Respiratory infections: which vaccines, when and for whom?

Overview

Taking place on 5 February, 2024 this ERS Vision Live panel discussion will explore the question: ‘Respiratory infections: which vaccines, when and for whom?’

The expert panellists will discuss key areas, including:

SARS-CoV-2

Influenza/Pneumococcal

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

This event is free to access but registration is required.

Chairs

Prof. Tobias Welte

Professor of Pulmonary Medicine and Director of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Hannover Medical School, Germany

Prof. Dr Tobias Welte is a Professor of Pulmonary Medicine and Director of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Hannover Medical School, Germany.

Tobias was previously president of the European Respiratory Society (2018-2019) and serves on the executive boards of the German Centre for Lung Research (DZL).

Tobias was awarded the Balzan Price in 2019 and the ERS Sadoul Award in 2023. He has a special interest in vaccine development and implementation of vaccines in clinical practice.

Dr Filipe Froes

Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care Consultant and Head of the Intensive Care Unit at the Hospital Pulido Valente - CHULN, Lisbon, Portugal

Filipe is a Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care Consultant and Head of the Intensive Care Unit at the Hospital Pulido Valente - CHULN, Lisbon, Portugal. He has a PhD in public health and is also a member of the Portuguese National Council for Public Health.

Filipe has always been dedicated to the study of respiratory infections. He was an expert in the Portuguese national immunisation programme and one of the main consultants for the Directorate-General of Health and the Ministry of Health during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. As a result of his commitment, he received the Merit Medal from the Portuguese Medical Association.

Speakers

Dr Eva Polverino

Head of the Research Unit in Respiratory Infections, Department of Respiratory Diseases, Hospital Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona

Eva is a specialist in respiratory diseases since 2003 and currently Head of the Research Unit in Respiratory Infections of the Department of Respiratory Diseases at Hospital Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona (VHIR, Spain).

She is the current ERS Head of Assembly 10: respiratory infections and is an ERS representative for different European Projects focused on the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

Eva’s main lines of investigation are non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFBE), cystic fibrosis (CF) and antimicrobial resistance.

She is author of the European Guidelines on Adult Bronchiectasis and co-chair of EMBARC (European Registry of Bronchiectasis).

Prof. Leif Erik Sander

Professor of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Critical Care at Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Berlin.

Leif is Professor of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Critical Care at Charité - Universitätsmedizin in Berlin, and Professor of Personalized Medicine in Infectious Diseases at the Berlin Institute of Health, Germany.

He has received several awards and honours, including the Theodor Frerichs Award of the German Society for Internal Medicine and an Emmy Noether-Fellowship of the German Research Council (DFG). From 2021-2023 he served as an official advisor to the German government on COVID-19. Lief acts as an expert to the national vaccines committee (STIKO). His research and clinical interests revolve around respiratory infections and development of novel vaccines.

Dr George Kassianos

GP, the National Immunisation Lead for the Royal College of GPs in the UK, & President of the British Global & Travel Health Association

Dr Kassianos is a GP, the National Immunisation Lead for the Royal College of GPs in the UK, and President of the British Global and Travel Health Association. He chairs the Pan-European Group RAISE (Raise Awareness of Influenza Strategies in Europe).

In 2018, he joined the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza (ESWI) Board. In October 2020, Her Majesty the Queen appointed Dr Kassianos Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in Her Birthday 2020 Honours List, for his services to General Practice and Travel Medicine.