EPSA Newsletter Volume 28 | Edition 1
Meet The EPSA Team 2020/2021
Table of Contents Internal Affairs 1st EPSA Team Meeting - 2020/2021 mandate.................................................... 9 Member of The Year........................................................................................... 10 LS and NIMP of the Year.................................................................................... 11 The Almuni Advisory Board................................................................................. 12 Upcoming EPSA Events...................................................................................... 14
Keeping Pharmacists Safe
Education LLeaP.................................................................................................................. 16
Occupational exposure to hazardous drugs may occur from
Public Health Campaigns..................................................................................... 17 Trainers Board .................................................................................................... 18 AA Online Educational Program ......................................................................... 20 Summer Forum .................................................................................................. 21 Science Monthly! ……........................................................................................ 22
Inhalation
Skin contact
Unintentional handto-mouth ingestion
Needle stick and sharps injury
European Affairs Routine handling of hazardous drugs in pharmacy has been shown to lead to
European Commission Consultations................................................................... 25 Policy Newsletter.................................................................................................. 26 Vaccination Survey............................................................................................... 27
Skin rashes
Nausea
Infertility & miscarriages
Birth defects
Cancer
External Relations EPSA interns...................................................................................................... 27 Winner of the Mentoring Project.......................................................................... 28 Mentoring Open Call........................................................................................... 29
Tevadaptor® and Chemfort™’s air cleaning patented technology minimizes exposure to hazardous drugs and keeps the drug sterile. It’s safe. A proven record of excellent performance. Scientifically validated to prevent hazardous drug leakage and surface contamination.
It’s simple. Designed to be intuitive. Expect to experience fewer errors, spills, accidental exposures and fatigue and repetitive stress injury.
Complies with European Sharps Directive. By containing the needle entirely in the septum, we eliminate the exposure to needles.
Public Relations EPSA Podcast.................................................................................................... 31 Map of Europe.................................................................................................... 32 PR Subcommittee............................................................................................... 34 Summer Social Media Campaign........................................................................ 35 WebShop............................................................................................................ 36 Exectutive Conacts............................................................................................. 37
www.simplivia.com
PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT Dear readers,
EDITORIAL A few words from our editor
Sorina Pătrașcu Vice President of Public Relations
Dear readers, You are now reading the first edition of this mandate’s EPSA Newsletter. The aim of this publication is to show you the real EPSA, as well as the vision and mission that we advocate for. This includes all the projects and activities that we are working on during our mandate, and the tremendous opportunities it offers to European students.
we are facing now with the pandemic.
This edition of the Newsletter will introduce you to the EPSA Team 2020/2021 and all the initiatives that they have already started since the beginning of the mandate, a few months ago. This team has really proven how versatile and inventive you have to be in order to rethink the EPSA projects and adapt them to the new reality that
Finally, I would like to sincerely thank everyone, my EPSA teammates 2020/2021, the Liaison Secretary family, EPSA partners, as well as the hard-working Editorial Board and Design Coordinator, who all contributed to making this edition of the EPSA Newsletter!
In this edition you will be able to read more about our members, the most active Liaison Secretary and National IMP Coordinator from the last mandate. As well as our future initiatives that we are eager to tell you about.
It is my greatest pleasure to welcome you in reading our first edition of the EPSA Newsletter for the mandate 2020/2021. The EPSA Team 2020/2021 recently started their mandate three months ago and I can tell you, that we have already been working hard in achieving our goals for this mandate. Although we are facing these difficult times, we are doing our best to adapt to the current situation and to accomplish the objectives we have set at the beginning of this journey. In the following pages, you can read more about our projects that have occurred so far or will happen in the upcoming months as well as our representation to External Events. Furthermore, we are excited to present you with articles written by our partner
organisation - EMSA and respected Members, in which you can find more about their work.. I hope you will find the content interesting and that it will inspire you in your work, as well as to discover more and be more active in EPSA. Who knows? Maybe one day you will be advocating for EPSA as a representative from our Members or even as a Team Member. If you are interested in stepping up your soft skills game then the Training Project awaits, and maybe you can become an EPSA Trainer. Or you could take part in an Online TWINNET, discover a different country and make friendships across borders. If you want to know more about anyof those and other EPSA opportunities, you are welcome to visit our EPSA Website or follow us on social media. You can
find all the relevant contact information at the end of the publication. I would like to thank the Public Relations Department which put great efforts, together with the rest of the Team, EPSA Alumni and EPSA Partners in publishing this publication, which I hope you will enjoy reading. Special thanks go to the Public Relations Subcommittee for their work in assisting in the finalisation of the Newsletter. I sincerely hope to meet many of you, dear Pharmaceutical Students from all around Europe, at one of our EPSA Events. Even though at the moment travelling abroad is not possible, we will do our best to continue our work, and at some point, we will once again bring Pharmacy Students and Knowledge together!
Until the next edition.
