COVID-19 Virtual Cafes

Overview:

This is a series of 45- to 60-minute on-demand recordings including:

Building a Resilient Community: J’vanete Skiba of the Resiliency Task Force of New Hanover County discusses resiliency. What is it and why is it important? Learn more about the task force and its efforts to reduce stress and work together during this time of crisis.

Disease Detectives: Dr. Colin Smith, social epidemiologist, demographer and past-president of the Georgia Public Health Association, describes just what social epidemiology is. How do social-structural factors impact patterns of disease and health? Learn how concepts such as social inequality, social relationships and basic epidemiology help us understand distribution of disease. Understand the potential outcomes for COVID-19 social distancing measures and testing policies.

The Epidemiology of COVID-19: Dr. Julia Buck explains the math – yes math – behind the COVID-19 pandemic. Using basic epidemiological models, estimate what proportion of humanity will need to be immune to COVID-19 before the outbreak ends. Hear public health strategies to get us there as safely as possible. Dr. Buck’s interests include disease ecology, parasitology, and mathematical modeling, and she teaches a course on the Ecology of Infectious Diseases in the Biology Department.

COVID-19 Vaccine: Jennifer McCall, PhD, MBA, assistant professor of clinical research, talks about vaccine development, what it would take to develop a COVID19 vaccination, how our immunity works, and more! Dr. McCall’s interests include drug discovery, immunology, and the business of biotechnology.

Combating COVID-19 in New Hanover County: Carla Turner, New Hanover County’s Personal Health Services Manager, outlines the county’s public health efforts to respond to COVID-19.