MSU STES Center hosts April 6 interactive discussion about vaccine hesitancy
From MSU News Service
BOZEMAN – Montana State University’s Center for Science, Technology, Ethics and Society will host a free interactive event at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6, focusing on understanding the factors that lead to vaccine hesitancy, what can be done to address it and the state of COVID-19 vaccinations in Gallatin County.
“Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy and COVID Vaccination in Montana” will feature Maya Goldenberg, an author of a recent book on vaccine hesitancy and a professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, and Matt Kelley, the outgoing Gallatin County public health officer. A Q&A will follow both of the presentations. No pre-registration is necessary for the event, which is free and open to the public. Participants can connect to the Webex event from the STES webpage at montana.edu/stes/news/communityforum/vaccines.html.
“In Gallatin County we are still seeing that the demand for COVID-19 vaccines is outpacing supply, though that is changing,” said Kristen Intemann, director of the STES Center and an MSU professor of philosophy. “Protecting public health will soon require engaging with those that are more reluctant, have questions or have doubts about taking a COVID vaccine. We need to make sure that we communicate in ways that facilitate trust, which includes listening (rather than assuming) what some of those concerns are. We hope this event will start that important conversation.”
Goldenberg is a philosophy professor who specializes in the philosophy of medicine and health care ethics. Her book “Vaccine Hesitancy: Public Trust, Expertise, and the War on Science” was published by University of Pittsburgh Press in 2021. She has authored or co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on the topic. Goldenberg will share some of her work from her book, arguing that vaccine hesitancy is best understood as a problem of distrust of both scientists and government rather than a problem of public misunderstanding of science, or anti-science views.
Kelley has served as public health officer for Gallatin County for more than a decade, directing the Gallatin County Board of Public Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. He announced this week that he will leave his job in June to serve as the first CEO of the Montana Public Health Institute. Kelley has a journalism degree from Drake University and a master’s in public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The STES discussion is the sixth in a series of online forums focused on the science and ethics of the COVID-19 pandemic. Intemann said the mission of the STES Center is to produce interdisciplinary knowledge and critical thinking about the social and ethical dimensions of science and technology through research, teaching and public engagement.
For more information about STETS and the event go to: montana.edu/stes/news/communityforum/vaccines.html. •