Immunization Forums

All Western Canada Immunization Forum content is available in the year-specific sections below.

2026

Western Canada Immunization Forum

February 18 & 24, 2026

Feb 18th, 2026

Welcome from BCCDC Immunization & Vaccine Preventable Diseases Service – Dr. Jia Hu, Interim Medical Director, Immunization and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Service
Elder Welcome and Opening Acknowledgement – Glida Morgan, Tla'amin First Nation
Video messages from provinces: Alberta, Manitoba, Yukon
Welcome from BC Deputy Provincial Health Officer – Dr. Martin Lavoie, Deputy Provincial Health Officer, Office of the Provincial Health Officer, Ministry of Health

PDF - Respiratory Syncytial Virus Immunization Strategies for Preventing Severe Infant RSV Infections
- Dr. Pascal Lavoie, Neonatologist / Medical Director, BC RSV Program, Pediatrics, PHSA
- Dr. Jeffrey Wong, Clinical Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, UBC & B.C. Women's Hospital and Health Centre

PDF - Mpox vaccination in Canada: Successes, challenges, and lessons for future outbreak response
– Dr. Devon Greyson, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia

Concurrent Sessions

Video / PDF - The Role of Vaccine Safety in Health Services Research
- Dr. Ellen Rafferty, Managing Principal Health Economist at the Institute of Health Economics and Assistant Professor at University of Alberta

Video / PDF - Evolving eligibility for HPV vaccine in Canada: Impact on Alberta Youth Aged 16–26
– Laura Reifferscheid, Clinical Coordinator, Immunization Program, Island Health

Video / PDF - Transforming School Immunization Processes with Digital Consent
– Elizabeth Lee, Director, Clinical and Business Operations, Provincial Public Health Information & Digital Systems
- Haylie Sinclair, Coordinator, Public Health Informatics Team, FHA

Feb 24th, 2026

Welcome Video & First Session

Opening Remarks & Recap – Dr. Jia Hu
Elder Welcome - Glida Morgan, Tla'amin First Nation

PDF - Panel Discussion: Measles Outbreaks across Western Canada

Dr. Jia Hu, Interim Medical Director, Immunization and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Service
Dr. Rakel Kling, Medical Health Officer, Northern Interior HSDA, Northern Health
Brittany Deeter, Director, Communicable Disease Population and Public Health, FNHA
Dr. Vivien Suttorp, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Primary and Preventative Health Services, Government of Alberta
Dr. Jasmine Hasselback, MHO, Area Department Lead, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Idylwyld Centre, Saskatoon
Dr. Davinder Singh, MHO, Southern Health-Santé Sud, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care

Concurrent Sessions

Video / PDF - Improving Immunization Coverage in Newcomer Populations in Manitoba
– Inga Hossack, Manager, Policy and Operations, Manitoba Health

Video / PDF - Boosting Childhood Immunization Rates Through School-Based Access in Kindergarten
- Jag Gill, Clinical Operations Supervisor, VCH
- Lindsay Symonds, Regional Interim Practice Initiatives Lead, VCH
- Laura Hoyseth, Clinical Coordinator, Island Health
- Amber Thomas, Clinical Coordinator, Island Health

Video / PDF - The complexity of COVID-19 vaccine decisions: Perspectives from diverse populations
- Dr. Michelle Driedger, Professor, University of Manitoba

2024

March 6, 2024 - Western Canada Immunization Forum

Welcome video:

Dr. Monika Naus, Medical Director, Immunization & Vaccine Preventable Diseases Service
Elder Syexwaliya Ann Whonnock
Video messages from Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Welcome from Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, BC

Plenary: Impact of the Pandemic on Immunization

Impact of the pandemic on vaccine uptake, attitudes, and future immunization strategies (PDF) - Dr. Shannon MacDonald, Associate Professor on Nursing at the University of Alberta.

Panel discussion: Impact of the pandemic on immunization across Western Canada:

Dr. Shannon MacDonald, Associate Professor on Nursing at the University of Alberta
Kari Bergstrom, Director of Immunization with the Public and Rural Health Division of Alberta
Morag Granger, Public Health Nursing Consultant with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health
Dr. Davinder Singh, Medical Health Officer for Manitoba's Southern Health-Sante Sud region
Dr. Sudit Ranade, Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Yukon Territory
Dr. Monika Naus, Medical Director of Immunization & Vaccine Preventable Diseases Services at BCCDC

Morning poster presentations:

Exploring the Slower Uptake of the COVID-19 Vaccine Among Young Adults in Island Health: A Qualitative Approach (PDF) - Gurvir Dhutt, Medical Student
“In Canada, we’re multicultural people, right?” Sociocultural perspectives on routine childhood vaccination during COVID-19 (PDF) - Robin Humble, PhD candidate
Understanding Yukoners’ Attitudes Towards Vaccines (ATV) Project (PDF) - Ruth Nielsen, PhD candidate

Plenary: Main Auditorium: Building Trust in Vaccines (video):

Practical ways to inoculate against misinformation for you and your patients – Ian Roe, Content Strategist, BCCDC & Renata Mares, Public Health Consultant

Breakout 1: Equity Diversity and Inclusion (PDF) - Mustafa Ahmed, Director for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Fraser Health Authority
Jonathan Spence, Manager of the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control (PDF) - Interior Health Authority

