What is mRNA? Why are there two vaccines on offer? What’s the difference? What does herd immunity mean? How long will the rollout take? Are the vaccines safe?

As Australia begins to rollout the COVID-19 vaccine, we are faced with an abundance of new information, technical terminology, and vaccine myths and misinformation. It can quickly become confusing and overwhelming.

The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic response – clinicians treating patients in hospitals; scientists continuing to perform tests on suspected cases and viral genomic sequencing; epidemiologists working closely with the State and Commonwealth Governments on policy; and researchers working on antibody tests, treatments and a vaccine.

At this Q&A event hosted by the ABC’s Michael Rowland, a panel of experts will answer your burning questions around the COVID-19 vaccines.

This will be a hybrid event! Register for either in-person tickets or livestream details. In-person tickets will be strictly limited to ensure density limits are not exceeded.

The Panel:

• Professor Sharon Lewin AO, Director, Doherty Institute
• Associate Professor Margie Danchin, Consultant Paediatrician, Royal Children's Hospital and Clinician Scientist at the University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute
• Professor Terry Nolan AO, Head of Vaccine and Immunisation Research Group, Doherty Institute and Murdoch Children's Research Institute
• Dr Janine Trevillyan, Lead, COVID-19 Vaccination Program, Austin Hub; Head, Clinical Virology and HIV Services, Austin Health; and Infectious Diseases Physician

This event is hosted by the Doherty Institute and sponsored by the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Please contact doherty-media@unimelb.edu.au for any enquiries.

Host

Michael Rowland

Michael Rowland is the co-presenter of ABC TV’s News Breakfast. He is a former ABC Washington correspondent, covering stories ranging from the 2008 presidential election to the eruption of the global financial crisis and returned to the US to cover the 2012, 2016 and 2020 elections. Michael has also reported from Indonesia, Cuba, Turkey and India. He spent five years covering federal politics and had also reported on state politics around the nation.

Panellists

Professor Sharon Lewin AO

Leading infectious diseases expert, Professor Sharon Lewin, is the inaugural Director of the Doherty Institute. She is also a Professor of Medicine at The University of Melbourne and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Practitioner Fellow. As an infectious diseases physician and basic scientist, her laboratory focuses on basic, translational and clinical research aimed at finding a cure for HIV and understanding the interaction between HIV and hepatitis B virus. Her laboratory is funded by the NHMRC, the National Institutes of Health, The Wellcome Trust, the American Foundation for AIDS Research and multiple commercial partnerships. She is also the Chief Investigator of a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE), The Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Diseases Emergencies (APPRISE) that aims to bring together Australia’s leading experts in clinical, laboratory and public health research to address the key components required for a rapid and effective emergency response to infectious diseases.

Professor Terry Nolan AO

Professor Terry Nolan AO FAHMS is a paediatrician and clinical epidemiologist, a medical graduate of the University of Western Australia, trained in paediatrics at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and at the Montréal Children’s Hospital, with a PhD in epidemiology and biostatistics at McGill University in Montréal.

He established the Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital in 1989, was promoted to Professor in 1999 and became Deputy Head of Paediatrics within the School of Medicine, and in 2001 was appointed Foundation Head of the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. He was Associate Director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in the late 1990s, and has continued an appointment to MCRI as a Professorial Research Fellow and head of the Vaccine and Immunisation Research Group (VIRGo) since then. His research has been principally in immunisation and clinical trials of new vaccines.

Professor Nolan has considerable experience in working with both Australian and New Zealand Governments and with the World Health Organisation in the provision of policy advice. He served for 9 years on NHMRC’s Research Committee, including a 3-year term as its Deputy Chair. He chaired ATAGI for 9 years and served a 6-year appointment on the WHO principal global advisory group on immunisation, SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group of Experts).

Associate Professor Margie Danchin

Margie is a consultant paediatrician at the RCH & an Associate Professor & Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne & Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). As leader of the Vaccine Uptake Group, MCRI, her research focuses mainly on vaccine confidence, acceptance & uptake, particularly amongst high risk-groups & in low & middle-income countries. In Aust, she is the chair of the Collaboration on Social Science in Immunisation (COSSI) Group, chair of the Social Science Advisory Board & a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee, National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance (NCIRS) & on the COVID-19 ATAGI working group. She works closely with WHO & Global Vaccine Demand Hub & is part of the Melb Children’s Global health Leadership team.

Dr Janine Trevillyan

Dr Janine Trevillyan is the head of clinical virology and HIV services at Austin health, Melbourne Australia. She is the lead of the Austin COVID-19 vaccination hub, responsible for coordinating vaccine distribution across the North Eastern region of Melbourne and establishing large vaccination clinics for high priority groups (such as health care workers) and the general public. She is an infectious diseases physician and clinical researcher whose work focuses on understanding and preventing the long-term complications of viral infections and in particular the effects of HIV.