On 29 January 2010, WHO published a report of the twenty-first meeting of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) held on 3-4 December 2009 in Geneva. The GACVS (an independent expert clinical and scientific advisory body) was established in 1999 to enable WHO to respond promptly, efficiently, and with scientific rigour to vaccine safety issues.
During this 21st meeting, the GACVS reviewed the safety of pandemic A (H1N1) influenza vaccines and the safety of a meningococcal A conjugate vaccine that will soon be deployed in the African Menigitis Belt. The committee also discussed the use of the BCG vaccine in areas with a high prevalence of HIV infection and reviewed progress with global monitoring of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI).
Full report of the 21st meeting of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety