On 25-26 May 2021, RIVER-EU participated in an online event organised by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) to launch four new projects, co-funded under the 3rd EU Health Programme and the Horizon 2020 Research Programme. The event aimed to identify synergies and facilitate cooperation across those initiatives that are addressing vaccination uptake in disadvantaged and hard-to reach populations, as well as in underserved communities.
The following new projects were presented by their coordinators:
- RISE-Vac project (EU Health Programme) Reaching the hard-to-reach: Increasing access and vaccine uptake among prison population in Europe. Lara TAVOSCHI, University of Pisa, (IT)
- ImmuHubs project (EU Health Programme) Innovative Immunisation Hubs, Reducing transmission of vaccine preventable diseases. Barbara RATH, The Vienna Vaccine Safety Initiative, (DE)
- AcToVax4NAM project (EU Health Programme) Increased Access To Vaccination for Newly Arrived Migrants. Pania KARNAKI, Project Coordinator, Prolepsis Institute, (EL)
- RIVER-EU project (H2020) Reducing Inequalities in Vaccine uptake in the European Region – Engaging Underserved communities. Danielle JANSEN, Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen, (NL)
Several complementary projects, including the research projects JitsuVax and Vax-Trust and the health programme project IMMUNION, were also introduced. These projects share a common aim of reaching health care professionals and improving their training and communication skills around vaccines and vaccination.
The participants – mainly representatives from ongoing EU-funded projects – had a chance to discuss the complementarity and cooperation aspects of their projects, as well as the importance of effective communication on vaccination. The potential role of the European Vaccination Information Portal (EVIP) and the Coalition for Vaccination to coordinate future exchanges were recognised, yet no immediate agreements were reached during the meeting.