The most recent Scientific Liaison Coalition (SLC) webinar focused on the Epidemiology of Vaccine Refusal and now is available for viewing on the SLC website. This webinar was presented by Saad B. Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD, FIDSA, William H. Foege Professor of Global Health and Professor of Epidemiology & Pediatrics at Emory University, Schools of Public Health and Medicine, and a faculty member at the Emory Vaccine Center.
I was pleased to moderate this webinar as the Chair of the SLC Vaccination Work Group and the SLC Representative from the Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP). As Dr. Omer notes in his abstract for this webinar "Vaccines are among the most efficacious and cost-effective prevention tools. However, the success of an immunization program depends on high acceptance and coverage. There is evidence of an increase in vaccine refusal in the United States and of geographical clustering of vaccine refusers resulting in outbreaks….There is a need for development of a robust evidence base of effective interventions for reducing vaccine hesitancy.”
You are welcome to view all of the SLC webinar recordings, which are posted on the SLC website after each live webinar session. These live sessions, which provide an opportunity for real-time question-and-answer exchange with the presenter, are open only to SLC participating societies. The Society of Toxicology and STP are among the founding members of this coalition, the mission of which is to serve as a partnership of scientific societies with the goal of improving public health through a collaborative interdisciplinary approach.