SECID, Rruga Aleksander Moisiu Nr. 80, Tirana (2025)

09/07/2025

"Regional Meeting on Strengthening Vaccine Deployment & Pandemic Preparedness"
📅 Vienna, July 2, 2025
📌 Organized by SECID, with the support of The Task Force for Global Health and the CDC

On July 2nd, a regional meeting was held in Vienna to address one of the most critical aspects of pandemic preparedness:
ensuring timely, equitable, and coordinated vaccine deployment.

The event gathered representatives from across South Eastern Europe to:
🔹 Reflect on experiences and lessons learned from COVID-19 and past pandemics
🔹 Identify existing gaps in national and regional vaccine deployment plans
🔹 Discuss practical strategies for collaboration across borders
🔹 Explore the integration of vaccine access, regulation, procurement, and logistics into a regional framework

💬 The key message:
Effective pandemic response requires shared responsibility, early planning, and strong regional cooperation.

This meeting laid important groundwork for strengthening health systems, improving coordination, and ensuring that no country in the region is left behind during future health emergencies.

👏 Thank you to all who contributed their insights, experiences, and commitment to a healthier and better-prepared region.

07/07/2025

🤝 Vaccination Communication – Balancing Benefits and Risks Effectively
At SECID, we were proud to organize a regional workshop on Vaccination Communication, held in Vienna 🇦🇹 on June 30–July 1, in collaboration with The Task Force for Global Healthand with support from our long-standing partners at CDC🧬.

🧠 The workshop brought together journalists 🗞️, public health professionals 🩺, and communication experts 📢 from across the Southeast European (SEE) region, to address a shared challenge:
👉 How can we communicate the benefits and risks of vaccines more clearly, effectively, and with empathy — to strengthen public trust?

🎯 Over two days, participants from 🇦🇱 🇧🇬 🇧🇦
🇭🇷 🇽🇰 🇲🇰 🇲🇪🇷🇸 🇲🇩 came together to:

🔹 Share national experiences — what worked, what didn’t
🔹 Address misinformation and build strategies for response
🔹 Explore social listening tools and digital engagement
🔹 Create tailored, audience-centered vaccine messages
🔹 Strengthen collaboration with media

💡 What made this gathering powerful wasn’t just the knowledge It was the openness to listen, reflect, and work across disciplines and borders.

🙏 We extend our heartfelt thanks to our facilitators:
Bolster, Thanas Goga, Laura Blank for expertly leading discussions, case studies, and group work.

A warm thank you also to our CDC partners:
Cooley and Spratling for their continued support and engagement.

👏 And of course, a sincere thank you to all country representatives, journalists, and public health communicators who contributed their voice, expertise, and energy to this shared mission.

At SECID, we believe in the power of listening, partnership, and clear communication.
Together with our partners, we are shaping a future where vaccine communication is stronger, smarter, and more human, one region, one shared mission.

12/06/2025

Annual Influenza Meeting of Southeast European Countries
“Mosaic Surveillance and One Health Approach in SEE Countries”
4–5 June 2025 | Swissotel Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Public health experts, epidemiologists, and partners from Southeast Europe came together in Sarajevo to discuss the future of influenza and respiratory virus surveillance in the region.

The meeting highlighted the value of the Mosaic Surveillance model, integrating sentinel, syndromic, genomic, and event-based systems and emphasized the importance of cross-sector collaboration through the One Health approach.

Participants shared national experiences, explored the role of genomic surveillance, and discussed preparedness for avian influenza. Sustainability of National Influenza Centers (NICs) and regional coordination were also key themes.

The engagement, expertise, and collaboration shown throughout the meeting mark a strong step forward in strengthening public health security across Southeast Europe.

02/06/2025

On May 31, 2025, in Shkodër, a special session on vaccination and chronic disease prevention took place during the Spring 2025 National Conference on Endocrinology & Diabetology.

The session focused on the essential role of vaccination for people with chronic conditions, especially diabetes. Experts shared data, best practices, and discussed the current challenges in Albania.

A strong message came through: we need a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to make vaccination a key part of chronic disease management.

This event was organized by the Albanian Society of Endocrinology and Diabetology Shoqata Shqiptare e Endokrinologjise dhe Diabetologjise , in collaboration with Instituti i Shëndetit Publik - Faqja zyrtare ISHP and supported by SECID.

26/05/2025

📍 International Workshop on One Health Approaches to Parasitic Diseases
Tirana, Albania | 15–16 May 2025

SECID hosted the thematic workshop “Surveillance, Prevention and Therapies Against Parasitic Diseases in Humans and Animals”, under the framework of COST Action CA21111 – OneHealthdrugs.

Over the course of two days, expert presentations and engaged participation created a highly productive platform for interdisciplinary exchange. Topics covered included diagnostics, therapeutic strategies, pharmaceutical development, and the environmental impact of parasitic vector-borne diseases.

The quality of scientific contributions and the diversity of participants made the event a valuable forum for advancing the One Health approach—connecting human, animal, and environmental health in the fight against parasitic infections.

