Mpox and the Monkey Pox Virus: Viral Naming and Genetic Influences

Dr. Elliot Lefkowitz joins us for a podcast to talk about Mpox, the Monkey Pox Virus, and how genetic mutations affects not only the effectiveness of viruses but how they are named and how scientists reach these conclusions.

This podcast is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. Thank you to our co-sponsor for this podcast, the Alabama Public Health Training Network at the Alabama Department of Public Health a community-based training partner of the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

Elliot Lefkowitz, PhD
Professor, Microbiology, UAB, Executive Committee Member, International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses

The Future of COVID-19 Vaccinations

The FDA’s expert panel on vaccines met last week (Thursday, January 26, 2023) to discuss the future use of the bivalent COVID shot, signaling the start of the FDA’s pivot to a longer-term immunization strategy. This is an important first step in a process that could result in millions of Americans receiving an annual Covid booster, similar to the flu vaccine. Any such changes will require more discussion and decisions, but the FDA appears to be shifting from responding to the pandemic’s acute phase to a longer-term norm. Dr. Suzanne Judd, Director of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, joined the podcast to discuss these topics and the future of COVID-19 vaccinations.

This podcast is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. Thank you to our co-sponsor for this podcast, the Alabama Public Health Training Network at the Alabama Department of Public Health a community-based training partner of the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

Suzanne Judd, PhD
Director, Lister Hill Center for Health Policy, Professor, UAB School of Public Health

Using Behavioral Theory to Understand the Red/Blue Divide in COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions (January 23, 2023 1pm CST)

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. Political partisanship is an important predictor of COVID-19 vaccination status. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Republicans were less likely to report being vaccinated than Democrats. This webinar will discuss the results from research testing the hypothesis that partisan differences in intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine can be explained by a commonly used theory of behavioral health intentions, Protection Motivation Theory. This webinar is co-sponsored by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control and the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

Greg Pavela, PhD
Associate Professor @UAB School of Public Health
Tamika Smith, PhD
Assistant Professor @UAB School of Public Health
Victoria McDonald, MPH
Third-year doctoral student in Health Behavior @UAB School of Public Health


Public Perceptions and Preferences for Antibiotics: Considerations for Health Communication (December 14, 2022 12pm CST)

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. In this webinar, Dr. Alistair Thorpe will discuss health communication efforts to reduce antibiotic overuse and scope for improving their impact through research on public perceptions and preferences about antibiotics. This webinar is co-sponsored by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control, the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety, and the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

The Deep South Center for OH&S is an approved provider of continuing education units for nurses by the AL Board of Nursing (Provider ABNP0420 Expiration Date 12/22/2025) and has awarded this program 1.0 CEUs.