Yours in EPSA, Sorina Pătrașcu Vice President of Public Relations 2020/2021
Mihai Ioniţă EPSA President 2020/2021
Mihai Ioniţă EPSA President
Daniela Stoyanova Secretary General
Mihai Nițoiu Immediate Past President
Dylan Burke Treasurer
2019/2020
Bianca Tudor Parliamentarian
The EPSA Team Jess McNamara VP of European Affairs
Maeva D’ Almeida VP of Internal Affairs
Josef Kunrt VP of Education
Sorina Pătrașcu VP of Public Relations
Sînziana Oprițescu VP of External Affairs Era Gruda Eline Tielen Parliamentary Council Parliamentary Council Member Member
Piotr Nawrocki Policy Affairs Coordinator
Joanna Oberska Grant Coordinator
Karolina Wolnik Alumni Coordinator
Oana Maria Ciobanu Events Coordinator
Andreea Iordache Educational Affairs Coordinator
Lucy Whitehouse Social Media Coordinator
Kristjan Žnidaršic Mobility Coordinator
Max Willie Georgi Training Coordinator
Freideriki Tziora IT Coordinator
Aleksandra Chlebowska Central IMP Coordinator
Ognjen Ivetić Science Coordinator
Weronika Zalewska Publications Coordinator
Zuzanna Deszcz Professional Affairs Coordinator
Parliamentary Council
Jelle Stoelinga Audit Committee
Kamber Çelik Audit Committee
Audit Committee
Rijad Šerak AA Chairperson
Gautier Davrainville-Simonato AC Chairperson
EPSA Congresses Zahra Javid PHSS Coordinator
Said Danishani Design Coordinator
2020/2021:
1 EPSA TEAM MEETING ST
T
he first team meeting of the EPSA Team’s 2020/2021 mandate took place from the 17th to 19th July 2020. It was the first in a series of six others that will take place throughout the year. Indeed, it is the moment when the members of the board meet and exchange ideas to advance the structure and develop their projects. It marks the official beginning of the mandate 2020/2021. This first team meeting was special because this year, in view of the health situation in the world, it took place at a distance. Indeed, it seemed inconceivable to us as future health professionals to promote risk situations for students. However, despite the distance, the office was able to meet on Adobe Connect for the occasion. This team meeting was also open to pharmacy students who had the opportunity to attend. During the day we had exchanges and discussions on the action plans of the different members as well as on the communication in the office and with students. In the evenings, fun activities were also organised to help us to meet in a more informal environment. 9 WWW.EPSA-online.org | @EPSA_Online
Internal Affairs
Member of the Year: GPSF GREECE
“Even though I have been to EPSA Events before, being a LS was a new experience full of challenges and fun. I appreciated being able to speak for AFÖP on a European level, as well as observing the work of EPSA up close. Looking back, I can only encourage everyone to become a part of the LS family.” LS of the year - Marlene Steininger
W
e are extremely delighted to have been chosen as the Member of the Year! This year has been very fruitful for us. GPSF members have shown great interest and participated in a variety of EPSA projects and activities together with learning a lot about EPSA and the way it operates. Thank you to the EPSA Team for always being there to help bring our volunteers close to EPSA, and also thanks to the other Member Associations that act as an example to us and continuously increase our motivation, we would not have made it without your help! Congratulations to all our members, the best is yet to come!
Mavina Tsatsalidi GPSF Liason Secretary 2019/2020
LS Of The Year
NIMP "Being part of the IMP Board throughout this past mandate was truly a pleasure. Many actions towards restructuring the way we work were taken and this year our entire activity felt a lot more engaging and fun. I also had the opportunity to coordinate one of the recently created Action Groups, which helped me gain a clearer overview of all the smart changes that were being implemented." NIMP of the year - Oana Ciobanu.
Internal Affairs
10 European Pharmaceutical Students Association
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Internal Affairs
Alumni Advisory Board
The Alumni Advisory Board (AAB) is an EPSA subcommittee which consists of up to 6 Alumni and the Alumni Coordinator. Its main task is to advise and help the Team throughout the mandate using their knowledge and experience from past mandates and professional life to ultimately help develop and improve EPSA.
Patrick Jongeleen
My name is Patrick Jongeleen and I am in the process of becoming a clinical research associate in the Netherlands, where I graduated with my MSc Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences at Leiden University.
Since 2013, I’ve been involved within EPSA and held both national positions, as the Dutch Twinnet Coordinator and Liaison Secretary, and positions within the EPSA Executive, as Treasurer and Vice President of External Relations. These experiences gave me great insight into the organisation behind EPSA. With these acquired skills, knowledge, and experience, I hope that I can contribute again as an Alumni Advisory Board member.
My name is Ruben Viegas and I am EPSA Senior Trainer, past Public Health and Social Services Coordinator, Alumni Coordinator and EPSA intern. My motivation to join the advisory board is to “provide my 10 cents” for the growth of the association and to make sure that the work done is relevant for pharmacy students around Europe. EPSA is an amazing platform to interchange experiences, knowledge and friends, and it is important to keep it that way!
Diogo Piedale
I am Diogo Piedade, Market Access Manager at Medicines for Europe. I was EPSA Training Coordinator and one of EPSA’s Permanent Officers during 16/17 mandate. I got access to great opportunities and experiences in EPSA and my career would not be the same without those. I was part of last year’s AAB and I wish to continue contributing based on my lifelong experience. In short, I wish to give back to EPSA and this years’ EPSA Team, especially by supporting the expansion of EPSA’s efforts on advocacy with the EU Institutions and stakeholders in this important year in EU policy with the European Pharmaceutical Strategy and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan on the horizon.
Eva Shannon Schiffrer
Dorothea Dalig
Hello all, my name is Dorothea, I am from Germany and I live in Brussels. I was LS for BPhD Germany, Vice President of European Affairs for the 2017/2018 team and now I work for a public affairs consultancy. EPSA was a very important chapter in my life, I learned a lot about the world, about myself, met amazing people some of which became my closest friends. I am very excited to be part of the AAB and looking forward to working with the new team.
