|Podcasts|October 12, 2020

COVID-19 Vaccine Race: Donald Alcendor, PhD, on Community Buy-In

The Meharry and Vanderbilt-based expert shares insights into reaching less trustful populations on the first podcast episode.

Episode highlights

  • 0:18 – How we got here
  • 3:10 – Contagion® COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker Update
  • 5:37 – Introducing Donald Alcendor, PhD
  • 6:11 – Vaccine hesitancy, community to community
  • 13:40 – Oversight of science by non-scientists
  • 17:05 – Will phase 3 data influence people?
  • 23:14 – How has vaccine hesitancy been beaten before?
  • 27:40 – Better representation in vaccine research?
  • 32:20 – Concerns of vaccine inequity
  • 37:26 – Outro

Few medical advances have progressed with such expediency, scrutiny, and financial backing as the development of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.​

In just 10 months, drug developers, legislators, and researchers have collaborated on the condensed creation, assessment, and planned distribution of nearly a dozen likely candidates designed to curb coronavirus’ spread. If majority population immunity is the safest, most efficient mean to end the effect of a pandemic that’s already cost 210,000-plus lives, then whatever vaccines reach market could be world-changing.

Beyond coverage of the spread, prevention, and treatment of coronavirus, Contagion® recognizes the need to give unique focus to this unparalleled clinical effort. Readers can follow along vaccine research and insights on the COVID-19 Vaccine page, and can catch up on the individual candidates’ progression on the Live Vaccine Tracker.​

And now, they can tune in to the Vaccine Race podcast, a limited series designed to provide everything new to know and learn about the COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

The inaugural episode’s featured guest is Donald J. Alcendor, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology at Meharry Medical College and Adjunct Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

After updates on vaccine developments, new data, FDA guidance, and distribution deals, Alcendor joins to discuss the need for vaccine buy-in from hard-to-reach populations and communities historically at odds with healthcare.

Register for the Contagion daily newsletter to receive COVID-19 updates, research, and perspectives straight to your inbox.


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