The Australian Strep A Vaccine Initiative (ASAVI) has established community engagement as the cornerstone to accelerate Group A Strep vaccine development. Community partnerships are essential as community perception of disease burden and vaccine benefits drive successful adoption of vaccines.
Working along-side communities, ASAVI has implemented a multi-pronged approach: establishing surveillance partnerships with general practitioners, Aboriginal Medical Services and families to quantify disease burden in the community; conducting targeted outreach to understand community perspectives on Strep A; and facilitating deep consultations in Aboriginal communities on participation in future vaccine trials and vaccine acceptance.
For Strep A vaccine development, early community engagement enables an integrated approach incorporating lived experience and individual perspectives. This community-centred model has fostered relationships with key Indigenous stakeholders and resulted in interest from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to participate in research. Our partnership with Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service (WA) has enrolled ~100 Aboriginal children for sore throat surveillance, generating critical contemporary data on Strep A infections in this priority population. These findings complement our broader national surveillance efforts in the general community, creating a comprehensive epidemiological picture of Strep A sore throats.
A community-driven approach establishes clear pathways for equitable vaccine access, prioritising populations with highest need.