Internal Affairs
Ruben Viegas
12 European Pharmaceutical Students Association
My name is Eva Shannon Schiffrer and I am currently pursuing a PhD in Slovenia. My journey in EPSA started in 2013 when I attended my first EPSA event. Later, I became the LS for ŠSSFD Slovenia and was part of the EPSA Team between 2015 and 2019. EPSA helped me grow, both personally and professionally, so I would like to give back as much as possible. EPSA’s potential in joining European pharmaceutical students to achieve common goals and improve their education as well as the pharmacy profession itself is immense but it also takes a lot of work and effort, so I hope my past experience can help the next generation build EPSA into an even stronger and more successful organisation! 13 WWW.EPSA-online.org | @EPSA_Online
Internal Affairs
Annual Congress 2021
Upcoming EPSA Events
19th - 25th of April Pharmaceutical students all over Europe are standing in front of a nicely contoured series of events, both online and live, during this upcoming year. Starting with the online Autumn Assembly 2020, continuing with the live Annual Congress 2021 and ending with the live Summer University 2021, they all have valuable knowledge and unforgettable experiences to bring to the students.
In these exceptional times, people’s social needs are greatly challenged. With limited opportunities for live meetings and reunions, everyday society adapts more and more to the online environment, making way for digitalised happenings and activities. Nonetheless, we keep our hopes up for the year to come, when great events are planned in order to make up for the missed social occasions.
T
he Annual Congress 2021 is to be taking place live in Lyon, France, between the 19th and the 25th of April 2021. The event’s educational programme will be focusing on Pharmaceutical R(E)volution, with sessions delivered by relevant stakeholders on true game-changing topics. In addition, social evenings will spice up each day and lead to a 360º experience.
Autumn Assembly 2020 3rd - 6th of November
Events
T
he online Autumn Assembly 2020 had been initially prepared by the Bosnian Reception Committee as a live event, meant to take place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, this autumn. Unfortunately, changes in the global dynamic, due to the recent pandemic, forced EPSA and the RC to move this event to the virtual environment, while keeping the dates close to those originally set. Therefore, the Autumn Assembly 2020 will be taking place between the 3rd and the 6th of November, each day after 16 pm, outlining a series of Symposia, Trainings and Workshops around the topic of Child healthcare: First step to a safer future. Participants are able to register for these sessions from the 1st September and soon they will be able to enjoy an exquisite educational programme (about childhood vaccination, oncology or medicines R&D) along with a unique social programme during the evenings.
14 European Pharmaceutical Students Association
Annual Congress 2021
12th - 18th of July
T
hen, during the summer, EPSA Summer University 2021 will be taking place in Slovakia. The Reception Committee will host participants in two of the most beautiful cities of the country, Bratislava and then Drienica,
between the 12th and the 18th of July. Being an event with more focus on soft skills, its general topic was chosen to be A Walkway to Super Pharmacists: Learning to Share.
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Events
Public Health Campagns
LLeap LL eap
The Life Long Learning Platform
European Immunization Week
D
id you know that you can get awards for attending educational activities? And it is very simple! All you have to do is to fill in the submission form on LLeaP and we will take care of the rest! LLeaP is EPSA’s Lifelong Learning Platform, which aims to challenge your mindset as a lifelong learner, facilitating your journey of becoming a healthcare professional. For every activity submitted,
Education
you will receive an award. Collect them to show everyone that you are evolving and developing! Each July, you will get a certificate that will showcase the activities you took part it. Don’t forget to check out the News page when we are sharing updates related to EPSA’s educational activities as well as other interesting online activities hosted by our partners.
16 European Pharmaceutical Students Association
campaign aimed to show the importance of mental health and how to improve it.
took place between the 24th and 30th of April. Various topics were discussed, including paediatric vaccinations, herd immunity, epidemic history and facts about anti-vaxxers. Member Associations were also involved in this campaign. They took photos with the following messages drafted on pieces of paper: Vaccinate what you create! Don’t hesitate - vaccinate and you’ll be grate(full). Be wise, immunize! These messages were shared all around Europe. A webinar about vaccinations and sharing PGEU (Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union) materials on social media was also organised.
Mental Campaign took The
Health
The
was the
last campaign of this mandate, which took place on the 29th of June. On that day, people shared their photos with sunglasses and sunscreen. The main aim of this campaign was to raise awareness for sun protection and health issues that are associated with the summer months(e.g., sunburn and sunstroke). The materials contained included content for prevention and therapy for these health issues. Furthermore, we made an infographic on ‘how to apply’ sunscreen.
Week
place from 25th to 31st of May. The campaign consisted of three online training sessions on the subjects of communication, positivity, selfmanagement and safe space. These were held by EPSA Trainers and were attended by students from all around Europe. . Mental health facts were also shared through our social media. This
Skin Care Campaign
17
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Education
Trainers Board
Education
My name is Ciprian and I am the Internal Capacity Member o f t h e Tr a i n e r s ' B o a r d . M y main motivation for applying for this position was my desire to add value to the EPSA community from an educational perspective. Hence, being part o f t h e Tr a i n e r s ' B o a r d o f f e r s me the opportunity to engage directly in one of the most beloved forms of alternative education which EPSA has to offer to their students, namely E P S A Tr a i n i n g s
Hello everyone, I’m Beatriz and I will be the Events Member for this mandate on the Trainers Board. In my path throughout the Training Project, I’ve managed to learn immensely from EPSA and how I could develop myself and others. At this moment, I would like to give back and dedicate myself to this Project and our unique community. That’s why, it was clear to me that belonging to the Trainers Board was the next step I wanted to take, hoping to bring innovative ideas and training approaches that will enrich and engage our trainers in the future!
Dear all, I am Ioana and for this mandate, I have the pleasure to be part of the Trainers Board as Communication and Mentoring Member. My journey in EPSA has started with being the Liaison Secretary for SSFB, continued with becoming a Trainer and just couldn't stop here. After learning and developing myself so much through EPSA during the last two years, I felt the need to give something back to this amazing community by using my communication and teamwork skills, so this is how I decided to join the Board. Hope to see you all at the EPSA Trainings!
Ciprian Chirita
Beatriz Nobre
Ioana Petenchiu
18 European Pharmaceutical Students Association
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Education
A U T U M N A SS E M B LY 2 0 2 0
SUMMER FORUM
Child Healthcare:
1st STEP TO A
SAFE
FUTURE
A
long with many other professional and student congresses around the world, the 17th EPSA Autumn Assembly had to be moved to an online environment. The programme was slimmed down to four days, from 3rd to 6th November with times changed from 16:00 to 20:00. The topic for the whole congress remains the same: Child Healthcare: The First Step to a Safer Future. The first two days will be focused on Symposium, consisting each day of five short talks from the best speakers possible, which will give you an introduction to different fields of pediatric healthcare. There will be a wide range of topics covered, such as regulatory affairs of children medicine and the role of the pharmacist in children hospital care, but also less discussed topics like malnutrition and physical inactivity in children. Both days will be closed with a panel discussion with the speakers, throughout which the participants are free to ask questions. During the third and fourth day of the Educational Programme, there will be prepared modules focused on different areas and they will consist of workshops and soft-skill training sessions. An EPSA Event would not be complete without a social programme which will be specially tailored to the online platform and will allow the participants to have some fun after the day of educational activities. It was no easy task to adapt the educational and social programme to the online event but we did our best to give participants the opportunity to experience the EPSA Event as close to its live variant as possible.
Education
20 European Pharmaceutical Students Association
Challenges that the Pharmaceutical Youth are Facing due to COVID-19 and Ways to Overcome them
A
t the beginning of July, students from all over Europe were supposed to gather in Bucharest, Romania for the 22nd EPSA Summer University. Unfortunately, the situation did not allow the event to happen. So, we decided to provide students with a different opportunity to learn something new and that is how the EPSA Summer Forum was created. The programme of this activity was focused on the topic of Challenges that the Pharmaceutical Youth are Facing due to COVID-19 and Ways to Overcome them. The activity took place from 6th to 17th July online. The educational programme itself was composed of four workshops and four soft-skill training sessions. The workshops covered topics such as student mobility in the (post) COVID era, the shifting role of pharmacists after the COVID pandemic, the role of value-added medicine in a global health crisis, and new skills of pharmacists in the industry. We had the
opportunity to welcome different professionals with years of experience from their respective fields which allowed students to gain new knowledge from the best speakers possible. The soft-skill training sessions were focused on skills that should help pharmacy students and young professionals to overcome
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these unprecedented times. EPSA Trainers delivered the training on topics of critical thinking, adaptability, emotional intelligence and communication. We sincerely hope that the participants benefited from all of the workshops and training sessions and feel more prepared for the challenges ahead of them.
Education
Science! Monthly
H
ave you ever thought that there are some fields of pharmacy that are fascinating, but you haven’t had a chance to learn about them during your university studies? Would you like to be up to date with the latest scientific news? Then you are in the right place: here in EPSA Science! Monthly we are giving you an opportunity to explore some interesting topics, which you most likely won’t have a chance to hear about from your professors. That’s why every month we prepare for you one edition of EPSA
Science! Monthly with a special topic, where we talk about the latest achievements in different fields of pharmacy. Some of this year’s topics will be the science of sport, pet medications, the science of
sleeping, etc. Also, if you have some preferences regarding the topics you would you like to read about, don’t hesitate to contact us via e-mail: science@epsa-online.org
Scientific progress in paediatric vaccination Vaccines save up to 3 million lives every year globally. Another 1.5 million deaths could be avoided if immunisation coverage around the world is extended.1
1885
First rabies vaccine16
1896
Cholera vaccine17
1921
Bacille Calmette-Guerin(BCG) vaccine18
1936
Inactivated influenza vaccine17
1946
Pneumococcal vaccine19
1955
First inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)20
1959
First oral polio vaccine (OPV)20
1963
Measles vaccine21
1967
Mumps vaccine22
1969
Rubella vaccine23
1971
Measles, mumps and rubella trivalent vaccine24
1974
First monovalent meningococcal vaccine (serogroup C)25
We have come a long way since Edward Jenner developed the first smallpox vaccine in 1796.
1974
Varicella vaccine26
The introduction of combination vaccines reduced the number of injections and medical visits required, and the related costs, improving compliance with vaccines schedules and increasing comfort for both parents and children.7
1977
14-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine27
1981
Plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccine17
1983
23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine (PPSV23)19
1985
Haemophilus b vaccine28
1986
Hepatitis B recombinant vaccine29
1998
Rotavirus vaccine30
2000
7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7)27
2000
First hexavalent vaccine (DTap-Hib-IPV-HepB)31
Continued innovation in paediatric vaccines helps reduce costs for healthcare systems and society, by: • Reducing childhood illness, mortality and long-term disabilities6 • Reducing the days-of-work lost for parents6
H
The introduction of recombinant and conjugate vaccines in the 1980s further increased efficacy and helped to improve immune response of children and adults.8,9
What are.... ?10,11 Recombinant and conjugate vaccines Vaccines that use only a specific part of the infectious agent and induce a very targeted response by the immune system, eg the Hib conjugate vaccine. Recombinant vaccines are produced through recombinant DNA technology and conjugate vaccines use a carrier protein to improve the immune response
2005
Quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine17
2005
MMRV vaccine24
Multivalent vaccines
2006
Pentavalent rotavirus vaccine24
A vaccine that protects against different strains of the same infectious agent, eg rotavirus vaccines can protect against up to 5 different rotavirus strains
2006
Quadrivalent HPV vaccine24
2007
Bivalent HPV vaccine32
2010
13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13)27
2014
9-valent HPV vaccine24
2019
Ebola vaccine33
Combination vaccines 22
European Pharmaceutical Students Association
Date of first introduction or first availability to humans
Smallpox vaccine15
From smallpox to multivalent and combination vaccines
ave you ever been doing science and write a scientific paper during your studies? Do you see yourself as a scientist in future? Why not share your research with your European colleagues in EPSA Students’ Scientific Publication? Not only will your abstract be published, but it will also be professionally reviewed by the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences (EUFEPS) and provided with feedback. It is the perfect way to begin connecting your student life with a professional one.
