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The 1st online free refresher vaccinology course for health care specialists already trained in vaccinology.

The next edition of ARVAC will be held on:

8-10 September 2026 (Morning sessions 10:00AM–12:30PM CET) and

15-17 September 2026(Afternoon sessions 3:00PM–5:30PM CET).

Registration will open in Early July for the 2026 edition. A link will be added in due time. Stay Tuned!

 

Context of ARVAC

ICAVT is a partnership of more than 30 vaccinology courses worldwide. Those trainings have a different history, background, content and audiences but they all have trained, over the years, altogether, thousands of experts in the area of vaccinology.

However, alumni from those various trainings have constantly requested to attend again the trainings they attended initially or other ones to update their knowledge as the vaccinology area is in constant evolution and changes thanks to a strong research pipeline and a rich and diverse implementation community.

Instead of allowing alumni to attend the trainings they already completed again or attend another course and therefore reduce the number of new experts trained, ICAVT members have agreed to jointly develop a single common refresher course dedicated to their alumni. This course provides annually the alumni from various background with lectures on the last updates on immunization and on new topics key for their daily activities.

ARVAC Course objectives

The course aims at providing a refresher course and latest updates on immunization and vaccines to the alumni of the various existing advanced vaccinology training courses worldwide and their partners already trained in vaccinology/immunology. 

The alumni refresher vaccinology course will provide updates in the following key areas of vaccinology: immunology, vaccine development, clinical trials, regulatory processes, vaccine-specific issues including new vaccines, vaccination strategies and policies, programme implementation, humanitarian emergencies, social, economic, political and ethical issues, financing, and communications. It will also provide lectures on new areas of the discipline uncovered by previous courses.

Who can attend?

This new course is targeting health care experts which have already been trained in vaccinology/immunology (ICAVT Alumni and partners). If you haven't been trained yet in vaccinology, we advise you to visit the ICAVT Vaccinology Trainings catalogue to identify courses you can apply to.

Format

The exact same online course is offered twice to allow participants from all over the world to attend (Morning + Afternoon sessions scheduled on 2 different weeks):

  • Each week, 3 half-day sessions (3-4 hours each) are offered.
  • Each session of 3-4 hours contains 3 to 4 lectures of 35 minutes each.
  • Each lecture consists in a 25-minutes lecture and a 10 minutes live discussion between the attendants and the lecturer, animated by the chair of the session (an ICAVT member)
  • Alumni and ICAVT partners can ask questions using the Chat. 

Accreditation

The ARVAC programme will be submitted for accreditation to the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®). Up to 6 CME credits can thus be earned by the attendants of each session (Morning week : EACCME® event reference TBC; and Afternoon week : EACCME® event reference TBC).

The course organizer (ADVAC at the University of Geneva) will check the attendance during the course to be able to deliver the Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits adequately.  Participants in the Course should be able to convert these credits through their respective professional bodies. For more imformation on the mutual recognition of credits please consult the page "collaboration" on https://eaccme.uems.eu/ 

 Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more info. 

 

PROGRAMME ARVAC 2026

MORNING WEEK: 8-10 SEPTEMBER 2026

10:00AM–12:30PM CET - Every day

TUESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2026

Opening By Kamel Senouci, Director ADVAC, ICAVT Secretariat 

Chair - TBC

Lecture 1: Making sense of GAVI 6.0 and what it means for immunization programs, Marta Tufet, GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance, Switzerland

Panel 1: Updates on support to countries for prioritization and optimization of national immunization programmes (VPOP), Johanna Fihman (WHO HQ) and Alam Khattak (UNICEF), Switzerland

Lecture 2: Update on SAGE recommendations, Cristiana Toscano, SAGE/Federal University of Goiás, Brazil

Lecture 3: case study of use of modelling to inform national decision-making, TBC

Additional Resources:  to be uploaded
WEDNESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2026
Chair - TBC

Lecture 4: Human Challenge Trials or other ways of assessing vaccine efficacy, Chris Chiu, Imperial College, UK

Lecture 5: Secondary effects of vaccines, Arnaud Didierlaurent, Center for Vaccinology, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Lecture 6: Pipeline vaccines for Nipah and Rift Valley, TBC

Lecture 7: Updates on PCV, Brad Gessner, EPIVAC Consulting, USA

Additional Resources: to be uploaded
THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2026
Chair - TBC

Lecture 8: Optimization of immunization campaigns, TBC

Lecture 9: Vaccination in humanitarian settings, Karl Blanchet, University of Geneva, Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies, University of Geneva

Lecture 10: Artificial Intelligence literacy and use for vaccinology, TBC

Lecture 11: A vaccine against information disorder, TBC

Additional Resources: to be uploaded

 

 AFTERNOON WEEK: 15-17 SEPTEMBER 2026 

3:00PM–5:30PM -Every day

TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2026

Opening By Kamel Senouci, Director ADVAC, ICAVT Secretariat 

Chair - TBC

Lecture 1: Making sense of GAVI 6.0 and what it means for immunization programs, Marta Tufet, GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance, Switzerland

Panel 1: Updates on support to countries for prioritization and optimization of national immunization programmes (VPOP), Johanna Fihman (WHO HQ) and Alam Khattak (UNICEF), Switzerland

Lecture 2: Update on SAGE recommendations, Cristiana Toscano, SAGE/Federal University of Goiás, Brazil

Lecture 3: case study of use of modelling to inform national decision-making, TBC

Additional Resources:  to be uploaded
WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2026
Chair - TBC

Lecture 4: Human Challenge Trials or other ways of assessing vaccine efficacy, Chris Chiu, Imperial College, UK

Lecture 5: Secondary effects of vaccines, Arnaud Didierlaurent, Center for Vaccinology, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Lecture 6: Pipeline vaccines for Nipah and Rift Valley, TBC

Lecture 7: Updates on PCV, Brad Gessner, EPIVAC Consulting, USA

Additional Resources:  to be uploaded
THURSDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2026
Chair - TBC

Lecture 8: Optimization of immunization campaigns, TBC

Lecture 9: Vaccination in humanitarian settings, Karl Blanchet, University of Geneva, Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies, University of Geneva

Lecture 10: Artificial Intelligence literacy and use for vaccinology, TBC

Lecture 11: A vaccine against information disorder, TBC

Additional Resources:  to be uploaded

 

 

 RESOURCE MATERIAL - in progress

 

 Detailed Agendas

Week 1  Week 2 

 

Specific Objectives of the Training 

 

 

Scientific Committee

 

Lecturers & Panelists 

Declarations of interest   Biographies
 
Chairs 
Declarations of interest  Biographies