About the course

WHO is working in collaboration with scientists, businesses and global health organizations to speed up the pandemic response and facilitate the equitable access and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. This course provides general information on COVID-19 and specific information on storage, handling and administration of the vaccine, recording and monitoring including for adverse events following immunization (AEFI), and communication (acceptance and demand) through a series of short video lectures and quizzes to test your knowledge. This course is primarily for frontline health workers who will be vaccinators and priority recipients.

Schedule

This is a self-paced course.

Estimated learning effort

It should take you approximately 3 hours to complete this course.

What you will learn

  • describe the pathogen (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease (COVID-19);
  • explain cold-chain requirements, storage and handling principles for various delivery contexts, and describe options/procedures for waste disposal;
  • describe the process of COVID-19 vaccine administration and identify infection prevention and control measures that should be used during vaccination sessions;
  • identify an adverse event following immunization and explain how to report AEFI following COVID-19 vaccination;
  • recognize recording and registration forms and explain how to track defaulters; and
  • demonstrate effective and individualised communications about COVID-19 vaccination.

Course contents

  • Module 1: Introduction to COVID-19 vaccination training:

    This is an introduction to the course, the objective of which is to provide key information on COVID-19 vaccination to health workers/vaccinators.

  • Module 2: Storage, handling, delivery, and waste management of COVID-19 vaccines:

    This module consists of three sections, which provide knowledge about: the programmatic implications of COVID-19 vaccines; managing storage, transport, and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines; cold-chain management at the vaccination post and waste management at the facility level.

  • Module 3: Organizing COVID-19 vaccination sessions:

    By the end of this module, you should be able to: outline infection prevention and control measures during vaccination sessions to protect health workers, vaccine recipients, and the community; describe how you prepare for vaccination sessions according to infection prevention and control protocols (at the health facility, for outreach, and for a campaign); and outline the process of safe COVID-19 vaccine administration and waste disposal.

  • Module 4: AEFI monitoring for COVID-19 vaccination:

    By the end of this module, you should be able to: identify an adverse event following immunization (AEFI); describe how to identify and respond to AEFI; and explain how to report AEFI following COVID-19 vaccination.

  • Module 5: Recording and monitoring COVID-19 vaccination:

    By the end of this module, you should be able to: explain the importance of proper recording and reporting; recognize recording and registration forms; correctly record vaccination data and register vaccinations in the reporting forms; and explain how to track defaulters (if applicable).

  • Module 6: Communication with the community about COVID-19 vaccination:

    By the end of this module, you should be able to: describe health workers' roles and responsibilities for COVID-19 vaccination; demonstrate effective and individualised communications about COVID-19 vaccination; explain communication strategies for three potential scenarios with community members; and explain the role of a vaccinator in crisis communication for adverse events following immunization (AEFI).

Provider

This course was produced in collaboration with UNICEF. All content has been technically cleared by WHO.