Timeline
1796
Paediatric vaccination can protect against up to 18* infectious diseases.2 Due to advances in research, a new generation of vaccines protects against even more diseases, and makes existing vaccines more effective.3,4 Most Europeans are now protected against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and polio. Protection against pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus, hepatitis B and other infectious diseases is also increasing.5
ESSP
Education
KEY INNOVATIONS IN PAEDIATRIC VACCINATION
A single vaccine that protects against several germs e.g. for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, haemophilus B, and hepatitis B, in a combined injection
Combination vaccines offer multiple benefits to children, parents and the healthcare system overall7 Less injections means less pain and distress
Less doctor’s visits saves time and reduces time off work
Better compliance and more vaccines on time
Fewer injections are easier to accept
Fewer potential local side effects
Children
Parents Benefits7
Healthcare professionals
Public health Better protection of the population Protects against new diseases without adding injections to the schedule
Less risk of injury Simpler supply chain
Less costs for treatment, storage of vaccines, and doctor’s visits
More efficient and easier to give
Complex vaccines formulation
Challenges for development7
Complex and long manufacturing process requiring strict and expensive quality control tests (i.e. consistency & reproducibility) Difficulties in adjusting the level of vaccine components to minimize immune interference and still assure both efficacy and a favourable safety profile
Recognising the value of innovation to foster research in vaccination Researchers from the private and public sectors are working together to develop new vaccines to help fight against global health challenges, including cancers and antimicrobial resistance.12,13 Multicomponent vaccines can further increase protection and simplify vaccination schedules.7 Continued investment in research and development is needed to ensure the protection of future generations.14
*These infections are: tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenzae type B infection, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, varicella, human papillomavirus infection (HPV), rotavirus infection, influenza, tick-borne encephalitis, hepatitis A REFERENCES: 1 WHO, Immunization, December 2019 2 ECDC, Vaccine scheduler 3 WHO, Why we must invest in immunization, 2015 4 WHO, Global Vaccine Action Plan 2011-2020, 2013 5 WHO, European Immunization Week: Communications package, 2019 6 Quilici et al, Role of vaccination in economic growth, Journal of Market Access and Health Policy, 2015 7 Maman et al, The value of childhood combination vaccines: From beliefs to evidence, Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 2015 8 Guérin, History of vaccinations: from empiricism towards recombinant vaccines, 2007 9 WHO, Vaccine safety basics: More about conjugate vaccines 10 Irish Health Service Executive (HSE), Immunity and How Vaccines Work, 2016 11 WHO, Module 2: Types of Vaccine and Adverse Reactions, 2020 12 Buchy et al, Impact of Vaccines on Antimicrobial Resistance, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2020 13 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), European Code Against Cancer: 12 ways to reduce your cancer risk 14 IPHA, Investing in the Future, 2020 15 WHO, Smallpox vaccines 16 Hicks et al, Development in rabies vaccines, 2012 17 Plotkin, History of Vaccination, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the Unites States of America, 2014 18 Connelly Smith and Starke, Bacille Calmette-Guérin Vaccine. In: Plotkin and Orenstein, 3rd ed. Vaccines.
O
ver past mandates, EPSA has been involved in numerous advocacy initiatives. For optimal visibility, there will be an enhanced effort during the current mandate to highlight past initiatives on various platforms and to multiple stakeholders, alongside adding some new initiatives to our agenda. One of the ways to raise visibility is for EPSA to contribute to European Commission (EC) Consultations on areas such as healthcare policy, education and youth. Here are some examples of EPSA’s input so far. EPSA works on Interprofessional Education in collaboration with EHSAS (European Healthcare Students’ Associations’ Summit). The joint Position Paper and survey report in 2019 presented conclusions on this topic. Alongside this, the European Affairs (EA) department has submitted a response to the EC Roadmap to Consultation on ‘Achieving
European Commission Consultations the Education European Area’, which involved advocating for EPSA’s activity on eHealth, Mobility, Soft Skills from the Methodology Booklet and the Professional Qualifications Directive. The eHealth Position Paper was released in 2019. To continue advocating for eHealth and Digitalisation, EPSA is collaborating with MedTech Europe by submitting a blog for their MedTech Week in October 2020. As Vice President of European Affairs, I am also representing EPSA in the Digital & Innovation Skills Helix in Health (DISH) European Reference Group. Furthermore, the EA department has submitted a response to the EC Consultation on the ‘Digital education action plan’, where we gave EPSA’s opinion on Digitalisation in future education initiatives and attached the eHealth Position Paper. These activities will open the door to future
initiatives for eHealth. Pharmaceuticals in the Environment was the topic for the EPSA Annual Reception 2020. The Position Paper on this topic will be released in September. There will also be a focus on sustainable healthcare systems over the coming months, involving areas such as the cost and equity of medicines, quality of healthcare, and optimising the roles in healthcare. The EC Consultation on ‘Pharmaceuticals – safe and affordable medicines’ highlights this growing initiative and the EA department will be submitting a response to this in September also. The EA department will be reaching out to the EduProf Representatives, soon, to discuss the importance of submitting Consultation responses from their own Associations and provide guidance as to how they could become involved in this initiative.
