Effective ways to increase vaccination uptake: Learn the lessons from Aids treatment campaigns
The Columbia Univesity and University of the Witwatersrand recently held a five-day symposium with a range of experts debating topics linked to finding effective ways to increase vaccination. Maverick Citizen was the media partner to the symposium and Mark Heywood made the closing reflections. This is an edited version of his speech.
This week, in a range of stimulating and informative presentations [the full programme is here], scientists covered topics ranging from current concerns about the uptake of childhood vaccinations for diseases other than Covid, to vaccine hesitancy and how to identify and overcome the practical barriers to vaccine uptake.
The input of experts gave us an opportunity to do a virtual stock-take on our response to Covid-19, particularly since the advent of safe and effective vaccines in late 2020. The symposium offered a wealth of information, which is now very important to distil and make accessible to many more people.