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News | Wednesday, 27 January 2021

Virtual Panel Discussion on Challenges in COVID-19 Vaccination

Virtual Panel Discussion on Challenges in COVID-19 Vaccination

Picture: © M.Rode-Foto - stock.adobe.com

Vaccinations are considered a promising way out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although several vaccines are already in use, there are still enormous challenges ahead. For example, because vaccines are not immediately available on a large scale, equitable international allocation must be clarified. Lack of public trust in vaccines is also a problem that needs to be addressed.

International experts will discuss these issues, as well as the characteristics of the different types of vaccines, on the occasion of an English-language virtual panel discussion on Wednesday, February 3. The event is jointly organized by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Indian National Science Academy (INSA). Debating at the podium:

  • Richard Hatchett, MD, Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Oslo, Norway
  • Ingmar Hoerr, PhD, mRNA technology pioneer and Co-Founder of CureVac, Tübingen, Germany
  • Professor Gagangdeep Kang, PhD, member of the INSA, Chair of the Immunization Technical Advisory Group for the WHO South East Asian Region, New Delhi, India
  • Professor Heidi Larson, PhD, Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom

The virtual live event will be moderated by Professor Regina T. Riphahn, PhD, Vice President German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and Professor of Statistics and Empirical Economics, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

With this discussion, the Leopoldina continues its series Leopoldina International. The objective of the virtual podium discussions, organized in cooperation with the Leopoldina's global partners, is to promote scientific dialogue among the international scientific community and with the public. Previous topics have been “COVID-19 and Multimorbidity: How to Deal with Multiple Infectious Diseases in Parallel?”, “The Hidden Crisis: Mental Health in Times of COVID-19” and “Contact Tracing Apps: Promising Tool in the Fight Against COVID-19?”.