Philadelphia: WB Saunders Company, 1999 19 Fedson, Musher and Eskola, Pneumococcal Vaccine. In: Plotkin and Orenstein, 3rd ed. Vaccines. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Company, 1999 20 Baicus, History of polio vaccination, 2012 21 Strebel et al, Measles vaccines. In: Plotkin, Orenstein and Offit, 5th ed. Vaccines. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders, 2008 22 Plotkin and Rubin, Mumps vaccines. In: Plotkin, Orenstein and Offit, 5th ed. Vaccines. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders, 2008 23 Plotkin, Rubella Vaccine. In: Plotkin and Orenstein, 3rd ed. Vaccines. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Company, 1999 24 MSD, Over 100 years of developing vaccines, 2018 25 CDC, Meningococcal disease, 2015 26 Gershon, Takahashi and Jo White, Varicella Vaccine. In: Plotkin and Orenstein, 3rd ed. Vaccines. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Company, 1999 27 CDC, Epidemiology and prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases, Chapter 17: Pneumococcal disease, last updated April 2019 28 Ward and Zangwill, Haemophilus influenzae Vaccines. In: Plotkin and Orenstein, 3rd ed. Vaccines. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Company, 1999 29 Hilleman, Six decades of vaccine development - A personal history, Nature Medicine, 1998 30 Immunization Action Coalition, Rotavirus: questions and answers, 2010 31 WHO, Safety of Hexavalent vaccines, 2008 32 Garattini, Curto and van de Vooren, Long-term modeling on HPV vaccination: do we really need any more?, Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, 2015 33 CDC, Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease): Prevention and vaccine, last updated November 2019 All references were last accessed in March 2020.
BE-NON-00457
Jess McNamara VP European Affairs 2020/2021 25 WWW.EPSA-online.org | @EPSA_Online
European Affairs
European Affairs:
VACCINATION SURVEY A
s we embarked on our journey in the middle of July, the Team Members’ Plans of Action portrayed how our plans for the mandate should be carried out. One of my main focuses for the mandate is visibility. There are many ways in which EPSA can enhance visibility overall, and the European Affairs department can make a big impact with this, whilst collaborating with the other EPSA departments. This means that alongside maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders, creating policy positions on important topics and attending European events, we must also ensure that EPSA’s advocacy work is seen on a higher level. This will be achieved by a number of ways, including enhanced contact with EPSA Members using the EduProf Platform, incorporating EPSA policy material in recognised newsletters and blogs and
European Affairs
providing EPSA statements at events. The European Affairs department started this visibility whilst promoting the Vaccines in Curricula survey. This survey aims to investigate the level of vaccinology in the curricula and the confidence of healthcare students across Europe on vaccination. EPSA has been collaborating with the University of Antwerp, part of the European Joint Action on Vaccination which is supported by the European Commission. EPSA were asked to be part of this because of our engagement in the Coalition for Vaccination, which is a coalition made up of relevant stakeholders that work on delivering accurate information on vaccination across Europe. As the importance of vaccination has increased even more-so due to the ongoing pandemic and the hunt for a suitable vaccine, this collaboration has been an incredible
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opportunity for EPSA and its Members to engage with as an advocacy initiative. In regard to the survey promotion, the European Affairs department collaborated with the Public Relations department to create high visibility promotional materials, including the main poster which EPSA Members shared on their Association platforms, an advocacy social media quiz and a moving infographic which incorporated vaccinology facts from different European countries. The results from this survey will be used to further promote vaccine usage and the incorporation of vaccinology in the curricula of Faculties of Pharmacy across Europe. There are many other advocacy activities which will be shared with you during the mandate, and we look forward to EPSA making a difference this year on a European level! European Affairs
Meet Our Interns My name is Jess McNamara and I am the Vice President of European Affairs. I will be starting an EPSA Internship at the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) at the European Parliament, which is the umbrella organisation for Community Pharmacies across Europe. I will be helping the Secretariat with their daily activities on policy and advocacy matters.
MENTORING PROJECT
OUR WINNER
Jess McNamara I am Josef Kunrt and this year I hold the position of Vice President of Education. I will be in the EPSA Intern in Medicines For Europe, a trade organization representing the European generic, biosimilar and valued-added pharmaceutical industries. My task will be to assist the Public Affairs department in all of their activities.
Josef Kunrt
Mihai Ioniţă
My name is Mihai Ioniţă and I am the EPSA President for the 2020/2021 mandate. This year I will also be an intern at AESGP, the Association of the European Self-care Industry, a non-profit organisation representing the manufacturers of non-prescription medicines, food supplements and self-care medical devices in Europe. My tasks will be working in the Regulatory Affairs department, helping them in all their initiatives.
