COVID-19 Vaccine: The Journey to Immunity

Community Health Roundtable (CHR) and UIS Webinar

Friday, January 15, 12 PM-1 PM

1. The types of vaccine available, efficacy, safety and herd immunity;
2. Vaccine allocation and distribution; and
3. The decision-making for vaccine prioritization and distribution.  

Public health and health care panelists will join together to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine and answer important questions around the safety and efficacy of each vaccine, allocation and distribution. Additionally, panelists will dialogue about COVID-19’s impact on specific populations and how the impact has determined vaccine prioritization, along with giving some understanding of when herd immunity (point at which enough people are immune to the virus) will be reached.

12:00 PM 

• Welcome & Brief Updates
• Panel Discussion
  • Dr. Vidya Sundareshan, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases, SIU-SOM
  • Dr. Wes McNeese, Executive Director for Diversity Initiatives, SIU-SOM
  • Brian Churchill, Facilitator EMS and Emergency Management, HSHS St. John’s Hospital
  • Heidi Clark, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, IDPH

    Moderator: Molly Lamb, Executive Director, Center of State Policy and Leadership, UIS

12:45 PM Q&A 

1:00 PM Adjourn

Brian Churchill has been the EMS coordinator and emergency management facilitator for HSHS St. John’s Hospital for 22 years. In his role, he serves as the coordinator of the Region 3 Regional Hospital Coordinating Center and president of the Springfield Regional Response Coalition. Brian has also presented at many conferences at the national, state and local level. He is a licensed paramedic, holds a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration and is a certified hospital emergency coordinator.   

Heidi Clark is the Division Chief of Infectious Diseases at the Illinois Department of Public Health. She helps lead the Department’s COVID-19 vaccination planning and rollout, set up statewide contact tracing efforts, and contributed to the Restore Illinois plan. Previously, she was the Division Chief of Health Data and Policy at IDPH, where she oversaw the Center for Rural Health and Center for Health Statistics. Heidi earned a Master of Public Health from New York University and a BA in Human Biology with a concentration in Global Health and Development of Underserved Communities from Stanford University.

Wesley G. Robinson-McNeese, MD is the SIU System Executive Director for Diversity Initiatives.  He is a retired Emergency Physician, and in 2019 received the School’s inaugural Equity Award.  McNeese’s medical training was at SIU School of Medicine (’86), and Residency at McGaw Medical Center, Northwestern Medical School, Chicago, IL (’90).  

Dr. Vidya Sundareshan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Co-Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU-SOM).  She is also the Program Director for Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at SIU-SOM and advisor to Sangamon County Department of Public Health.  Dr. Sundareshan graduated from Ambedkar Medical College and SIU-SOM Internal Medicine residency program. 

Molly Lamb, DrPHc, MPH, MPA is the Executive Director of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at UIS.  Previously, Molly served as Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health's Office of Health Protection.  She is currently completing her doctorate in public health at UIC, holds a graduate degree in public health and public administration from UIS, and a bachelor's degree in psychology from the Illinois Wesleyan University. 

Thank you for your interest in these webinars.  Recordings and slides from the past webinars can be found at https://go.uis.edu/Webinars.