The North Dakota State University Center for Immunization Research and Education (CIRE, pronounced seer-ee) addresses trends in vaccine coverage through research and education and find ways to improve vaccine acceptance and immunization rates in children and adults. Their goal is to have no one in their region suffer from a vaccine-preventable disease.
Upcoming Webinar:
How Can We Improve Immunization Discussions? Kindness and Respect are the Keys to Improving Vaccine Acceptance
Join NDSU CIRE for a webinar on why nurses play a crucial role in patients’ vaccine decisions and how they can be vaccine champions in their community. Presented by Mary Koslap-Petraco, DNP, PPCNP-BC, CNP, FAANP, the webinar will also discuss tools and strategies to address vaccine conversations. The event will be moderated by Sharon Nelson, Ph.D., RN, Assistant Professor of Practice at NDSU Nursing at Sanford Health, Bismarck. Time allowing, Q&A with attendees will follow. Everyone is welcome! Nurses and other healthcare providers may be especially interested. This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
Recent Presentations:
Two Years on a Pandemic Frontline: Lessons Learned and Reflections for the Academy
On April 19, 2022, Paul Carson, MD, FACP, (Medical Director of CIRE) was honored with the NDSU Faculty Lectureship. Dr. Carson’s lecture will review how vaccines have been one of the greatest public health accomplishments of the last century and how those accomplishments are threatened by health misinformation and a rising tide of vaccine hesitancy. He will explore the historical and psychological roots of vaccine hesitancy and how the NDSU Center for Immunization Research and Education have worked to address these problems. Finally, he will reflect on some of the lessons learned in public health from the COVID-19 pandemic and how some of those lessons may have broader applicability to the university community.
COVID-19 Vaccination in Pregnancy: Optimizing for Mom & Baby
On April 20, 2022, Andrea Edlow, MD, MSc provided a lecture discussing the latest data and recommendations for COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy and lactation. Dr. Edlow is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School and a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Edlow’s laboratory focuses on the effects of maternal obesity and maternal immune activation on fetal brain development and offspring behavior, and how these effects are modified by fetal sex. Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Edlow has investigated COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy and lactation, including the effects of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on the maternal, placental and cord blood immune profile.
How to Have Productive Vaccine Conversations: Moving the Needle Towards Vaccine Acceptance
On May 13, 2022, Kylie Hall, MPH (Operations Director of CIRE) provided a talk for Immunize South Dakota. Vaccines, particularly the COVID-19 vaccine, can be a polarizing and uncomfortable topic; however, there are communication strategies that you can use to engage in more productive conversations with your patients, colleagues, friends, and family. In this session, Kylie reviewed and provided examples of such strategies. She discussed how to build trust, respect concerns, and give some good first responses to some of the most challenging statements.
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YouTube Check out their YouTube channel for COVID-19 webinars, mini FAQ videos, conference recordings, and more!