On April 27, 28 and 30, in regards to World Immunization Week, Vaccination Awareness Days were held at DTMU. The event was organized by Association of Immunization and Vaccinology (AIVA). The association consists of DTMU students and graduates. Its main goal is to communicate evidence-based information about immunization and raise vaccine awareness in the community.
The main goal of Vaccination Awareness Days was to provide students with scientifically proved information and promote discussion on controversial topics and questions regarding vaccination/immunization. The 3-day event consisted of theoretical and practical parts.
The audience consisted of DTMU students, as well as medical and non-medical students from other universities.
The first day, April 27, was dedicated to discussing the importance of vaccination, general principles of vaccinology, vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccine adverse events. The topics were presented by AIVA members, DTMU students – Tamar Ratishvili, Avtandil Kochiashvili, Ana Metreveli, Tamar Chomakhidze and Ana Tchania.
April 28, the second day of the event, mainly focused on questions, controversy and myths about immunization/vaccination. DTMU students, AIVA members – Mariam Mepistsveridze, Ketevan Gvazava, Nino Javakhishvili and Tamar Ratishvili discussed vaccine hesitancy, anti-vaccination and communication of evidence-based knowledge about vaccines.
After the lectures, attendees were divided into groups. With the help of assigned trainers, each group practiced vaccine administration techniques on simulators.
The session of April 30 was led by Public Health committee of Georgian Medical Students Association (GMSA-SCOPH). The importance of vaccination in the scope of maintaining public health was discussed by DTMU students, GMSA members – Nino Akubardia and Ana Sinauridze. As part of the event, public health expert, head of DTMU Public Health Department, professor Giorgi Pkhakadze discussed global vaccine action plan, strategies and challenges in the field.