On November 2-3, 2024, a symposium on "Vaccines and Women's Health" was held at the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMS) as part of the Chinese Vaccinology Course. The event brought together over 50 research and management experts from disease prevention and control, scientific research, regulatory and clinical organizations.

Ms. Yang Xiuhong, the Deputy Secretary of Communist Party of China of IMS, presided over the opening ceremony of the meeting. She noted that the objective of the symposium is to implement the national "Healthy China 2030" planning program, enhance China's research capacity and level in the field of vaccines and women's health, and further strengthen cooperation and exchange between scientists in the field of vaccines and other areas to promote women's health. Academician George Fu Gao highlighted the significance of this symposium as a continuation of China's commitment to the field of vaccines, underscoring the importance of women's health as a crucial aspect of individual and family well-being that warrants dedicated attention and investment. He also noted that China faces challenges in achieving balanced and comprehensive regional development in health, and that there is a need to enhance health outcomes in some areas. The development of vaccines in China requires the continued efforts of all parties, for which we need to have a sense of social responsibility and accountability. During the symposium, Xu Jiaqi, former Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation, National Medical Products Administration, Yin Zundong, Director of the National Immunization Programme of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Zhao Lizhong from the Beijing Municipal Office of the Committee for Continuing Medical Education, and Zheng Zhijie, Chief Representative of the Gates Foundation Beijing Representative Office, shared their perspectives on establishing the science of drug regulation, promoting the application of vaccines, enhancing the work of Beijing's continuing medical education, and the Gates Foundation's focus on vaccines and women's health. They concluded by expressing their best wishes for the success of the symposium.

Senior experts in the fields of cervical cancer prevention and treatment, immunization program, health communication, research management, social medicine, and spatial and temporal modeling methods for infectious diseases were invited to give presentations on the area of cervical cancer prevention and treatment, vaccines and women's health, research project application, research design, and health communication research. There was also a panel discussion on the introduction of HPV vaccine into the regional project of benefiting the people and health education of vaccination for the vulnerable and high-risk groups.

The symposium was made possible through the support of the University Education Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Gates Foundation. It is also supported by renowned national and international experts in the field of vaccinology, biomedical, pharmaceutical and health care. The Symposium provided a platform for scientists in vaccine-related fields to strengthen collaboration and promote exchanges, and contributed to the integration of efforts to eradicate cervical cancer and serve women's health.