More than 50 scientific experts from across the United States, including virologists, infectious disease specialists and medical doctors, are launching a series of virtual town halls today to answer the public’s questions about the COVID-19 vaccines.
The effort aims to bring factual, scientific information to people across the country, particularly communities of color that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. Questions about safety, speed of vaccine development, side effects, efficacy and new variants will be answered with the latest scientific information.
“In an age where most people get their information at a distance, we wanted to find a way to connect with people more directly,” said Dan Engel, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Engel and Dr. Dean Kedes, both of UVA’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, are co-chairs of the town hall series, along with Felicia Goodrum of the University of Arizona and Dr. Mariano Garcia-Blanco of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Called “COVID-19 Vaccine Education,” the program is sponsored by the American Society for Virology and the American Society of Microbiology, two of the nation’s leading professional organizations in the area of infectious diseases.
