Got COVID questions? UF Health has answers.

Public confidence in the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines has grown as more information has become available, according to recent public opinion data released by Pew Research Center. 

Still, a significant minority of Americans say they are unlikely to get vaccinated, even once it’s proven safe and becomes available to them.

UF HealthStreet wants to reach those vaccine skeptics. Today it announced a Thursday town hall “discuss the impact of the COVID-19 virus on rural and urban communities and to help dispel misinformation about the current vaccines.”

The UF College of Public Health and Health Professions’ department of epidemiology and the UF College of Medicine are sponsoring the event, which will run from 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, professor in the UF departments of pediatrics and epidemiology, will moderate the event. Panelists will include Dr. Tracy Battaglia, associate professor at Boston University’s School of Medicine and Public Health, Dr. Lori Carter-Edwards, associate professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Dr. Michael Gutter, associate dean at UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and Cyd Lacanienta from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. 

“[The] panel will discuss the current standard of care, initiatives being implemented to distribute the vaccine and the availability of FDA-authorized vaccines for COVID-19,” according to a university press release. “Panelists will also examine disparities of health care availability and the importance of building trust in the communities in which they serve.”

The event will take place live at UF HealthStreet, located at 2401 SW Archer Road in Gainesville. Members of the public can also watch a livestream of the event here, but organizers have requested an RSVP (click here).