The Immunisation Coalition (IC) celebrates 25 years of its Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) which started as the only national conference on influenza in Australia. Now, with a much broader scope, Australian and international speakers will be meeting to present the latest data on vaccine preventable diseases, future pandemics, vaccine innovation and safety, and more.
This hybrid event invites clinicians – including specialists, GP’s, immunisation nurses – as well as pharmacists, scientists, vaccine manufacturers, and academics who will have the opportunity to congregate and participate in a series of panel discussions and Q&A sessions.
The history of this event stems back to 1992 when Dr Brendan Nelson (then Vice President of the AMA) initiated the first national influenza awareness campaign. Dr Alan Hampson (of the WHO Collaboration Centre) was the keynote speaker, who went on to establish the influenza Specialist Group (ISG), which in 2016 became the Immunisation Coalition.
In 1999 Prof Lou Irving chaired the inaugural ISG Annual Scientific Meeting, and will again be chairing the 25th ASM. Prof Irving said: “It has been such a privilege to be involved in this event over the past 25 years. The advancements we have seen in immunology have been astounding, and it is not by coincidence that the Nobel Prize last year was awarded in the field of immunology for the development of mRNA technology”.
Dr Brendan Nelson AO said, “many people are alive today because of the work that has been done and continues to be done in the field of immunisation which improves life expectancy”.
And went on to say: “Everyone here today has contributed to the ennoblement of humankind. And more than any medical intervention, immunisation has done more to improve our lives, and to give life to human beings. We can all feel proud of the work that continues today saving millions of lives”.
Mr Kim Sampson, recently retired CEO of the IC and current Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Alliance for the Control of Influenza (APACI) said: “I am very proud of the achievements we have collectively made, and this 25th anniversary represents the culmination of that work.”