Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) COVID-19 Working Group

Role

The working group provides advice to the Government on the effective and equitable use of COVID-19 vaccines available in Australia, as directed by the Department of Health and Aged Care.

Background

Delivery of COVID-19 vaccines is a critical and urgent need in the global and Australian response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care COVID-19 Vaccine Taskforce has identified the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) as the appropriate committee to continue to provide the Minister for Health and Aged Care evidence-based advice on immunisation policies, programs and priorities.

Terms of reference

Provide technical advice to the Minister for Health and Aged Care on the immunisation program for COVID-19 vaccines as they become available in Australia.
Identify and prioritise gaps in the immunisation landscape to improve impact, confidence and equity with the use of COVID-19 vaccines.
Advise on the content of clinical and other communication materials, including updating the Australian Immunisation Handbook for any COVID-19 vaccines.
Consult with the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) and the Advisory Committee on Vaccines (ACV) and other national committees on matters relating to the implementation of immunisation policies, procedures and vaccine safety related to COVID-19 vaccines.

Membership

Professor Allen Cheng and Professor Chris Blyth ceased as ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group Co-Chairs on 31 December 2021. From 1 January 2022, Professor Michelle Giles (ATAGI Deputy Chair) and Professor Katie Flanagan are the ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group co-leads.

The ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group was reviewed in December 2021 and a revised structure took effect in January 2022.

The ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group meets weekly and is supported by two other groups:

ATAGI COVID-19 Safety Group
ATAGI COVID-19 Executive.

Members are listed below, and additional experts are invited to specific meetings as required.

ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group
Name	Area of expertise	Position
Prof Michelle Giles ATAGI Deputy Chair, ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group Co - Lead, ATAGI voting member	Infectious Diseases Physician, Maternal Immunisation	Infectious Diseases Physician (Alfred Health, Monash Health, Royal Women’s Hospital, Western Health) Professor Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University Department of Infectious Diseases, Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Prof Katie Flanagan ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group Co - Lead, ATAGI voting member	Vaccine immunology, clinical trials and vaccines, clinical infectious diseases	Head of Infectious Diseases, Launceston General Hospital Clinical Professor, University of Tasmania Adjunct Professor, RMIT Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University
Ms Karen Bellamy ATAGI voting member	Immunisation Nurse Practitioner, immunisation, research, COVID-19 vaccine safety, Monash Health, South East Public Health Unit (SEPHU)	Immunisation/VPD Surveillance Nurse, Monash Children’s Hospital
A/Prof Penelope Burns ATAGI voting member	Primary Care representative	General Practitioner Clinical A/Professor, Australian National University Conjoint Senior Lecturer, Western Sydney University
Prof Allen Cheng ATAGI voting member	Epidemiology, Public Health, Infectious Diseases	Infectious Disease Physician and Director, Infection Prevention Healthcare Epidemiology Unit, Alfred Health Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Ms Kristy Cooper ATAGI voting member	Primary Health Care Practice, Bioethics and Cultural Safety in Healthcare, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healthcare	Indigenous Academic Fellow, School of Nursing University of Tasmania Family Nurse Practitioner Authorised Immunisation Provider
A/Prof Nigel Crawford ATAGI Chair, Executive Working Group Lead, ATAGI voting member	Executive Working Group Lead and Chair, Vaccine Safety, special risk groups	Director, Surveillance of Adverse Events Following Vaccination in the Community (SAEFVIC), Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Medical Head, Immunisation Services, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Dr Lucas de Toca PSM Ex-officio member	Department of Health and Aged Care representative	First Assistant Secretary, Implementation and Primary Care Response
Dr Louise Flood Ex-officio member	Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA)	Director, Communicable Disease Control Branch, Department for Health and Wellbeing, South Australia
Dr Katherine Gibney ATAGI voting member	Infectious Diseases Physician, Epidemiology	Infectious Diseases Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Austin Hospital NHMRC Early Career Fellow, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Prof Cheryl Jones ATAGI voting member	Paediatrics, Infectious diseases Physician,	Head of School and Dean, Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Sydney Medical School Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney Staff Specialist Infectious Diseases, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (Children’s at Westmead)
Adj A/Prof Tony Korman COVID-19 Safety Group Lead, ATAGI voting member	Infectious diseases, Microbiology	Director, Monash Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Monash Health
A/Prof Bette Liu ATAGI voting member	Epidemiology, Public Health	School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney
Prof Kristine Macartney Ex-officio member	National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)	Director, NCIRS Paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist, Children’s Hospital Westmead
Mr Dave McNally Ex-officio member	Department of Health and Aged Care representative	Assistant Secretary, Medical Policy and Commonwealth State Engagement Branch
Dr Nicholas Silberstein ATAGI voting member	General Practitioner	General Practitioner, Victoria
TGA representative Ex-officio member	Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) representative	Deputy Secretary, Health Products Regulation Group
Prof Tom Snelling ATAGI voting member	Paediatrics and special risk groups, epidemiology	Head, Health and Clinical Analytics, School of Public Health, University of Sydney
Ms Diane Walsh ATAGI voting member	Consumer representative	Consumers Health Forum
Dr Andrew Wilson Ex-officio member	Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC)	Chair, PBAC
A/Prof James Wood ATAGI voting member	Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, Population Health	School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney

Executive Working Group
Name	Area of expertise	Position
A/Prof Nigel Crawford ATAGI Chair, Executive Working Group Lead, ATAGI voting member	Vaccine Safety, special risk	Director, Surveillance of Adverse Events Following Vaccination in the Community (SAEFVIC) Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Medical Head, Immunisation Services, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Dr Lucas de Toca PSM Ex-officio member	Department of Health and Aged Care representative	First Assistant Secretary, Implementation and Primary Care Response
Prof Katie Flanagan ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group Co-Lead, ATAGI voting member	Vaccine immunology, clinical trials and vaccines, clinical infectious diseases	Head of Infectious Diseases, Launceston General Hospital Clinical Professor, University of Tasmania Adjunct Professor, RMIT Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University
Prof Michelle Giles ATAGI Deputy Chair, ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group Co-Lead, ATAGI voting member	Infectious Diseases Physician, Maternal Immunisation	Infectious Diseases Physician (Alfred Health, Monash Health, Royal Women’s Hospital, Western Health) Professor Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University Department of Infectious Diseases, Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
A/Prof Bette Liu ATAGI voting member	Epidemiology, Public Health	School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney
Prof Kristine Macartney Ex-officio member	National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)	Director, NCIRS Paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist, Children’s Hospital Westmead
Mr Dave McNally Ex-officio member	Department of Health and Aged Care representative	Assistant Secretary, Medical Policy and Commonwealth State Engagement Branch

COVID-19 Safety Group
Name	Area of expertise	Position
Adj A/Prof Tony Korman COVID-19 Safety Group Lead ATAGI voting member	Infectious diseases, Microbiology	Director, Monash Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Monash Health
Prof Allen Cheng ATAGI voting member	Epidemiology, Public Health, Infectious Diseases	Infectious Disease Physician and Director, Infection Prevention Healthcare Epidemiology Unit, Alfred Health Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Ms Kristy Cooper ATAGI voting member	Primary Health Care Practice, Bioethics and Cultural Safety in Healthcare, First Nations Healthcare	Senior Nurse Practitioner Authorised Immunisation Provider Tasmanian Aboriginal Health Service
A/Prof Nigel Crawford ATAGI Chair Executive Working Group Lead ATAGI voting member	Vaccine Safety, special risk	Director, Surveillance of Adverse Events Following Vaccination in the Community (SAEFVIC) Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Medical Head, Immunisation Services, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Prof Paul Effler Co-opted expert	Safety and evaluation	Senior Medical Advisor, Communicable Disease Control Directorate, Department of Health, Western Australia Clinical Professor/University of Western Australia
Dr Katherine Gibney ATAGI voting member	Infectious Diseases Physician, Epidemiology	Infectious Diseases Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Austin Hospital NHMRC Early Career Fellow, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Prof Michelle Giles ATAGI Deputy Chair, ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group Co-Lead, ATAGI voting member	Infectious Diseases Physician, Maternal Immunisation	Infectious Diseases Physician (Alfred Health, Monash Health, Royal Women’s Hospital, Western Health) Professor Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University Department of Infectious Diseases, Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Prof Cheryl Jones ATAGI voting member	Paediatrics, Infectious Diseases Physician,	Head of School and Dean, Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Sydney Medical School Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney Staff Specialist Infectious Diseases, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (Children’s Hospital at Westmead)
Dr Alan Leeb Co-opted expert	Primary care representative	General Practitioner, Illawarra Medical Centre SmartVax Safety Monitoring AusVaxSafety
Prof Kristine Macartney Ex-officio member	National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)	Director, NCIRS Paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist, Children’s Hospital Westmead
Ms Diane Walsh ATAGI voting member	Consumer representative	Consumers Health Forum
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) representative	Vaccine pharmacovigilance	Pharmacovigilance and Special Access Branch, TGA

