NMSU’s Cooperative Extension to host COVID-19 vaccine education webinars

  New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service and New Mexico Department of Health will host webinars about COVID-19 vaccine education April 13 and April 14. The free, one-hour event will begin at 6 p.m. on Zoom.
 
The webinars will feature Kathryn Hanley, NMSU Regents professor of biology, and topics will include the science behind COVID-19 vaccination development; science behind vaccinations in controlling COVID-19 spread; and efficacy of available vaccines in preventing COVID-19 hospitalization and death in clinical trials. A public interest question and answer session also will be part of the presentation.
 
“I think it is important for NMSU Cooperative Extension Service to help provide research-based information for the citizens of New Mexico and help the New Mexico Department of Health in the dissemination of information for those who want to take advantage of the program,” said Tom Dean, Extension Southwest District director. “The hope of providing this type of presentation is to take out any type of bias and provide scientific based information so that an individual can make an informed decision on what is best for them.”
 
NMSU County Extension Family and Consumer Science agents Mindy Turner, Curry County; Susann Mikkelson, Quay County; Cydney Martin, Santa Fe County; and Bea Favela, Doña Ana County, will facilitate the webinars. Additionally, NMDOH district field representatives will be available to answer community vaccination access questions.
 
To register for the April 13 webinar, visit https://nmsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAlf-ysqDkvGNxKz0JwVTFXgZhLTZB5aH5F.
 
To register for the April 14 webinar, visit https://nmsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYoc--tqT8sHNboG-YfeGYOZPh2icvMbMR3.
 
For more information, contact Hilda Nevarez at 575-646-2938 or hnevarez@nmsu.edu.
 
The presentations are part of an immunization education project called EXCITE or Extension Collaborative Immunization Training and Engagement. The objective of EXCITE is to help inform and educate communities across New Mexico about vaccine education.
 
For individuals who are fully vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued recommendations about daily activities at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html.