Routine childhood vaccination is understood as one of the most critical factors in controlling and preventing disease. However, there is a developing body of research suggesting that childhood vaccination may also be a cost-effective and powerful tool to combat the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), especially in low-and middle-income countries. The Center for Global Health Science and Security began the development of the Analysis and Mapping of Policies for Emerging Infectious Diseases tool (AMP EID, found at ampeid.org) to create a consolidated database to which decision-makers, policy analysts, and mathematical modelers can turn to assess the global regulatory environment pertinent to infectious diseases. Antimicrobial resistance presents a looming, but often overlooked, threat to human health. The implementation of routine childhood vaccination policies may present one course of action to slow the progression in the development of AMR.
In this presentation, Ciara Weets, senior research associate at the Center for Global Health Science and Security, introduced the AMP EID resource, provided a brief background on the relationship between AMR and routine childhood vaccination, presented preliminary findings from her work collating a database of vaccination policies from 196 countries, proposed the possible analyses to be conducted on this dataset, and solicited feedback from the audience.
This event was open to all Georgetown University faculty, students, staff, and affiliates.
This event was co-sponsored by the Center for Global Health Science and Security, the School of Health’s Department of Health Management and Policy, and the Global Health Institute.
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Ciara Weets (SFS’22, G’24) is a senior research associate and project manager at the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University. Weets is also a second-year master’s student in the global infectious disease program at Georgetown University, pursuing a track in science policy. She graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in December 2022 with a major in science, technology, and international affairs and a minor in Spanish. Her research focuses on analyzing and modeling the interactions between health policy, the environment, and infectious disease dynamics. Her recent articles published in BMJ Global Health focus on international health financing, disease outbreak notification, and water, sanitation, and hygiene policies with implications for antimicrobial resistance.