Join Us for the Vaccine Development and Efficacy Webinar!

Posted by liaison on April 2nd, 2021 Posted in: #CC/Academic List, #Health Interest List, #Health Sciences List, #Public/K-12 List, All Members

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Join the NNLM All of Us Community Engagement Network, the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the National Rural Health Association, and Juntos on World Health Day, Wednesday, April 7, 2021, at 7 PM CT, for a virtual health program answering your questions about vaccines. The “Vaccine Development and Efficacy” webinar will feature five expert panelists who will discuss their own firsthand experiences with how vaccines are made, and why some people are hesitant to receive them.

Recent times have brought up many questions of how vaccines work, how they are tested for safety, and why vaccination is important in preventing disease and keeping communities healthy. In this webinar, we’ll hear the answers to these questions and more, straight from the experts.

The All of Us Research Program recognizes that diversity matters when it comes to health research. The world needs medical tools, including vaccines, that work for people of all backgrounds. We know that different groups have different levels of access to quality health care and information. Beyond that, history and culture have big roles to play in health attitudes like vaccine hesitancy. Acknowledging and respecting these important factors by maintaining good dialogue between healthcare providers, public health professionals, and the diverse public is crucial if we hope to improve health equity for all.

As part of the All of Us Community Engagement Center’s commitment to diverse representation in health research, this conversation will have a special focus on Hispanic and rural populations, and how these groups in particular experience vaccine hesitancy. The webinar will be broadcast in Spanish, with live English interpretation available. Furthermore, our panelists themselves represent a diverse group of health researchers, educators, and care providers. Each of them demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion in healthcare.

The webinar’s panel includes 3 infectious disease experts from the Emory University School of Medicine: Dr. Paulina Rebolledo, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Global Health, Dr. Laila Woc-Colburn, Associate Professor, and Dr. Valeria Cantos, Assistant Professor. Dr. Susan Holecheck, Lecturer at the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, will be bringing her expertise in immunology and virology to the table. Last but definitely not least, Dr. Kenia Pujols, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator with the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, will be representing All of Us as she speaks to the potential the program has to diversify vaccine research. The event will be moderated by Edgar Gil Rico, Senior Director for Innovation and Program Development with the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, and champion of Latinx health promotion.

We hope you’ll join us for this important conversation! Head to nnlm.gov/vaccines or nnlm.gov/vacunas to register for the event and submit your questions for the panelists.