Dr. Shawn Cecil, assistant professor of pediatrics with CCHS, Dr. Sara Phillips, assistant professor of pediatrics with CCHS, and Dr. Nicole Lally, a second-year resident with the College’s UA Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program, co-authored a poster presentation on the views of parents of children ages 6 month through 11 years about the COVID-19 vaccine. About 42% of parents reported strict opposition to the vaccine, and approximately 26% of parents reported they would consider the vaccine if required, or if more children received the vaccine first. The primary reason parents were hesitant about the COVID-19 vaccine was a concern that it had not been tested enough in children. The poster was presented at the National American Academy of Pediatrics Conference in Anaheim, Calif., Oct. 7-11, 2022.
Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster, professor of community medicine and population health with CCHS, was a co-presenter at the National Medical Association Webinar Jan. 7. She provided an overview of the CommuniVax project and Shot on the Spot for the association’s Community Health Division. CommuniVax is a national coalition of social scientists, public health experts and community activists seeking solutions to serious health issues in the United States. The coalition is currently working to strengthen national and local COVID-19 vaccination efforts by putting communities of color at the center of those endeavors.
Dr. M.N.V. Ravi Kumar, Distinguished University Research Professor at UA, faculty at CCHS and director of UA’s Center for Convergent Bioscience and Medicine, was inducted into the French Academy of Pharmacy on Dec. 14, 2022
Dr. Catherine Lavender, associate professor with the CCHS Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine and director of the College’s Division of Family Medicine Obstetrics, was invited to serve in a leadership role with the Alabama Maternal Health Task Force. The task force was created by the Alabama Perinatal Quality Collaborative, which is housed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, to interact with pregnant and postpartum women in an effort to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. Lavender will serve on the Core Advisory Committee and help guide the work of the task force.