VACCINE SAFETY INITIATIVE VIVI EV

Their core work

VIVI is a Berlin-based research and advocacy organization specializing in vaccine safety, vaccine hesitancy, and immunization equity. Their work sits at the intersection of epidemiological surveillance and community-level public health intervention — they contribute scientific expertise to large European networks studying why populations under-vaccinate and how to fix it. In practice, this means pooling data across clinical and primary care sites, running participatory research with underserved communities, and designing tailored outreach strategies for groups like children, adolescents, and marginalized populations. Their focus is not laboratory science but the human and systems side of vaccination: uptake barriers, health equity gaps, and evidence-based communication.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

VIVI entered H2020 funding during the COVID-19 pandemic through a surveillance-focused role — contributing to pooled epidemiological data across hospital networks and primary care sites in a multidisciplinary monitoring network. By their second project, the focus had shifted decisively: from watching disease spread to actively reducing vaccine inequity, with emphasis on specific vaccines (MMR, HPV), specific populations (children, adolescents, underserved communities), and community-level participatory methods. The trajectory is clear — from epidemiological observation toward equity-driven behavioral and systems intervention.

VIVI is moving deeper into health equity and community engagement research, making them an increasingly valuable partner for projects addressing immunization gaps in vulnerable populations — a priority area in post-pandemic EU health policy.

How they like to work

VIVI has participated exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — a consistent specialist role across both projects. Both projects are large-scale RIA networks (I-MOVE-COVID-19 spans primary care and hospitals across Europe; RIVER-EU runs through 2026 with a large consortium), suggesting VIVI is valued as a domain expert brought into established research structures rather than a group that builds and leads them. With 45 unique partners across 16 countries from just two projects, they clearly operate within broad, well-connected European public health networks.

VIVI has built connections with 45 distinct consortium partners across 16 countries from only two projects, indicating participation in genuinely large pan-European research networks. Their geographic reach covers much of the EU and likely extends to non-EU European countries given the RIVER-EU mandate to address inequalities across the European Region.

What sets them apart

VIVI occupies a rare niche as a dedicated vaccine safety and immunization equity organization — not a general public health institute, not a hospital network, but a focused body whose identity is built around vaccine confidence and safe immunization. Their name alone ("Vaccine Safety Initiative") signals credibility to policymakers, patient communities, and advocacy networks that a generic research center cannot replicate. For consortium builders working on vaccine communication, childhood immunization programs, or health equity mandates, VIVI brings both scientific participation capacity and a public-facing legitimacy that strengthens community-engaged project designs.

Highlights from their portfolio

• RIVER-EU
  The largest funding recipient for VIVI (EUR 429,125, running to 2026), this project directly targets MMR and HPV vaccine inequalities across Europe using participatory research with underserved communities — a high-profile post-pandemic policy priority.
• I-MOVE-COVID-19
  VIVI's entry into H2020 funding came through one of Europe's flagship COVID-19 surveillance networks, connecting primary care and hospital data streams across multiple countries during the pandemic peak.