Karen Miller, MSN, RN, Public Health Nurse Consultant of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response will provide updates on SB21-263, current statewide immunization statistics, CDPHE's plans to implement BA-03, and address changes and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Erika Freitas, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion from the University of Colorado's Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will discuss the equity behind vaccine distribution throughout history noting it is not so much hesitancy, but rather structural racism that is at the core of vaccine inequity. Dr. Freitas will focus on ways to close the equity gap and address barriers to vaccine delivery.

Sean O'Leary, MD, MPH,  Children's Hospital Colorado, Professor of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the University of Colorado will discuss new vaccines in development and changes to routine vaccine recommendations. Audience members can expect to be able to describe vaccines in development for use in the US and elsewhere.

Aimee Pugh Bernard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Executive Director of the Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Initiative at the University of Colorado's Department of Immunology and Microbiology will detail the formulation of vaccines in relation to the body's immune response.

Ariel Tidwell, RN, Clinical Manager of Human Services and Yazmin Molina from the Multicultural Resources Department at Gunnison County Health and Human Services will share challenges and barriers rural communities face accessing and providing vaccines. Their efforts include meeting community members where they are at places such as rodeos and local schools. They will also share information on their patient navigator program which provides outreach to the Latinx community in Gunnison County.

Ariel Tidwell, RN

Yazmin Molina

The Community Ambassador Project is a program from the Metro Denver Partnership for Health (MDPH) in coordination with the Colorado Health Institute (CHI). Amelia Heckman, Colorado Public Health Works AmeriCorps Member at CHI will share lessons from the project's outreach and overall findings. Lizbeth Mendoza, MD, MDPH/CHI Community Ambassador Liaison, will speak about the on-the-ground needs and challenges of the project's work.

Lizbeth Mendoza, MD

Amelia Heckman

Nicole C. Kelp, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology at Colorado State University, Chair of the Medical Science Content Directors at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and an Assistant Professor of Health Communication at the Colorado School of Public Health. Dr. Kelp will discuss causes of the spread of misinformation and provide evidence-based practices and approaches to addressing vaccine misinformation.

This session features a panel of individuals who have all experienced healthcare inequities and includes representatives from the Disability, LGBTQ+, Latinx, Black, and refugee and immigrant communities. Participants will share their experiences and perspectives on healthcare and vaccine inequities and answer audience questions in hopes of developing a framework for vaccine equity.

Panelists include:

Carrie Basas, JD, MEd

Aza Fahed, MD, FAAP

Dr. Zackarina Jenny-hoe

Lizbeth Mendoza, MD

Terri Richardson, MD

Scott Hamilton, DDS, Pediatric Dentist and Clinical Faculty Member at Denver Health and Wesley Nuffer, PharmD, Associate Professor at the University of Colorado’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will describe the unique role dentists and pharmacists play in providing immunizations outside the traditional clinic model.

Scott Hamilton, DDS

Wesley Nuffer, PharmD, BCPS, CDCES, BC-ADM

Julissa Soto, Statewide Bilingual Consultant on Latino Health Care will share how she brings healthcare out of the clinic and to the community hosting Vaccine Sundays within the Catholic diocese in the Denver area, at local after-school events, and more. This session will show the necessity and value of building trusted relationships with community members to improve the lives of those who’ve traditionally faced vaccine and healthcare barriers. Joseph Rosas, MPAS, PA-C and Karen Sosa-Sanchez, MA will join Soto to share their experiences providing in-school healthcare to underserved communities by leveraging pre-existing relationships between families and schools.