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- Tuesday 24 March 2026
- Wednesday 25 March 2026
- Parallel sessions
- Thursday 26 March 2026
Tuesday 24 March 2026
Opening of the meeting
| Schedule | Title |
| 8:03-9:00 a.m. | Accreditation |
| 9:00-9:30 a.m. | Official opening Representative of the Ministry of Health of Panama Ana Rivière Cinnamond, PAHO Representative in Panama Martha Velandia, Advisor, Comprehensive Immunization Program, PAHO Andrea Vicari, Unit Chief, Infectious Hazard Management, PAHO |
| 9:30-9:45 a.m. | Agenda and objectives of the meeting Marc Rondy, PAHO |
| 9:45-9:50 a.m. | Security briefing |
| 9:50-10:20 a.m. | Keynote Speaker – 15 years of PIP Wenqing Zhang, WHO Anne Huvos, WHO |
| 10:20-10:50 a.m. | Coffee break and Group Photo |
Early Detection and One Health Approaches
Moderator: Marisol Valenzuela
| Schedule | Title |
| 10:50-11:00 a.m. | One Health Framework for Detection of Zoonotic Respiratory Threats – Animal–human–environment interface risk drivers Richard Webby, St. Jude – WHO CC |
| 11:00-11:30 a.m. | Intersectoral Coordination: Lessons from the Latin America & Caribbean Brazil Argentina Cayman Islands |
| 11:30-11:40 a.m. | Q&A Session |
| 11:40-11:50 a.m. | Regional Overview: Early Detection of (Re)Emerging Respiratory Viruses Marisol Valenzuela, PAHO |
| 11:50-12:20 p.m | Event-Based Surveillance in Practice: Implementation, M&E, and Expansion Panama Colombia Paraguay Saint Lucia |
| 12:20-12:30 p.m. | Questions and discussion |
| 12:30-12:50 p.m. | Use of zoonotic influenza vaccines in humans Alba Vilajeliu, WHO |
| 12:50-13:00 p.m. | Discussion |
| 13:00-14:00 p.m. | Lunch |
Influenza
Moderator: Ornella Cyrus
| Schedule | Title |
| 14:10-14:20 p.m. | Virologic Surveillance Update: What Are We Seeing and How Should We Interpret It? Nicola Lewis and Francis Crick Institute London – WHO CC |
| 14:20-14:40 p.m. | Beyond Walls: Immersive Experience in the PAHO Virtual Reality Laboratory Juliana Leite, PAHO |
| 14:40-14:50 p.m. | Influenza season 2025–2026: Experience from Canada Nathalie Bastien and Liza Lee, PHAC |
| 14:50-15:05 p.m. | Using syndromic data for respiratory surveillance in the Caribbeans CARPHA |
| 15:05-15:15 p.m. | Linking Influenza Surveillance to Vaccine Planning and Procurement Jordi Balleste, PAHO |
| 15:15-15:45 p.m. | Using Data to Counter Influenza Vaccine Hesitancy Argentina Guyana TBD |
| 15:45-16:00 p.m. | Coffee Break |
RCCE
Moderator: Natalia Acosta
| Schedule | Title |
| 16:00-16:15 p.m. | How to translate surveillance data and signals into clear, timely, and impactful messages that guide public action. Using the PISA framework to strengthen risk communication Tanya Escamilla, PAHO |
| 16:15-17:00 p.m. | Interactive Exercise: “RCCE Relay: Turning Signals into Action” |
Wednesday 25 March 2026
Pandemic Preparedness
Moderator: Diana Malo
| Schedule | Title |
| 9:00-9:10 a.m. | Pandemic surveillance guidance Aspen Hammond, WHO |
| 9:10-9:20 a.m. | Overview of progress in pandemic preparedness in the Americas Diana Malo, PAHO |
| 9:20-9:30 a.m. | Activation criteria, risk levels, and escalation of the PNPP Farah Peña, PAHO DOM |
| 9:30 -9:40 a.m. | Country experience: Update of the NDVP for pandemic influenza – Cuba |
| 9:40-9:50 a.m. | Questions and discussion |
| 9:50-10:30 a.m. | Multi-level coordination and financing for pandemic preparedness in Central America and the Dominican Republic SE-COMISCA COSEFIN -/ SICA CEPREDENAC Guatemala |
| 10:30-10:40 a.m. | Handling of corpses in the context of pandemics Angel Rodriguez, PAHO |
| 10:40-10:50 a.m. | Resilient laboratory systems Jairo Mendez, PAHO |
| 10:50-11:20 a.m. | Coffee Break |
Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Moderator: Francisco Nogareda
| Schedule | Title |
| 11:20-11:35 a.m. | RSV seasonality and epidemiological and virologic surveillance in the Americas Paula Couto and Gabriela Rodriguez, PAHO |
| 11:35-11:45 a.m. | Clinical management of RSV Angel Rodriguez, PAHO |
| 11:45-12:00 p.m. | Experience from early adopting countries on RSV immunization Allison Brown, CDC |
| 12:00-12:45 p.m. | Country experiences/discussion: Argentina El Salvador Paraguay Uruguay |
| 12:45-13:00 p.m. | Questions and discussion |
| 13:00-14:00 p.m. | Lunch |
Parallel sessions
