Experts To Answer COVID-19 Vaccine Questions at Virtual Town Hall

• What: COVID-19 Vaccine Education Town Hall
• When: March 30, 7 p.m. (PDT)
• Where: Online. Register here.

Scientists at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and the BIO5 Institute have joined a national effort to educate the public about COVID-19 vaccination.

Felicia Goodrum, PhD, professor in the College of Medicine – Tucson’s Department of Immunobiology, and James Alwine, PhD, visiting professor in the Department of Immunobiology, are among more than 50 scientific experts including virologists, infectious disease specialists and medical doctors who have rolled out a program of virtual town hall meetings to answer questions from the public about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Drs. Goodrum and Alwine will host a town hall with Grant McFadden, PhD, and Brenda Hogue, PhD, from Arizona State University's and BioDesign Institute on March 30 at 7 p.m. (PDT).

“The COVID-19 vaccines are our best path towards ending the pandemic,” Dr. Goodrum said. “We have now vaccinated many in the U.S. It is exceptionally clear through the clinical trials that led to their emergency use authorization from the FDA and through the massive vaccination campaigns that the vaccines are safe and effective. They even protect against the known variants of SARS-CoV-2 that have emerged. I am happy to have an opportunity to educate the public about this important achievement in science.”

The COVID-19 Vaccine Education Town Halls seek to provide fact-based scientific information to a wide variety of Americans including those living in rural and urban areas, particularly communities of color that have been hardest hit during the pandemic. Local and national outreach, as well as social media, are being used to bring the program to those who are hesitant or have questions about vaccination.

Questions about safety, speed of vaccine development, side effects, efficacy and new variants will be answered with the latest scientific information available. The town halls will be hosted by pairs or groups of experts, and the sessions will run 45 minutes to an hour.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Education Town Halls program is sponsored by the American Society for Virology and the American Society of Microbiology, two of the nation’s leading professional organizations in infectious diseases. Members of the public can register for these free virtual town halls at https://asv.org/education/.