Presenter(s):

Laura Tamblyn Watts; Raza Mirza; CanAge: Canada’s National Seniors’ Advocacy Organization, Canada

Abstract

Vaccines may have saved the world from the global COVID-19 pandemic, but anti-vaccination narratives and “vaccine exhaustion” are on the rise, along with resurgent outbreaks of illnesses like measles in G7 countries. This engaging and dynamic workshop will delve into how we do effective vaccine advocacy in this brave new world. Participants will work with the presenters to learn, share knowledge and experiences and leave with effective tools to become a Vaccine Advocacy Rockstar. The workshop will have table leaders from all parts of the globe and will help map, not just the way forward with best practices, but how to use modern media, AI and think about vaccine narratives differently to make sure the world’s public health success does not end up being sidelined, when it is needed more than ever.

Bio(s)

Laura Tamblyn Watts is the CEO of CanAge, Canada’s National Seniors’ Advocacy Organization. She is a lawyer, seniors’ advocate, professor, media commentator and Bestselling Author. A global expert on aging, she has been a contributor to the development of a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons and has presented to the UN and WHO amongst other global institutions. She has provided testimony and expertise to governments in Canada and internationally. Laura is the recipient of a number of national and global awards for her work, including the Global Citizenship Award which is Queen’s University’s highest Humanitarian Awards. She is affiliated faculty at a number of global universities and was called to the BC Bar in 1999. She holds numerous Board appointments and is a technical contributor to developing national standards for long-term care and home care. Laura is also an Assistant Professor (status) at the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.

Raza M. Mirza, PhD received his MSc and doctorate degrees from the Graduate department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. His areas of expertise and teaching interests include research methods and evaluation, medical decision-making, the socio-behavioral determinants of health in persons aging with a chronic illness, vaccines, aging-in-place, and factors such as social isolation and loneliness influencing late-life social, mental and physical well-being. He has been an invited speaker at national and international gerontology and geriatrics conferences, workshops and symposiums, and has consulted with various levels of government on diverse issues related to an aging population.

Dr. Mirza is the Director of National Partnerships and Knowledge Mobilization with HelpAge Canada, and Assistant Professor (Status) at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Institute for Life Course and Aging.