Wednesday 25 March 2026
Epidemiological Surveillance (1)
Moderator: Marc Rondy
| Schedule | Title |
| 14:00-14:10 p.m. | Opening and objectives of the session Marc Rondy, PAHO |
| 14:10-14:45 p.m. | Epidemiological analysis of the Influenza season (Start of the season, peak and intensity; severity; % positivity; data sources (ILI and SARI); interpretation of trends and comparison with previous seasons) |
| 14:45-15:15 p.m. | Interpretation of laboratory data (Virological results; antigenic characterization; detection of antiviral resistance) |
| 15:15-16:00 p.m. | Integration of epidemiological and laboratory data (Integrated season reading; severity signals; implications for public health response and risk communication) |
| 16:00-16:30 p.m. | Preliminary vaccine effectiveness data (Use of information for the activation or adjustment of PHSM) |
| 16:30-17:00 p.m. | Specific topics by subregion (Main findings, differentiated patterns, challenges, and subregional particularities) |
Laboratory (2)
Moderator: Juliana Leite
| Schedule | Title |
| 14:00-14:10 p.m. | Opening and objectives of the session Gabriela Segura, PAHO |
| 14:10-14:25 p.m. | Standardized country capacity assessment |
| 14:25-14:35 p.m. | Automated classification of capacities Juliana Leite, PAHO |
| 14:35-15:45 p.m. | Simulation Exercise From Sequence to Decision: Translating Genomic Surveillance into Public Health Action |
| 15:45-16:45 p.m. | Working Group Presentations |
| 16:45-17:00 p.m. | Validation and next steps Jairo Mendez, PAHO |
Immunization (3)
Moderators: Francisco Nogareda, Martha Velandia and Marcela Contreras
| Schedule | Title |
| 15:35-15:45 p.m. | Influenza vaccination coverage, tools and resources |
| 15:45-16:35 p.m. | Case study – influenza vaccination coverage and information systems to monitor coverage in priority groups |
| 16:35-17:00 p.m. | Discussion |
Thursday 26 March 2026
Integrated Surveillance, Digital Systems and Analytics
Moderator: Yury Garcia
| Schedule | Title |
| 9:00-9:15 a.m. | Regional guidance for integrated surveillance of respiratory viruses Marisol Valenzuela and Yury Garcia, PAHO |
| 9:15-9:45 a.m. | Country Experiences: Integration of SARI/ILI/ARI Surveillance Systems into DHIS2 Prabhjot Singh, PAHO ECC and ECC Countries |
| 9:45-10:30 a.m. | Strengthening Information Systems – Interoperability, Dashboards & Automated Reporting Brazil Bolivia Chile Ecuador Panama Uruguay |
| 10:30-10:40 a.m. | Forecasting project – Paraguay |
| 10:40-10:50 a.m. | Advances in AMoMo – Guatemala |
| 10:50–11:20 a.m. | Coffee break |
Operational Research
Moderators: Paula Couto and Jorge Jara
| Schedule | Title |
| 11:20-11:30 a.m. | Insights from combined virological and vaccine effectiveness surveillance Danuta Skowronski, British Colombia Centre for Disease Control |
| 11:30-11:40 a.m. | Vaccine effectiveness evaluation in the Latin America Francisco Nogareda, PAHO |
| 11:40- 11:50 p.m. | Impact evaluation in the Americas. Phase I and Phase II Jorge Jara, PAHO |
| 11:50-12:10 p.m. | Economic burden evaluations in the region Nelson Alvis, PAHO |
| 12:10-12:20 p.m. | Questions and discussion |
| 12:20 -13:30 | Lunch |
COVID-19
Moderator: Paula Couto
| Schedule | Title |
| 13:30-13:40 p.m. | Post-pandemic COVID-19 surveillance in MEX: 2023-25 |
| 13:40-14:00 p.m. | Seasonality and Severity Overview |
| 14:00-14:10 p.m.. | Post-pandemic SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance and virological patterns: PAHOGen experience Jairo Mendez, PAHO |
| 14:10-14:25 p.m. | COVID-19 in- season operational research challenges and opportunities: Experience from the USA on in-season severity assessments, impact, burden and VE CDC – CORVD |
| 14:25-14:40 p.m. | Questions and discussion |
| 14:40 -14:55 p.m. | Updated recommendations for COVID-19 immunization Alba Vilajeliu, WHO |
| 14:55-15:00 p.m. | Questions and discussion |
Wrap Up
Moderator: TBD
| Schedule | Title |
| 15:30-16:10 p.m. | Country perspective: what are your priorities for respiratory virus surveillance for the next 5 years Chile Haiti Honduras Jamaica Nicaragua Peru |
| 16:10-16:30 p.m. | Meeting Evaluation |
Closing of the event
Moderator: PHE/CIM
| Schedule | Title |
| 16:20 -17:00 p.m. | Closing and next steps Marc Rondy and Francisco Nogareda, PAHO |