Plenary: New Vaccines, New Schedules

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) (PDF) – Dr. Jim Kellner, Professor in the department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary (
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – Dr. Gina Ogilvie, Senior Public Health Specialist, BCCDC
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) (video) – Dr. Danuta Skowronski, Physician Epidemiologist, BCCDC (see also PDF of Dr. Skowronski's presentation)

Closing Remarks (video) - Dr. Monika Naus

2023

March 1, 2023

Welcome and Session 1 - Equity and Cultural Safety (video)
Welcome - Dr. Monika Naus, Medical Director, Communicable Diseases and Immunization Service and Elder Shane Pointe
Welcome from the Ministry of Health: State of the Nation - Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, BC
Vaccine Hesitancy in an Indigenous Community (PDF) - Dr. Julie Bettinger, Elder Doreen Peter, Fairlie Mendoza
Updates to the BC Immunization Competency Course/Skills Checklist (PDF) – Kathy Chilton
Embedding culturally safe practice considerations into the Immunization Skills Checklist (PDF) – Bhavna Sharma
Indigenous Knowledge Translation (PDF) – Harlan Pruden, Melanie Kurrein
Kids Boost Immunity and Indigenous Governance
Discussion with panel members

Session 2

Influenza and COVID-19 Vaccine Update (video)
COVID/Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness (PDF) – Dr. Danuta Skowronski
Discussion with panel members

Poster presentations

Video of poster presentations

Mpox vaccine uptake in transgender people and gay, bisexual and other MSM clients of the provincial STI clinic (PDF) – Mark Gilbert
Invasive Haemophilus influenza type b outbreak among underhoused in Island Health (PDF) - Allison Griffiths
Tailoring outreach strategies to overcome barriers to childhood immunizations in Fraser region (PDF) – Meghan Martin
Measles coverage trends at the 7th birthday in British Columbia, 2014-2022 (PDF) - Hannah Sell
COVID-19 vaccine safety among older adults aged 65 and above: A Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN) study (PDF) - Phyumar Soe
Influence of prenatal care provider type on routine vaccination in first two years of life in British Columbia (PDF) - Kate Twohig
Characterizing Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Pediatric Disease Severity in Canada (PDF) – Nirma Vadlamudi

Session 3: Best Practices – Video

Commentary and feedback from the field - Annie Lau

Session 4: Vaccine Safety – What can we learn from – Video

Passive Surveillance (PDF) - Dr. Monika Naus
Active Surveillance – IMPACT and CANVAS (PDF)– Dr. Julie Bettinger
Administrative Data Linkages (PDF) – Dr. Naveed Janjua
Special Immunization Clinic (PDF) – Dr. Manish Sadarangani
Discussion with panel Members

Closing remarks - Dr. Monika Naus

2022

Day 1

COVID: The Virus, the Vaccines, the Future – Video

Coronavirus; What is it? Where did it come from? Where is it going? (PDF) - Dr. Mel Krajden, Medical Director, Public Health Laboratory, BCCDC
Coronavirus vaccines (PDF) - Dr. Joanne Langley, Researcher, Dalhousie University and Canadian Centre for Vaccinology
Pandemic to Endemic – Please Say it's True! – Future of COVID – 19 Immunization (PDF) - Dr. Manish Sadarangani, Director, Vaccine Evaluation Centre, BC Children's Hospital
Discussion with the panel

New Approaches to Immunization Communication – Video

Introduction - Stephanie Meier, BSN, MPH, Senior Practice Leader, BCCDC
Learnings from Behavioural Science (PDF) – Takuro Ishikawa, PhD, Behavioural Scientist, Behavioural Insights Group
The Immunization Infodemic (PDF) – An Innovative BC Approach – Craig Thompson, BSN, MBA, Senior Director, PHABC / Lily Crist, French Education Director, Kids Boost Immunity, PHABC / Takuto Shiota, Public Health Association of BC
Discussion with the panel
Closing – Marion Guenther, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Immunizations, FNHA – Video

Day 2

Welcome – Bethany McMullen, Director, Immunizations, BC Ministry of Health – Video

How could we integrate COVID-19 vaccine into routine immunization delivery? – Video

Welcome: Emily Malnis, PHN, Immunization Leader, Vancouver Coastal Health
Panel:

Brenda Tan, MD (PDF)
Jonathan Spence, Public Health Immunization Program Leader
Bryce Wong, Pharmacist (PDF)
Penny Ballem, MD - COVID-19 Vaccine Rollouts and Immunization Efforts (PDF)

Discussion with the panel: Katharine Chilton, Vaccine Educator, BCCDC

Racial Equity in Immunization – Video

Introduction (PDF) - Dr. Julie Bettinger, Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, Vaccine Evaluation Centre
Black Community responses to racism as evidenced by COVID vaccine uptake and attitudes (PDF) - Stephanie Allen, Hogan's Alley Society
South Asian Community member experiences and feedback for improving COVID–19 vaccine-related communications (PDF) - Gurvir Dhutt, MPH, Academic Assistant, Vaccine Evaluation Centre, BCCH
South Asian health experience with outreach and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines (PDF) – Samantha Tong, Manager, South Asian Health Institute
First Nations Communities in BC – A whole of community approach - Marion Guenther, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Immunization, FNHA
Discussion with the panel - Rebecca Haber, Immunization Leader, Fraser Health