Duke Kunshan University hosted this conference in collaboration with Zhejiang University. Distinguished participants included the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences, the China National Health Development Research Center, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Sichuan University, Nanjing Medical University, the University of New South Wales, and Duke Kunshan University. Furthermore, the event featured the expertise of professionals from the Development Research Center of the State Council, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and representatives from IQVIA.
Prof. Wu Xifeng, Dean of Zhejiang University School of Public Health, and Prof. Xu Fujie, Deputy Director of the Beijing office of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave welcome speeches.
Throughout the meeting, participating teams presented their ongoing research projects and actively delved into discussions concerning emerging research topics. The primary focus of these discussions encompassed the health economics evaluation and the implementation outcomes of China’s National Immunization Program, mechanisms for funding vaccines, vaccination rates, and the equitable access to non-National Immunization Program vaccinations, the role of perinatal vaccines in alleviating disease burden, the HPV vaccine pay-it-forward initiative, and the influence of social media on HPV vaccine adoption.
Vaxlab progress updates in research and communication are showcased by Shu Chen, Duke University & University of New South Wales and Zhangyang Pan, Sr. Communication Officer of VaxLab.
Concurrently, the conference featured the organization of the sixth technical workshop, titled “Training in Gender Research Methodologies.” Dr. Anna Du, Senior Program Officer of Health, Innovation & Partnerships (HIP) in China Country Office (CCO), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation presented “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Perspective”. Dr. Holly Seale, Associate Professor of the School of Population Health, University of New South Wales presented “Is It Just the Thinking and Feeling Factors Impacting on Vaccine Readiness: We Need to Rethink Our Approach”. In addition, Dr. Yu Wang, Assistant Professor of Sociology Division of Social Sciences, Duke Kunshan University presented “Gender Perspective in Vaccine Research”.
Shenglan Tang, M.D., Ph.D., the Director of VaxLab, Duke Kunshan University, concluded the meeting by encouraging internal communication, and highlighting the imperative for VaxLab to ensure the implementation of health policies related to vaccine delivery.
