AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the Iowa Department of Public Health and University of Iowa are partnering to host information sessions about the COVID-19 vaccine in April. The sessions will provide a virtual forum for Iowans to learn about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and have an opportunity to ask questions of experts in medicine and public health.
Sessions are scheduled for April 17, 19 and 24. There is no fee or registration required and the sessions are open to all.
“This partnership really gets to the heart of our ISU Extension and Outreach mission – delivering research-based education and information to help Iowans make their own decisions. Being able to provide Iowans in all 99 counties with direct access to this level of expertise is an extraordinary opportunity. We’re proud to play a part,” said Vice President for Extension and Outreach John Lawrence.
Dr. Caitlin Pedati, IDPH medical director and state epidemiologist, will participate in each of the sessions. She will be joined April 17 and 19 by Dr. Pat Winokur, M.D., executive dean of University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine, co-director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, and professor of internal medicine – infectious disease. On April 24, Pedati will be joined by co-panelist Dr. Alejandro Comellas, M.D., director, clinical research support, ICTS and clinical professor of internal medicine – pulmonary, critical care and occupational medicine.
Participants will have the choice of participating in the live events on April 17, 19 and 24 either via the WebEx or YouTube platforms. During each session, participants may submit questions through Q&A (WebEx) or comment (YouTube). No participant information will be gathered.
All sessions will be closed captioned. The April 24 session is targeted to Iowans who speak Spanish and will include a live interpreter as well as bilingual closed captioning. For this session, the WebEx platform will provide a bilingual experience, while the YouTube event will feature only Spanish audio. Each one-hour session will feature an overview from medical experts, followed by a moderated question and answer segment to encourage a dialogue.
Full details, links to each session and promotional resources in both English and Spanish can be found on the event website, https://www.iowacovidinfo.org.