Ensuring equitable access to vaccines is essential to protect the health of individuals and reduce the incidence of disease. People who inject drugs may be at excess risk of acquiring vaccine-preventable diseases and negative associated health outcomes. Moreover, the structural barriers to healthcare experienced by this population may extend to vaccine access.
This webinar will present results of a systematic review of global vaccine coverage among people who inject drugs and describe the shortcomings of the current data we have available. Then, with a focus on COVID-19, it will describe attitudes toward, and uptake of, vaccination among people in Australia who inject drugs. Finally, it will discuss the implications these data have for maximising vaccine coverage among this population beyond the pandemic.
About the speaker
Olivia Price is a PhD candidate at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. Prior to commencing her PhD, she worked in infectious disease surveillance at the Doherty Institute and then on the Drug Trends illicit drug surveillance program at NDARC. Her primary research interest is the prevention of infectious disease among people who inject drugs.