Fall Health Coverage: What two experts want journalists to know in a time of vaccine fatigue

Vaccine fatigue is real, but there are multiple new angles to explore when covering health issues in your community this fall. 

Cooler weather is traditionally when respiratory diseases – like the flu, colds, and COVID-19 – flourish. With so much misinformation and misunderstanding circulating on social media about new vaccines and health topics, journalists will continue to play an essential role in providing crucial information that people need to care for themselves and their families.

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute for a discussion with two prominent health experts on what journalists need to know regarding vaccines and current health issues this fall. Bara Vaida, the Institute’s director of training and a longtime health care reporter, will lead the 30-minute conversation. Registration is open.

Expert guests include: 

• Dr. Tina Tan, an infectious disease pediatrics physician and professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine
• Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and George Washington University public health professor

Participants will learn:

• What you need to know about the COVID-19, flu vaccines 
• What to know about the new RSV vaccine for older adults and infants
• Story ideas for engaging a COVID-weary community 
• Covering health equity and access angles 

This webinar will be interactive, so please bring your questions. For more tips on covering COVID-19 in fall 2023, click here.

About the speakers

Dr. Tina Tan is professor of pediatrics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University; and a pediatric infectious diseases attending, medical director of the International Patient and Destination Services Program (IPS), co-director of the Pediatric Travel Medicine Clinic; and director of the International Adoptee Clinic at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in Illinois. She is currently serving as the vice president of the Lurie Children’s Hospital Medical/Dental Staff. She is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases.

Dr. Tan recently served as a member of the board of directors of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and in 2022 was elected as the vice-president and president-elect of the board. She also is a member of the vaccine advisory boards of Merck, Sanofi Pasteur, GSK, Pfizer/Wyeth, Moderna and Novavax.

Dr. Tan is the editor-in-chief of Contemporary Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatrics Redbook Atlas of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and the Redbook: A Quick Diagnostic Deck. She serves on the editorial boards of: the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, Internal Medicine Reviews, and Vaccines.

Dr. Leana Wen is an emergency physician, public health professor at George Washington University, and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is a columnist for The Washington Post, where she writes a twice-weekly column on public health and health policy and anchors the Post newsletter, “The Checkup with Dr. Wen”.

Previously, she served as Baltimore’s Health Commissioner, where she led the nation’s oldest continuously-operating public health department to to fight the opioid epidemic, address disparities and mental health access, and improve maternal and child health. She’s the author of two books, the most recent of which is Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health, and is a frequent on-air guest for CNN, National Public Radio, BBC, and MSNBC.

Dr. Wen obtained her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine and studied health policy at the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She completed her residency training at Brigham & Women’s Hospital & Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School. Her awards include being named one of Governing’s Public Officials of the Year, Modern Healthcare’s Top 50 Physician-Executives, and TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. She lives in Baltimore with her husband and two young children.

About the National Press Club Journalism Institute

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.

The Institute depends on grants, foundation funds, and contributions from individuals like you. Your donation today allows the Institute to offer the majority of its programming at no cost.