My name is Andreea Iordache and I am the Educational Affairs Coordinator for this mandate. I will be starting an EPSA Internship at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), which is an organisation representing the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. I will be helping the Regulatory Affairs and Science Policy department with their daily activities. External Relations
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Andreea Iordache
European Pharmaceutical Students Association
“This was overall a great experience and the EPSA Mentoring Project is designed to give you a holistic understanding of your mentors role and to maximise discussion between Mentors and Mentees” - Jagraj Singh Thandi University of Birmingham - MPharm (Class I with Hons), ARPharmS Boots Pre-Registration Pharmacist
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t the start of the academic year, I signed up for two mentoring schemes with the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS). Both have provided great networking opportunities and have allowed me to reflect on various experiences throughout the year. My RPS mentor is a clinical oncology pharmacist at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and my EPSA mentor is currently doing a PhD in pharmacokineticpharmacodynamic (PKPD) data modelling for Roche and the University of Manchester. This has been a great experience and has solidified my belief that pharmacists have a role as both scientists and as healthcare professionals. Talking to both mentors has allowed me to gain an appreciation of perspectives and the challenges that each entail. 29 WWW.EPSA-online.org | @EPSA_Online
As part of the EPSA mentoring programme, I completed an Individual Development Plan (IDP) to keep on track of the various activities carried out throughout the year. I felt this was a great way to reflect and track professional development on a monthly basis and review set objectives regularly. This was overall a great experience and the EPSA Mentoring Project is designed to give you a holistic understanding of your mentors role and to maximise discussion between Mentors and Mentees. I would recommend mentoring for both students and professionals. In future, as a result of these experiences, I would be keen to get involved in giving back as a mentor too. It is a great way to not only network but also to discuss problems and view them from different perspectives and accomplish desired objectives. External Relations
A NEW PUBLICATION
The EPSA Podcast Series T his mandate, we launched a new form of publications we would like to focus on, which is a series of podcasts. The EPSA Podcast provides convenient access to information on various EPSA events and opportunities. This podcast idea will bring the topics that impact pharmaceutical students into different fields in pharmacy, career options and experiences from wellseasoned experts and EPSA Members. In the first episode, Miracle Udokang, Publications Coordinator 2019/2020 catches up with Jagraj Singh Thandi, Final Year MPharm Student at the University of Birmingham, Editorial board member under the Public Relations (PR) Subcommittee of EPSA and International
External Relations
Representative of the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA) in the 2019/2020 mandate. As the winner of a professional experience elective with Genos Ltd at the EPSA Autumn Assembly, which took place in PoreÄ?, Croatia, Jagraj recounts his internship experience, together with outcomes and memories of his time in EPSA, future plans and much more. We all have a chance to get to know what prompted him to take part in the competition at the EPSA Autumn Assembly, which resulted in getting an opportunity to have an internship in Croatia. You can listen to podcasts on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcast, and other platforms! Stay tuned for the next episode!
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Public Relations
“Our inaugural summit was unfortunately cancelled due to Covid-19. However, we quickly got working on a position paper with regulators to reduce placement for students working during the pandemic. We posted information on our socials regularly and a #Phamily campaign to boost morale. We formed the committee for 2020/2021 who are looking forward to the year ahead! ” IPSA, Ireland
“The K.N.P.S.V. has organised a campaign week focusing on COVID-19 in April. The new acting board has started their executive function in May and has since then participated in several online as well as real life events. We have also organised several online activities for our members.” K.N.P.S.V., Netherlands
“In the last few months HuPSA tried to tackle the problems the pandemic presented. We initiated a volunteer program so our students could help out in overwhelmed community pharmacies. We also launched a series of webinars about mental health to help our students stay motivated during the online exam period.” HUPSA, Hungary
“Of course, like everyone else, ŠSSFD also had to adapt and change the initial plans due to the pandemic. At the beginning of April, we started our public health campaign InterACTION #CoronaEdition which is still ongoing. In May we hosted our first virtual mini-symposium on the topic of SARS-COV-2: Clinical picture and how to stop it. We have also held an online public health campaign emphasising the importance of the correct and regular use of sunscreen.’ ŠSSFD. Slovenia
“During the COVID-19 crisis in Slovakia, SPSA came up with an initiative wherein Pharmacy students help pharmacies, aimed at volunteer work in community pharmacies. For our students, we started a project, ‘From Students to Students’, focused on knowledge sharing. Online activities, such as stress management webinar and soft-skills trainings, were also provided in collaboration with EPSA for our students.’ SPSA, Slovakia
“BPSA has been proudly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and LGBTQ+ Pride Month on our social media lately, and we hope to improve our work even more by releasing an Inclusivity and Diversity survey for our members to complete. Although we won’t be able to meet our members in person when they start university, we’re planning some great things to welcome students to the pharmacy degree this fall and for the year ahead.” BPSA, The United Kingdom
Map of Europe
“Like everyone else, we had to adjust the plans due to the pandemic. We shared a lot of Public Health Campaigns online and we shared a lot of relevant information about the COVID-19 to our students that could be resourceful.” NopSA, Norway
“The last few months had a lot of hurdles and new experiences as AFÖP tried to navigate the pandemic. We scheduled online activities such as different workshops, Team meetings and a pub quiz. In July AFÖP has elected a new Team, who is ready and eager to start a new mandate.” AFÖP, Austria “The work of BPhD was marked in the last few months by the pandemic situation. In May BPhD Germany had its new team elected online, as well as approved a new structure, so as to be able to support the interests of pharmacy students more effectively. We also managed to introduce a change in the German Infection Protection Act to allow us to adapt the Pharmaceutical Licensing Regulations to the pandemic situation we are all in. Additionally, BPhD Germany established a platform to support communication between pharmacies and students during the pandemic situation.” BPhD, Germany
