This event has now passed, but you can view a recording here.
Vaccination is one of the greatest successes of modern medicine, credited with saving between two and three million lives globally every year. And yet vaccination uptake appears to be falling, and vaccine hesitancy was named by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of ten threats to global health in 2019. With polling suggesting that in some countries perhaps only half of the population would be prepared to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, now is arguably the time to recommit to working together to celebrate vaccines.
In this online event Imran Ahmed, Professor Helen Bedford and Dr Tonia Thomas will discuss with Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet, issues concerning the online dissemination of vaccine information to members of the public, as well as constructive solutions for being pro-vaccination in a digital world.
This is one of a series of Jenner Conversations organised by Dr Jenner's House, Museum and Garden. Just as Edward Jenner gained inspiration for his work by connecting different disciplines, we now want to bring together thinkers with different insights and perspectives to discuss how we might face today's challenges. Join in the discussions at #JennerConversations.
Imran Ahmed is CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). Imran founded CCDH in December 2017 to disrupt identity-based hate and dangerous misinformation in digital spaces. He frequently appears in the media as an expert in online malignant behaviour and was appointed to the Steering Committee of the UK Government's Commission on Countering Extremism Pilot Task Force in April 2020. CCDH's most-recent publication, The Anti-Vaxx Industry, concerns the relationship between social media companies and anti-vaccination networks.
Helen Bedford is Professor of Children's Health at UCL GOS Institute of Child Health. Helen’s main research focus is the determinants of vaccine uptake, including public and professional attitudes to established, proposed and new uses for established vaccines. Helen contributes to immunisation training for health professionals and has co-authored e-learning materials on immunisation. She has written for a wide range of publications including scientific journals, newspapers, websites and blog posts. Helen appears frequently in the media discussing vaccine issues and is a vaccine spokesperson for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Tonia Thomas is Vaccine Knowledge Project Manager at the Oxford Vaccine Group. Tonia maintains the Vaccine Knowledge Project website, a UK non-governmental website accredited by the WHO's Vaccine Safety Net, and oversees the communications strategy for Oxford Vaccine Group based on her ongoing research into vaccine attitudes. Currently Tonia is leading on communication and public engagement for the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial.
Running time: 60 minutes
This is an online event and will be hosted on Zoom, please refer to their privacy policy before registering for this event. You will be emailed a link with instructions on how to join the event nearer the time.
This event is streaming globally.
4pm BST | 5pm CEST | 11am EDT