Newswise — Georgia State University College of Law’s Center for Law, Health & Society will host bestselling author and award-winning journalist Seth Mnookin, who will discuss vaccinations and the media’s role in creating public health scares, at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 25, in the Speakers Auditorium in the Student Center.
Following his lecture “Misinformation and Measles: The Disneyland Outbreak, Public Health and the Nature of Truth,” there will be a reception and signing for his latest book, “Panic Virus.” The book won the National Association of Science Writers 2012 Science in Society Award. Mnookin will speak during a two-part lecture series on “Understanding the Vaccine Debates.”
“Based on his meticulous research for his award-winning book, Seth Mnookin conveys the complex issues of vaccine science, public health policy and the anti-vaccine movement in a straightforward, easily understandable manner,” said Leslie E. Wolf, professor of law and director for the Center for Law, Health & Society.
“Parents determine whether their children are vaccinated,” Wolf said. “Attendees will better be able to make informed decisions based on good science instead of fear, fear often perpetuated by media.”
The Center for Law, Health & Society also will host public health law scholar Ross Silverman, professor of health policy and management at Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, at 11:45 a.m., Tuesday, April 24, in Room 100 of the Urban Life Building.
Silverman, who also holds a secondary appointment at Indiana’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law, will discuss vaccination requirements on school entry in “It’s A Small World After All: Law, Politics, and Immunization Policy.”
“Professor Silverman is a leading public health law scholar,” Wolf said. “His presentation, coupled with Mnookin’s, will shed light on why measles is having a resurgence.”
For the Silverman event, the center has applied for Continuing Legal Education credit from the State Bar of Georgia Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency. (Cost is $5 per credit hour.)
Registration is not required for either event, but seating is limited.
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