“In the past months, PPSA had elections for the Executive Board 2020/2021 and two new positions have been created, Vice President of International Affairs, and Spokesman. In September we are organizing the first online Congress and we are getting ready for the new academic year in light of the pandemic.” PPSA, Poland
“All events were online because of the pandemic and mandate change in May. We had an event called “Different Career Plans”, as a live broadcast on Instagram with our former club members who work on different branches. Our other event was “MUPSA Timeline”, live broadcasting with our former presidents via Youtube.” MUPSA, Turkey
“In collaboration with EPSA, we held an online soft skill training about Change Management for our students. Furthermore, we are happy to announce a new VFSO team is elected and ready to discuss future plans and events.” VFSO, Belgium
“Between the 6th-12th April 2020, FASFR organised a public health campaign, called TOBACControl, launched online this time due to the pandemic. This aimed to raise awareness regarding the risk factors of a well-known habit: smoking. During the following months, we launched many Position Papers on different topics with great impact on Romanian pharmacy students.” FASFR, Romania
“Due to the pandemic, asep had some challenges to face, which we tried to overcome by shifting our activities to online platforms: we campaigned for public health issues (for instance blood donation), held our delegates’ assembly, and continued developing a national interprofessional organisation.”. asep, Switzerland
“AEFFUP Arts’ Week: One week with online cultural and artistic “During these hard times, CPSA Croatia helped the Croatian activities, where students had an opportunity to be entertained Chamber of Pharmacists in developing a volunteer platform, during the lockdown period. It included poetry reading, dance “Call for help” where we delivered medicines to elderly and the classes on Zoom as well as live illusionism and musical differently abled people. We have also encouraged meetings performances on our Instagram page.” over Zoom and discussed our future plan of actions.” APEF, Portugal CPSA. Croatia 32 Public Relations European Pharmaceutical Students Association
“NAPSer has had to move its work online these past few months due to the current pandemic. Together with IFMSA Serbia and EMSA Serbia, we organized a Webinar “COVID-19 TREATMENT - Sneak peek”. We marked a lot of Public Health Campaigns online, and together with local organizations, NAPSer tried to provide students with interesting online content during the quarantine days.” NAPSer, Serbia
“During the past couple of months, we successfully managed to continue our work online with a wide variety of health campaigns (world immunisation week, coeliac day, safety and health at work, meds’ disposal, hypertension, mental health) and webinars. We also kept sharing useful information about the COVID-19 situation from valid resources.” GPSF, Greece
“Due to the pandemic, we’ve started to organize our events via Zoom. For example, before the pandemic, we used to invite our alumni to our faculty to meet with students. But now we’re doing this event via Zoom. Also, we’ve generated some new events like Firmaceutical August. In this event, we’re bringing pharmaceutical companies and students together.” AHUPSA, Turkey 33 Public Relations WWW.EPSA-online.org | @EPSA_Online
Meet the PR Subcomittee Martin Ducros
The Summer Social Media Campaign
Hi! My name is Martin and I’m a pharmacy student from Limoges, France. This year, I am part of the public relations subcommittee at EPSA! It is a great pleasure for me to support this team in all projects. I hope we can do great things!
Priyanka Patel My name is Priyanka and I’m going into my third year of Pharmacy. As part of the editorial board of the EPSA PR subcommittee this mandate, I hope to learn more about the inner workings of EPSA as well as become more informed on all the opportunities EPSA has to offer.
Trisha Dogra Hi, my name is Trisha and I am a recent Pharmacy graduate from the UK. I am thoroughly looking forward to working as part of the Editorial Board of the EPSA PR subcommittee. I hope to learn more about the association and share some amazing publications with EPSA members.
King Warmińska Hi, I'm Kinga, 5-th year pharmacy student from Warsaw, Poland, in love with travels and EPSA spirit. I believe that being a part of the PR Subcommittee will let me be up to date with all projects and initiatives, together with developing my skills and bringing me closer to this fantastic EPSA family. I'm quite excited and waiting for all the tasks I can help with!
Ina Luksch Hey! My name is Ina and I’m a pharmacy student from Munich, Germany. I’m in my last year and currently working on my Bachelor thesis. Being in the PR subcommittee is a huge pleasure for me and I hope that this will be an amazing year. I‘m super excited for all the projects and opportunities that will occur.
Oliwia Herok Hi! I’m Oliwia and I study pharmacy in Wroclaw, Poland. It will be my third year and I am so happy that I will have the ability to work as a part of an EPSA PR Subcommittee. I think that it will be an amazing time!
Public Relations
D
uring this Summer we focused on the EPSA social media accounts with the aim to expand our online community. Together with the Design Coordinator we came up with new ideas for posts across our public network. This included: social media competition, Fun Fact Friday, the emoji game, Guess the International table and Members Day. The last one’s content included the best performing posts of the whole series. Here we asked our LS’s to produce content which would then be posted across the EPSA platforms. There were no specific criteria for this, which allowed the LS’s and the public relation teams from our member associations to get as creative as they like. We received a range of materials such as videos, collages and quizzes. This was a great opportunity to get to know our EPSA community in a time, where we may not be seeing each other in person for the foreseeable future. Another well performing aspect of this feature was the ‘international
table’. Here again, the LSs sent in items which would usually be included in their international tables at EPSA events and the EPSA community on Instagram had to guess which country the table represented. The campaign was a success, as we increased our following across our platforms, and we had the chance to learn more about each other online!
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European Pharmaceutical Students Association
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“This was a great opportunity to get to know our EPSA community in a time, where we may not be seeing each other in person for the foreseeable future.”
Public Relations
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Mihai Ioniţă EPSA President
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Pătrașcu Sorina Vice President of Public Relations
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Sînziana Oprițescu VP External Relations
Jess McNamara Vice President of European Affairs
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Maeva Olga D’Almeida Vice President of Internal Affairs
Josef Kunrt Vice President of Education
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