Newswise — If a pandemic strikes, will there be enough vaccine to go around? Why are more children not fully immunized, and will this affect the health of communities? What does the next generation of vaccines hold in store " and who will pay for them?
The media are invited to hear the opinions, and possibly answers, to these questions when five internationally recognized experts on public health, vaccines, and bioethics meet at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia for its annual health policy symposium.
On Thursday, May 8, from 5 to 7 p.m., these five experts will discuss and consider key issues from multiple perspectives — government, industry, and academia — in an important health policy symposium titled "The Future of Vaccines: Challenges, Successes, Opportunities." The symposium will be held at USP in the McNeil Science and Technology Center.
"We hope to find common ground on the key issues confronting this crucial medical technology," said Dr. Robert Field, chair of USP's Department of Health Policy and Public Health. "This unique panel of international experts will highlight the hopes and concerns for the future of vaccines."
The panel will be moderated by Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, professor of bioethics, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics, and director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. He will lead a free-ranging discussion, guided by audience questions, among an esteemed panel that includes:
Alan R. Hinman, MD, MPH, senior public health scientist at The Task Force for Child Survival and Development at Emory University and The Carter Center. Dr. Hinman also directed the Immunization Division of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Paul A. Offit, MD, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Offit is co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq.
Stanley A. Plotkin, MD, emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Plotkin developed two vaccines, most notably the rubella vaccine now administered throughout the world, and is working on developing other vaccines against polio, rabies, and varicella.
Thomas M. Vernon, MD, retired vice president for Policy, Public Health, and Medical Affairs at Merck & Co. Previously, he was the state epidemiologist and executive director of the Colorado Department of Health, and director of Health and Human Services at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
The symposium will be held in the AstraZeneca Auditorium of the McNeil Science and Technology Center (located at 43rd Street and Woodland Avenue on USP's campus) and is sponsored by the Department of Health Policy and Public Health at USP's Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy. Please visit www.usp.edu/symposium for more information.
NOTE: Before the Symposium, the media are invited to attend a ribbon-cutting and college dedication ceremony for the Mayes College at 4101 Woodland Ave., Philadelphia Pa., at 3:30 p.m. on May 8.
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia is a private, coeducational institution dedicated to education, research, and service. Comprising five colleges, including its new Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy, USP specializes in educating its 2,800 students for rewarding careers through its undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs in pharmacy, health and related sciences, and healthcare business and health policy. Founded in 1821 as the nation's first college of pharmacy, it is where the founders of six of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world launched their futures.
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