly in India and other LMICs. This lack of structured educational opportunities limits the ability of healthcare professional. Previous three National Vaccinology Workshops were a huge success. In line with it, the 4th PGIVAC International Vaccinology workshop is going to be conducted at Department of Community Medicine & School of Public Health, PGIMER, Chandigarh, an Institute of National Importance.

The objective of this course is to build capacity of the participants from a diverse background including medical, public health, basic sciences, or pharmacology to conduct research related to vaccine development, estimating the vaccine efficacy & effectiveness, strengthening the existing immunization programs, and policy level decision making regarding introduction of newer vaccines.