National Consensus Conference for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (NCC-VPD)

June 12-14, 2005
Hotel Palace Royal, Quebec City, Canada

The first National Consensus Conference for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in Canada 2005 (NCC-VPD), sponsored by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Immunization Committee (CIC), took place June 12-14, 2005 at the Hotel Palace Royal, Québec City, Québec, Canada.

The objective of the conference was to establish national goals for disease reduction and vaccine coverage for vaccine-preventable diseases, a key component of the National Immunization Strategy (NIS). This is the first consensus conference since the endorsement of the NIS in 2003. A series of consensus conferences are planned to establish national goals for all vaccine-preventable diseases. Establishing national goals and designing new policies and programs in support of those goals will contribute to reducing the rates of vaccine-preventable diseases in Canada.

Conference participants including national and international experts, federal, non-governmental, professional association, and provincial/territorial representatives, gathered to review and assess national goals for disease reduction and immunization coverage, for the following six vaccine-preventable diseases: influenza, invasive meningococcal and invasive pneumococcal disease, pertussis, rubella, and varicella. Participants were divided into working groups to develop recommendations which were voted on in plenary. Consensus was achieved when 75% agreement or agreement with reservation to the recommendation was obtained.

Consensus was reached on three overall goals and 52 updated recommendations for all six diseases. The next steps include a review of the recommendations resulting from this conference by CIC, consolidation of the proceedings for publication and forwarding the recommendations through the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network to the Conference of F/P/T Deputy Ministers of Health for endorsement. A summary report of the conference will be released in the spring of 2006.

To obtain a full copy of the reference documents compiled to assist conference participants, please send your request to: Programs_IRID-DDIR@phac-aspc.gc.ca.