Angus Thomson | Principal
Irimi

Angus Thomson, Principal, Irimi

Angus Thomson is Principal of Irimi, an organization focused on building public trust in public health programs, with a particular focus on immunization. He is also Adjunct Clinical Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, USA. Angus was previously Senior Social Scientist for the Demand for Immunization team at UNICEF HQ. Dr. Thomson has conceived and helped build a number of global vaccine demand programs including the Vaccination Demand Observatory, the International Pediatrics Association Vaccine Trust Project, and an international collaboration which validated the use of contextdriven vaccine messaging on online platforms. He co-authored the Vaccine Misinformation Management Field Guide (15,000+ downloads) and the Vaccine Messaging Guide. He is a technical expert on vaccine demand and uptake for organisations like UNICEF and the World Bank, and frequently speaks with the media, including CNN, the BBC and El Pais, on the subject. Having developed the 6As taxonomy of determinants of vaccination uptake, he has run national multi-stakeholder projects in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America that aim to improve vaccination uptake in national immunization programs. Angus has published over 20 peer-reviewed opinion pieces, research papers, and book chapters on vaccine confidence and coverage, and co-edited an 18-paper Special Issue on Vaccine Confidence in Vaccine. He lectures on Vaccine Confidence for the VaxinLive Masters Program in Lyon, and the Harvard School for Public Health Vaccines and Vaccination course.

Appearances:



Pre-Congress Workshops - Monday 1st April @ 14:00

Beyond Efficacy Workshop: Innovating vaccine development and implementation for impact

BEYOND EFFICACY [PM3]: Innovating vaccine development and implementation for impact

Room 207A

 

Vaccine efficacy is only one determinant of vaccine impact. This workshop will explore innovations throughout the development of a novel vaccine which may ensure better access and equity. Whichever the theme each year, it will challenge our thinking, our dogmas and perhaps reveal new horizons. It honours Dr Mike Watson, a true vaccinologist and original thinker.

 

2pm Workshop leader opening remarks: Dr Angus Thomson, Principal, Irimi Company, Bruce Gellin, MD, MPH, Chief, Global Public Health Strategy, Senior Vice President, Health, The Rockefeller Foundation

 

2:10pm Presentation 1: Program implementation – Electronic Immunization Records are foundational for equitable vaccination (and PHC)

EIRs can reduce HCW workload, track the un- and under-vaccinated and be leveraged in many ways to build vaccine demand and uptake. They can facilitate a switch from input-based financing to results-based financing, a transformational shift which can drive vaccine uptake and may be a scaffold for many other PHC services.

Rustam Nabiev, Director, Shifo Foundation

 

2:40pm Presentation 2: Outracing the Outbreak: CEPI’s Mission to Develop Vaccines in 100 Days

To meet its vision of developing a pandemic vaccine within 100 days, CEPI identified a number of transformational innovations in technologies, processes and partnerships that will be required. What are these necessary shifts in what we do and in how we think and act? And how can they inform the development and delivery of routine vaccines as well?

Dr Rebecca Farkas, Director of Dept of R&D Innovations, CEPI

 

3:10pm Presentation 3: Beyond the infodemic: Building a foundation for infodemiology within public health systems

Public health programs across the world struggled with an infodemic of disinformation through the COVID-19 pandemic. However our understanding of how to more systematically track and respond to disinformation, and how to proactively create healthier health nformation  ecosystems moved ahead in leaps and bounds. Infodemiology is a new public health discipline that studies the spread of information with the goal of improving health. Infodemiology.com, which launched this week, provides live dashboards that track trending online health conversations, practical trainings that will help integrate infodemiology into daily practice, and the latest resources from across the field. It aims to support public health professionals and health care providers to practice effective infodemiology in routine practice, and is already being used by leading public health institutions and healthcare associations in the US.

Joe Smyser, CEO, The Public Good Projects

3:40pm Presentation 4: How do we make sure that the vaccines we develop are what countries want?

Recent new vaccine technologies such as mRNA, peptides or VLPs allow for rapid, flexible and scalable development and production of new vaccine candidates. But these innovations mean little if they aren’t translated into vaccines that used. How can we map the potential public health, economic and societal value and the realities of vaccination programs when selecting candidate vaccines.

Dr William Hausdorff, Public Health Value Proposition Lead, PATH

 

4.10pm Panel Discussion with all speakers.

last published: 28/Mar/24 22:05 GMT

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