Staff from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) provide specialist technical support to the ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group. They include:

Ms Lucy Armstrong
Dr Clayton Chiu
Ms Lauren Dalton
Dr Sanjay Jayasinghe
Dr Catherine King
Dr Jana Lai
Dr Jean Li-Kim-Moy
Ms Katrina Nicolopoulos
Dr Daniel Norman
Ms Cyra Patel
Dr Helen Quinn,
Dr Ketaki Sharma
Dr Ben Smith
Dr Nicole Sonneveld
Ms Catherine Tran
Ms Madeline Valeri
Ms Amanda Van Eldik
Dr Zhicheng (Jeff) Wang
Dr Phoebe Williams

Technical experts
The following technical experts may be asked to attend ATAGI meetings on a case by case basis depending on the topic under consideration.
Name	Area of expertise	Position
A/Prof Katie Attwell	Vaccination social science and public policy	Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellow and Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Western Australia
Prof Chris Blyth	Infectious diseases, clinical microbiology, epidemiology	Paediatrician Infectious Diseases Physician and Clinical Microbiologist, University of Western Australia, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children’s Hospital and PathWest Laboratory
Mr Scott Brown	Program implementation	Assistant State Director, COVID-19 Vaccination Program, Queensland Health
A/Prof Margie Danchin	Vaccination social and behavioural science (risk communication, community engagement) and vaccine safety	Group Leader, Vaccine Uptake, Murdoch Children's Research Institute and The University of Melbourne Paediatrician, Royal Children's Hospital Chair, Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation (COSSI)
Prof David Durrheim	Public Health, vaccinology, infectious diseases	Director Health Protection – Hunter New England Health and Professor of Public Health Medicine, University of Newcastle
Prof Paul Effler	Safety and evaluation	Senior Medical Advisor, Communicable Disease Control Directorate, Department of Health, Western Australia; Clinical Professor/University of Western Australia
Ms Madeline Hall	Public health nurse, vaccination procedures	Nurse Practitioner, Queensland Health
Prof Kirsten Howard	Health economics	Professor of Health Economics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney
Prof John Kaldor	Epidemiology and disease prevention	Professor of Epidemiology and NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, UNSW Sydney
Dr Catherine King	Vaccination social and behavioural science	Information Manager, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)
Dr Alan Leeb	Primary care representative	General Practitioner, Illawarra Medical Centre; SmartVax Safety Monitoring; AusVaxSafety
Prof Jodie McVernon	Epidemiology, modelling, public health	Director of Doherty Epidemiology, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne
Dr Chris Moy	General Practice	Australian Medical Association Vice President
Dr Lisa Nissen	Pharmacy representative, primary care, program implementation	Professor (Head), School of Clinical Sciences Queensland University of Technology
Prof Lena Sanci	Primary care representative	Head/Professor; Department of General Practice, Melbourne Medical School; Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
Prof Kanta Subbarao	Virology, paediatric infectious diseases	Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne

Publications

Related committees or groups

Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

Contact

ATAGI COVID-19 Working Group contact

Contact the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) COVID-19 Working Group.

enquiries [at] health.gov.au

View contact

Last updated:

14 July 2022

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