Global Health Institute

The session began with remarks from Phyllis R. Magrab, Ph.D., a senior advisor to GUGHI and the current lead of GC-REACH, who encouraged attendees to share information, explore potential collaborations, and brainstorm big ideas to pursue. She underscored that the meeting “[demonstrated] GUGHI’s commitment to create avenues for engagement across the Georgetown community, bringing together a diverse group of students, faculty, and global health experts.”

Following Magrab’s remarks, moderator Bruce Gellin, M.D., MPH, a senior advisor to GUGHI and an adjunct professor of medicine in the Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), reflected on his 15 years of experience coordinating federal efforts to promote vaccination as the former director of the National Vaccine Program Office at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Faculty and Student Researchers Pursue Vaccine-Related Topics

Four speakers from across the university shared their current work relating to childhood vaccination, starting with Rebecca Katz, Ph.D., MPH, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and Security and a professor in the Georgetown University School of Medicine and School of Foreign Service. Katz presented her team’s work to map national and local public health laws and policies through the Analysis and Mapping of Policies for Emerging Infectious Diseases project, which includes a review of childhood vaccination policies. Her presentation described the significant decrease in vaccine uptake over the last decade, driven by parental vaccine hesitancy and lack of access. A decline in vaccine confidence has also been exacerbated by the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

Wolfgang Rennert, M.D., a professor of clinical pediatrics at Georgetown University School of Medicine, discussed his work as medical director of the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, which supports lower- and middle-income countries in expanding vaccination programs. Dr. Rennert described some of the challenges and strategies in global vaccination efforts and explained that while low-income countries receive free vaccines from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, middle-income countries usually do not receive external assistance (with an exception being members of the Pan American Health Organization).

This lack of international support, coupled with the high prices often charged by manufacturers, creates significant challenges to sustaining and expanding vaccination programs in lower- and middle-income countries. Recognizing that vaccination programs require upfront investment but yield long-term benefits, Dr. Rennert works to secure grants to cover these initial costs.

“Vaccines pay for themselves. For every dollar invested in a vaccine, countries can save four dollars in direct medical costs, and between 15 to 30 dollars in indirect costs. They reduce hospitalization, outpatient visits, and more. A dollar spent on a vaccine is repaid to society many times over.”

The challenges of vaccinating children in conflict zones were addressed by Jasnoor Kaur Anand (G’26), a GUGHI student fellow with the Global Maternal and Child Health Collaborative and a graduate student in the Master of International Development Policy program. She called for more targeted efforts to reach these vulnerable populations, particularly in areas where insecurity and lack of infrastructure complicate the delivery of vaccines. Kaur Anand also remarked that in 2023, 14.5 million children worldwide were categorized as “zero-dose,” meaning they did not receive any immunizations. Alarmingly, 55% of these children lived in conflict-affected regions.

Steven Singer, Ph.D., a professor in the Georgetown University Department of Biology, focused on the intersection of childhood vaccination and stunting. He described his lab’s work contributing to the development of a vaccine for Giardia, a common cause of diarrheal disease and a significant contributor to stunting in children. Stunting, a common form of growth failure related to poor nutrition during childhood, is associated with long-term cognitive deficits and has a devastating impact on individuals, families, and communities, including an estimated economic cost of $135 billion USD globally.

Expanding the Conversation

Subsequent open discussion engaged various stakeholders in attendance. Margaret Baker, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Global Health, shared details of upcoming projects, including one in partnership with the Global Institute for Disease Elimination that focuses on delivering infectious disease control in conflict settings. Sylvia Ojoo, a resident field director at the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact and an associate professor of medicine at GUMC, joined the session from Kenya. Drawing on her team’s experience with polio vaccination campaigns in northern Kenya, she described how leveraging social infrastructure rather than formal health systems helped them navigate obstacles such as insecurity created by major terrorist groups.

The discussion culminated with a proposal to hold a follow-up meeting in early 2025 to explore closer interdisciplinary collaboration on childhood vaccination from centers and departments across Georgetown campuses. Additionally, Kaur Anand is currently conducting a mapping initiative on childhood vaccines across the university. If you are involved in work related to vaccinations, please fill out this form to be included in the mapping initiative. If you are interested in joining the Global Maternal and Child Health Collaborative, contributing to joint work on early childhood vaccination, and keeping informed about future lunch seminars, please fill out this collaborative interest form.