FOUNDER
Vaccine Safety Initiative
The Vaccine Safety Initiative (VIVI) is an international scientific think tank and non- profit research organization. VIVI aims to promote science- informed infectious diseases and vaccine safety research and communication, stimulate thinking around critical concepts, and drive innovation in a globalized healthcare setting. Their programming facilitates the implementation of high vaccine safety and efficacy standards and serves as a platform for international and interdisciplinary scientific collaboration in infectious diseases and vaccines.
VIVI has a 10-year track record implementing successful training courses for medical students and healthcare professionals in different EU Member States. Following the circular learning model, vaccine education should start early, for example with courses in media literacy as developed by VIVI for first-semesters entitled ‘Vaccine risk benefit, what’s in the media and what does the scientific literature teach us?’ allowing students to identify online disinformation. For students taking classes in family medicine and paediatrics, ‘hands-on’ training should be provided in injection techniques and the accurate documentation of immunization events. Modules for senior students and residents included four-week electives offering supervised vaccine consultations, e-learning methodologies, multi-source evaluation, and objective structured clinical examination and OSCE stations. Multiple doctoral students have worked and currently work with VIVI while completing their dissertations on vaccine safety, disease surveillance, vaccine hesitancy, quality improvement, health economics, laboratory medicine, infectious diseases, regulatory science, clinical research, and bioethics. VIVI contributes regularly to continuing medical education (CME) activities during medical and scientific conferences, and the co-creation of online video content and practice-oriented media training based on the principles of adult learning.
PARTNERS
European Academy of Paediatrics
The European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP) was founded in 1961. Its members include national paediatric societies from over 40 countries across Europe (28 European Union countries, 4 European Economic Area (EEA) countries and 9 non-EU countries) as well as all 14 UEMS recognised European paediatric subspecialty societies and observer countries. EAP is also the official paediatric section of the European Union of Medical Specialists that is formally linked with the European Commission and Member State Institutions and is responsible for developing European training standards in paediatrics and paediatric subspecialties.
All countries of the European Region plus Israel are full voting members of the EAP. The European Board of Paediatrics (EBP) is embedded within the EAP and aims to maintain the highest possible standards of paediatric training across Europe. The EBP will contribute an established group working towards compatible training content and criteria across Europe. The EAP is a strong advocate for vaccination and best practice standards.
EU Coalition for Vaccination
The EU Coalition for Vaccination and the IMMUNION project (Improving IMMunisation cooperation in the European UNION) worked together to strengthen vaccine education for
healthcare professionals and improve access to reliable, evidence-based information on
immunisation across Europe.
As an integral part of IMMUNION and the Coalition for Vaccination, the Strengthening Education and Knowledge on Immunisation (SEKI) platform has been further developed as a central educational resource bringing together high-quality learning materials from trusted European and international organisations.
For more information about the project, please visit the IMMUNION website and explore the educational resources available throughout the SEKI platform.
RIVER-EU
RIVER-EU (Reducing Inequalities in Vaccine Uptake in the European Region) was a five-year European research and implementation project that brought together partners across Europe to improve equitable access to vaccination for children and adolescents in underserved communities.
Working with eight target communities, the project identified barriers to vaccination, co-developed locally tailored interventions, and evaluated strategies to improve uptake of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. Project activities included work with migrant and minority communities in Greece, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia, generating practical experience and transferable lessons for implementation in diverse healthcare settings.
The project’s findings have been translated into evidence-informed guidance and educational resources designed to support healthcare professionals, policymakers and public health practitioners working to improve equitable access to vaccination across Europe.
As leader of Work Package 6 (WP6), the Vaccine Safety Initiative (VIVI) further developed the Strengthening Education and Knowledge on Immunisation (SEKI) platform as the educational and sustainability hub for the project.
Today, SEKI provides access to educational resources developed by VIVI and its partners alongside carefully curated learning opportunities from organisations including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the World Health Organization (WHO), ADVAC, National Paediatric Associations and other recognised scientific and professional organisations.
Through the SEKI platform, users can explore webinars, podcasts, downloadable learning materials, implementation resources and a growing catalogue of educational opportunities supporting continuing professional development in immunisation and vaccine safety.
The Course Catalogue and Recommended Training Providers sections highlight a representative selection of these learning opportunities, while registered SEKI users can access additional educational features through the platform.
The RIVER-EU Legacy Hub here at SEKI brings together learning resources, implementation experiences, podcasts, downloadable educational materials and practical guidance developed through RIVER-EU to support continued learning and knowledge transfer beyond the lifetime of the project. SEKI also now allows users to collect credit over time.
For more information about the consortium and project results, please visit the RIVER-EU website.
MedLit
Interested in expanding your knowledge beyond infectious diseases? MedLit complements SEKI by placing prevention, vaccination, medicines, and health literacy into a broader public health context.
MedLit (Training for Safer Use of Medication and Improvement of Health Literacy) is a three-year ERASMUS+ collaborative project that aims to strengthen health literacy and promote the safe and appropriate use of medicines and vaccines across Europe.
Building on evidence-based communication and digital learning, MedLit provides practical educational resources for parents, patients, caregivers, older adults, healthcare professionals, and members of the public. The programme addresses topics including responsible medication use, vaccination, antimicrobial resistance, communication with healthcare professionals, and informed health decision-making.
The project is coordinated by the Vaccine Safety Initiative (ViVI) together with GIVMED – Share Medicine Share Life, Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), University of Rzeszów (UR), and the PROLEPSIS Institute. Funded by the European Union under the ERASMUS+ programme, the project was launched in November 2024 and is developing an innovative digital learning platform to improve pharmaceutical literacy and empower citizens to make informed health decisions.
SEKI contributes to MedLit by supporting digital learning and helping translate evidence-based knowledge into accessible educational resources for diverse audiences.
For more information please refer to the MedLit Website
ImmuHubs Project
The ImmuHubs Project aims to reduce the transmission of vaccine-preventable diseases through an increased vaccination uptake among disadvantaged, isolated, and difficult-to-reach population groups. Each ImmuHub will focus on capacity building and knowledge transfer to assist the local region in developing its own sustainable immunization system to last beyond the project’s lifetime.
SEKI also collaborates with ImmuHubs, a HaDEA funded European multi-partner project to improve access to vaccination and thereby, to prevent transmission of vaccine preventable diseases.
The ImmuHubs Project aims to reduce transmission of vaccine-preventable diseases through an increased vaccination uptake among disadvantaged, isolated, and difficult to reach population groups.
Paving the way for breakthrough innovation, the ImmuHubs project is interdisciplinary and intersectoral in its approach, across borders. It is a bridge among different stakeholders that work towards the same direction: a sustainable, innovative, culturally sensitive, bottom-up approach to improve trust and vaccine uptake.
SEKI is part of the sustainability plan for the ImmuHubs project. SEKI will regularly monitor outputs emerging from ImmuHubs to stay on top of emerging new information on educational needs and knowledge gaps in the healthcare workforce in Europe, especially with regards to vaccine access in at-risk population groups. These learnings will be taken forward in SEKI to improve the sustainability of ImmuHubs outputs beyond the lifetime of the EU-funded project.
Symptom Survey
The SymptomSurvey aims to learn from the perspective of patients and caregivers to increase the quality of care. They collect input from various sources to identify which symptoms are present, what improvements could be made, and how the road to recovery can be smoother for all parties involved.
