With three drug companies (Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca) now reporting promising and effective vaccines, it is possible that we will see one or more vaccines receive emergency approval and be shipped to the highest priority populations by the end of the year.

This webinar, with Professor Sandra C. Quinn and SPH Dean Boris Lushniak, will focus on understanding the vaccine trial process, discussing the emergency use authorization mechanism, and anticipating questions that providers and patients may have. It is geared toward healthcare providers, administrators, public health practitioners and community health workers. 

Dr. Sandra Quinn's relevant expertise includes:   

• Member of the Maryland SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group 
• Member of the Working Group on Preparing Populations for the COVID-19 Vaccine, Center for Health Security, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Member of the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN), Older Adults Expert Panel (funded NIAID, NIH)
• Conducted research during previous public health emergencies including the 2001 anthrax attack and the 2009-10 H1N1 pandemic. 
• Also conducted a study for the FDA on public understanding of medical countermeasures
• Led first study of a conceptual model on disparities in the H1N1 pandemic that documented that those unable to social distance will bear a larger burden of disease
• Led first studies on public acceptance of an “emergency use authorization” of a vaccine or drug during the H1N1 pandemic and the public's ability to handle uncertainty and its impact on perceived quality of communication during the pandemic, and the impact of President Obama's public discussion of having his daughters vaccinated and more
• Current member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Committee on Evidence-Based Practices for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
• Currently studying vaccine narratives on multiple social media platforms with publications related to misinformation contributed by Russian trolls and bots, etc. 
• Taught and trained public health professionals on Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication.

Dr. Boris Lushniak's relevant expertise includes: 

• Serving as U.S. Deputy Surgeon General from November 2010 to September 2015
• Responding at “Ground Zero” after September 11, 2001 as part of the CDC/NIOSH team
• Responding to the 2001 anthrax attacks in Washington, DC as part of the CDC team. 
• Serving as the FDA Deputy Incident Commander during the 2009-10 H1N1 influenza pandemic
• Serving as commander of the USPHS Monrovia Medical Unit, the only U.S. government hospital providing care to Ebola patients, during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia in 2015.