SYSVAC

The SYSVAC resources aim to support National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) and the World Health Organization Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (WHO SAGE) in the development of evidence-based vaccination recommendations by simplifying the identification of relevant systematic reviews and access guidance on how to use existing reviews.

SYSVAC, part of the SENSE project, is a collaboration between the Robert Koch Institute and the World Health Organization, with its initial version being developed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The SENSE project is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Health through the Global Health Protection Program.

SYSVAC

Systematic reviews

Systematic reviews are a useful source of evidence for the development of national public health recommendations, as they synthesize findings from numerous studies and provide reliable estimates about intervention effects. Nevertheless, conducting systematic reviews requires significant resources, which may not always be available. The SYSVAC registry is intended to help NITAGs and SAGE locate existing systematic reviews that may serve their needs.

Watch the short animated video now to learn more about the SYSVAC project

SYSVAC project video

Watch the short animated video now to learn more about the SYSVAC project.

SYSVAC registry

The SYSVAC registry includes a variety of systematic reviews, including living, rapid and umbrella reviews, allowing users to search for reviews using free text and keywords (e.g., disease/pathogen, population). Reviews in the registry have been assessed for methodological quality, using the AMSTAR 2 (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2) appraisal tool.

To include the most relevant systematic reviews in the field, registry staff regularly conduct systematic searches of multiple databases, including Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and the Living Overview of Evidence database.

For the registry´s December 2020 launch, priority was given to systematic reviews related to COVID-19. Reviews investigating risk factors for COVID-19 are no longer included in the registry, but the list of reviews published up to 2022 is available upon request.

E-learning course

E-learning courses

The e-learning courses in beginner and advanced version describe how to use existing systematic reviews to develop vaccination recommendations. Course participants follow Mary, a fictional head of her country’s NITAG, as she goes through the different steps of using existing reviews, including locating the reviews; assessing their relevance to her research question, methodological quality, and up-to-dateness; and evaluating their transferability and applicability.

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