Vaccines: Where are we Now?

press release: The fall 2022 Global Health Tuesdays explore infectious diseases, the state of vaccines and migrant health locally to globally.

With experts from across campus and around the world, the monthly seminars host researchers and practitioners from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and across the world. The speakers showcase the complexity of global health challenges and the many kinds of expertise needed to address them. By sharing their experiences with the campus and wide-ranging audiences, these guests provide insights into global health, encourage conversation, and help connect colleagues locally and globally.

Here’s a look at this semester’s seminars and speakers:

Vaccines: Where are we now?

October 18, 2022, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Register here.

With COVID-19, Vaccinations became a football in the culture wars in Wisconsin, the U.S. and beyond. With the COVID lockdowns and individual choice, children across the world missed essential vaccinations against diseases including measles and polio. Equally concerning is the continuing presence of fake news regarding vaccinations and the virus itself, and its impact on global vaccination rates. A panel of experts, including former Ambassador John Lange, senior fellow for Global Health Diplomacy at the United Nations Foundation, and Ryan Westergaard, Wisconsin’s Chief Medical Officer for the Bureau of Communicable Diseases, explore the status of vaccines, locally to globally. GHI Transition Team Member James Conway will moderate.

• John Lange, MS., JD., is a senior fellow for Global Health Diplomacy at the United Nations Foundation, as well as a member of GHI’s Board of Visitors. Ambassador Lange had a distinguished 28-year career in the Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, where he was a pioneer in the field of global health diplomacy. Lange is the author of a case study on pandemic influenza negotiations, has delivered numerous lectures and writes a blog on global health issues and has served on global health and security committees of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. He currently chairs the Leadership Team of the Measles & Rubella Initiative and earlier served as Co-Chair of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Polio Partners Group.
• Ryan Westergaard, MD, PhD, MPH, is a physician and epidemiologist, specializing in treatment and prevention for HIV and viral Hepatitis, with a special dedication to harm reduction among people who inject drugs. He is currently serving as Wisconsin’s Chief Medical Officer for the Bureau of Communicable Diseases (DPH, DHS) in addition to his research and physician-faculty position at the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine and Public Health where he is an associate professor of medicine and an infectious disease physician.
• James Conway, MD, FAAP, is a pediatric infectious disease specialist who works both domestically and globally with programs designed to improve the lives of children. Conway’s projects largely involve training local professionals in the recognition and treatment infectious conditions, and improving systems for prevention particularly through strengthening immunization programs. He has been involved with long term field programs in Thailand, Kenya and Ethiopia. He also works with the UW health science leaders to develop programs and partnerships for clinical education and outreach around the world.