CONSORTIUM BELCOVAC 2023: Covid vaccine studies in Belgium, what we have learned

Sciensano is pleased to invite you to its BelCoVac symposium, which will focus on studies on the COVID vaccine in Belgium. 

This symposium will be an opportunity to:

• discover the immune response of different vulnerable and non-vulnerable populations (morning) and to
• learn more about how serosurveillance has been managed in other European countries and how to remain vigilant in the future (afternoon).

The BelCoVac consortium is made up of Belgian clinicians and immunology experts from universities and research laboratories. Together, they are conducting clinical studies to investigate the immune response in (vulnerable) population groups after vaccination with different COVID-19 vaccines. The consortium is coordinated by the Observational Clinical Trials Unit of Sciensano, headed by Maria Goossens.

Program

Morning session (moderator: Frank Hulstaert) 

Internal medicine

8:45 Welcome coffee

9:15 The BelCoVac consortium: How it started | Frank Hulstaert, KCE & Maria Goossens, Sciensano

9:30 Harmonization and standardization: from protocol to lab tests | Pieter Pannus, ULB; Isabelle Desombere, Sciensano; Kevin Arien, ITM; Arnaud Marchant, ULB

10:00 Dynamic presentation of the different study results | Kirsten Maertens, UA; Eline Tommelein, VUB, Katie Steenackers, UA; Isabelle Etienne, Erasme; Nicolas Gemander, Erasme ; Delphine Kemlin, Erasme; Frédéric Baron, CHU Liège; Peter Van Dam, UZA; Stéphanie Depickère, Sciensano 

11:10 Coffee break/poster session

11:30 Challenges of the past and the future from a ‘public health’ perspective | Lieven Annemans, UGent

11:50 Panel discussion with PIs of all studies | Frank Hulstaert, KCE

12:45 Lunch/Poster session

Afternoon session (Moderator: Maria Goossens)

Ethics and economy

13:45 Generic preparedness plan (GPP) | Dirk Ramaekers | FPS Public Health

14:00 EU Approach | Herman Goossens | UA

14:15 Policy-directed COVID-19 vaccine trials: the UK Experience | Saul Faust, Southampton University Hospital

14:45 SARS-CoV-2 Serosurveillance: the Dutch Experience | Nynke Rots, RIVM

15:15 Impact of serology data on modeling | Steven Abrams, UHasselt

15:30 Summary and discussion | Frank Hulstaert, KCE

16:30 Closure drink

Registration

To participate to the symposium, please register before 14/09. 

Accreditation is being requested for general medicine (morning) and ethics and economics (afternoon).