The Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) held the First Advisory Board Meeting for the Immunization and Vaccination Policy Promotion Project, “Charting the Way Forward on Immunization Policy: International Trends and the Situation in Japan”.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, public attention has increasingly shifted towards potential vaccinations and vaccine development. To further promote and set the direction of measures to solve issues related to immunization policy, this project included a meeting with an advisory board consisting of leaders from civil society, key opinion leaders, and representatives from relevant organizations in the industry, government, and academia.

During the First Advisory Board Meeting, discussions on the future of Japan’s vaccine policy were made, with the key points to be continued at the Second Advisory Board Meeting.

Due to the current situation regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, this meeting was carried out online.

■Overview
Date & Time: Friday, August 8, 2020
Organizer: Health and Global Policy Institute

■Advisory Board Members, Observers, and Special Advisors (alphabetical order by last name)

Members:

• Kyoko Ama (Former Representative, Ippan Shadan Hojin Shiro Shoni Iryo Mamoro Kodomo-tachi no Kai)
• Hidenori Arai (President, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology; Vice President, The Japan Geriatrics Society)
• Satoshi Iwata (Department of Infectious Diseases, National Cancer Center Hospital)
• Isao Miyairi (Medical Director, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Center for Child Health and Development)
• Kuniko Nakayama (Director, My Family Clinic Gamagori, Medical Association Mefa Jinaikai)
• Nobuhiko Okabe (Director General, Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health)
• Akihiko Saitoh (Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University)
• Akinori Sugaya (Head Physician, Sugaya Children’s Clinic; Director, KNOW VPD Protect Our Children)
• Mugen Ujiie (Director of Travel Clinic, Director of Immunization Support Center, Disease Control and Prevention Center, Center Hospital of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM))

Observers:

• Masayuki Imagawa (Representative Director, Japan Vaccine Industry Association (President))
• Yukiko Nakatani (Director of Hematology Division, Pharmaceutical and Public Health Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
• Daisaku Sato (Chief Management Officer & Associate Centre Director for Regulatory Science, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, Japan)
• Ryuji Wakita (Director, National Institute of Infectious Diseases)

Special Advisors:

• Keizo Takemi (Member, House of Councilors; Chairperson, Subcommittee on Governance for Infectious Diseases in the Headquarters for Pneumonia Associated with Novel Coronavirus, LDP; Chairperson, Special Committee on Global Health Strategy, LDP)

Moderator:

• Ryoji Noritake (CEO, Board Member, HGPI)

MC:

• Joji Sugawara (Senior Associate, HGPI)

Secretariat:

• Yui Kohno (Associate, HGPI)
• Miyu Niwa (Intern, HGPI)
• Akira Shimabukuro (Intern, HGPI)