The World Vaccine Congress Europe brought together scientists, policymakers and industry leaders to tackle the toughest questions facing vaccines today. Our CEO Rajinder Suri delivered important perspectives, on October 14th, to the panel discussion โRebuilding Public Literacy and Trust in an Era of Polarisation and Political Uncertainty.โ
Sharing the stage with Robb Butler (World Health Organization) and Dr. Elissa Weitzman (Harvard), and moderated effectively by Seth D. Ginsberg (Global Healthy Living Foundation), Rajinder addressed a worrying trend: growing vaccine hesitancy and the resulting backsliding in routine immunisation. Drawing on research led by Prof. Heidi Larson and others, he noted that vaccine confidence has shifted since COVID, with risk perceptions amplified by new products, technologies, policies and processes, and argued that this makes clearer, more transparent public communication essential.
Rajinderโs key messages included:
๐ธ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐-๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Institutions must establish credibility and transparency long before a crisis occurs.
๐น ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐โ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: Industry should proactively engage with the public to explain how vaccines are developed, tested, and monitored for safety.
๐ธ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐: Collaboration with civil society, religious leaders, the media, and community organisations is critical to counter misinformation and disinformation effectively.
๐น ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ต, ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ผ๐โ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ผ-๐ฏ๐ฒ: Introducing vaccine literacy at the school level can help children become informed advocates and bring that understanding into their communities.
๐ธ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: New technologies and policies should be introduced with clear, consistent, and accessible information to foster confidence and acceptance.
This session was not just about recognising the challenges of declining confidence, but about shaping a more informed, transparent, and collaborative approach to rebuilding public trust in vaccines.
