Special note: This seminar will be hosted on Zoom. Please register to receive the link and password two hours before the seminar. Please note that space is limited.
Canada's COVID-19 vaccination programs took a unique approach in several ways. During the pandemic, we saw shifts in federal rather than provincial purchasing, speed of authorization and implementation, expanding and changing vaccine recommendations over relatively short time frames, and extremely diverse programs throughout the country despite centralized recommendations from a well-established advisory committee, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). Looking back over the past three years, what went well and what could have been improved?
In this special fireside chat, we will explore this question with two leaders who shaped Canada’s vaccine programs: Dr. Shelley Deeks, NACI chair and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Nova Scotia, and Dr. Roman Szumski, who led vaccination acquisition efforts at the Public Health Agency of Canada from 2020 to 2021. Join us as these leaders reflect on COVID-19 vaccine programs and share their insights on what learnings and innovations can be applied to routine immunization and public health programming in the future.
Speakers:
Dr. Shelley Deeks, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health, Nova Scotia
Dr. Shelley Deeks is the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health for the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and an Associate Professor in Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University and at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She is the Chair of Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), and a member of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts Polio Working Group. She holds fellowships in Public Health at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine. She has over 25 years' experience as a public health physician and has worked at all levels of the public health system in Canada, and at the national level in Australia.
Dr. Roman Szumski, Special Advisor to the Vice Principal, McGill University
Dr. Roman Szumski joined McGill from the National Research Council of Canada, where he has served as the Vice-President of Life Sciences for 16 years. Previously, he worked first as a pathologist, then for life science company, MDS Inc., and he was the founding CEO of Calgary Laboratory Services. From 2020 to 2021, Dr. Szumski was deployed to the Public Health Agency of Canada to lead their efforts related to vaccine acquisition. He has played an important role in the Government of Canada’s fight against COVID-19 and in support of the biomanufacturing and life sciences private sector. Dr. Szumski holds a Bachelor of Science degree from McGill, and a MD-FRCPC degree from Queen’s University.
Code of Conduct:
Speakers in the CVPD Seminar Series are individuals with an interest in sharing vaccine-specific knowledge in their roles as researchers, students, industry representatives, patients, decision makers and/or healthcare professionals. We thank them for volunteering their time and expertise.
The CVPD is committed to open science and academic freedom. We recognize the value of reasoned discourse, rigorous research, and peer review. This commitment comes with the responsibility to ensure respect for others. Please ensure any questions or comments for today’s speakers are made respectfully and remain in the spirit of positive academic discourse.
About the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, DLSPH:
With leadership housed at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, we are developing an interdisciplinary group of academic researchers, educators and public health advocates. Our vision is to catalyze cutting-edge research and education that maximizes the health benefits of immunization for everyone.
We aim to contribute locally and globally to healthy communities through excellence in interdisciplinary vaccine-preventable disease and immunization research and education.
Questions? Email us at cvpd.dlsph@utoronto.ca
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