28/10/2024

New Study Highlights Importance of COVID-19 Vaccination

A recent study by WHO/Europe, published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe, underscores the crucial role of COVID-19 vaccinations in preventing severe health outcomes, including death. Conducted across six countries, including Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia 🇦🇱🇽🇰🇲🇰🇷🇸, the study reveals that COVID-19 vaccines have significantly reduced hospitalizations and severe cases.

Dr. Mark Katz, a leading author of the study, emphasized the urgent need for vaccination: “Unfortunately, fewer than 25% of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 received a vaccine in the past year. Getting an up-to-date vaccine remains the best way for high-risk groups to prevent serious illness.”

Among those studied, many were older adults or individuals with chronic conditions—groups at the highest risk for severe illness who would benefit the most from vaccination. Alarmingly, over half of the hospitalized patients had never received a COVID-19 vaccine.

This study highlights the ongoing effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing severe disease and underscores the need for increased vaccine uptake in these countries and the broader region.
As winter approaches, it’s crucial for individuals in high-risk categories to get vaccinated.

To learn more about the findings, click the link below:
Read the full study here: https://www.thelancet.com/.../PIIS2666-7762(24.../fulltext

24/10/2024

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24/10/2024

🗓️On October 18, 2024, epidemiologists from various SARI sentinel sites in Albania, including Vlore, Berat, and Tirana, convened for the Annual Influenza Training Workshop in Tirana. 👩‍💻The workshop covered important topics such as ILI and SARI surveillance, updates to the Infectious Diseases Information System (SISI), and an evaluation of the 2023-2024 season’s surveillance 📈data. Participants also engaged in discussions on 🧬genomic surveillance and targeted sequencing guidelines.
Organized by the Public Health Institute with support from SECID, the event aimed to prepare for the upcoming 2024-2025 influenza season.

24/10/2024

🗓️On October 18, 2024, epidemiologists from various SARI sentinel sites in Albania, including Vlore, Berat, and Tirana, convened for the Annual Influenza Training Workshop in Tirana. 👩‍💻The workshop covered important topics such as ILI and SARI surveillance, updates to the Infectious Diseases Information System (SISI), and an evaluation of the 2023-2024 season's surveillance 📈data. Participants also engaged in discussions on 🧬genomic surveillance and targeted sequencing guidelines.
Organized by the Public Health Institute with support from SECID, the event aimed to prepare for the upcoming 2024-2025 influenza season.

30/09/2024

📅 On September 9-10, 2024, an Expert Meeting on Genomic Surveillance and Strategy was held at the Institute of Virology, Vaccines, and Serums "Torlak."

Day 1 Highlights: Participants included representatives from the World Health Organization and various public health institutes in Serbia. The meeting kicked off with an overview of global genomic surveillance strategies, emphasizing its importance in tracking pathogens like SARS-CoV-2. Key discussions revolved around Serbia's diagnostic methods for respiratory viruses and the necessary steps for developing a national genomic surveillance strategy. Participants engaged in a constructive dialogue about current challenges and collaborative opportunities.

Day 2 Highlights: The second day focused on assessing the capacities of the Torlak Institute and other laboratories for genomic surveillance. Discussions centered on budgetary considerations and the integration of diverse data sources for effective surveillance. Emphasis was placed on the need for multisectoral collaboration and real-time data sharing to enhance public health decision-making.

The meeting concluded with actionable insights aimed at strengthening Serbia’s genomic surveillance capabilities and fostering collaboration among public health entities. 💪🦠

This meeting was organized in the framework of the Project “Improving influenza program and enhancing influenza and other viral respiratory pathogens through integration of all existing surveillance systems and using one health surveillance approach" funded by Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

18/09/2024

📌The South East European Centre for Surveillance and Control of Infectious Diseases (SECID), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( ) – USA, the Task Force for Global Health ( ) – USA, and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe ( EURO), hosted the Fourth SEE Regional Meeting on 🦠Influenza Vaccination from September 9th to 11th, 2024, in Durres, Albania.
👉🏻The Fourth SEE Regional Meeting on Influenza Vaccination provided a comprehensive platform for discussing critical issues related to respiratory virus management and 💉vaccination.
👉🏻The meeting highlighted the importance of integrating local research findings, discuss the role of EuroSAVE data in generating burden of disease estimates, into decision-making processes, improving data collection and communication strategies, identify mechanisms and challenges to integrate RSV-s surveillance into the EuroSAVE and SECID platforms and exploring regional initiatives to enhance vaccination coverage, vaccination programs and improve public health outcomes across Southeast Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
👉🏻Also, it highlighted the role of NITAGs can play to communicate strategies to stakeholders, in decision making process in SEE countries and the importance of increasing their capacities through a regional group of country experts.
👉🏻It also explored the joint procurement of vaccines for this Sub- Region that can help improve the improve vaccination policies and coverage for Influenza and other respiratory viruses.

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