Vaccine Boot Camp

Genetic vaccines. Protein-based vaccines. Whole-virus vaccines. With 125 different vaccines in preclinical trials and a worldwide competition under way, hopes are running high for at least one workable vaccine to be ready by next year. This training will prepare health journalists to cover every aspect of this story: How are vaccines developed and manufactured? How will these vaccine candidates be evaluated as they move from animal to human trials and through the various phases to approval? What will happen when vaccine hesitancy meets a coronavirus vaccine? How will the backlog of missed vaccines for diseases other than COVID-19 be addressed? Out of nearly 8 billion people worldwide, who will get the coronavirus vaccine first? And who should?

The National Press Foundation will convene top experts – including FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn and  NYU Grossman School of Medicine bioethicist Arthur L. Caplan – from around the nation for an exclusive series of six in-depth trainings. These 90-minute sessions will be spread over two weeks: July 30, Aug. 3, Aug. 5, Aug. 7, Aug. 10 and Aug. 12. Top speakers will return for additional Q&A sessions in the fall as the vaccine story plays out.

This program is for U.S.-based journalists only. The deadline to apply is midnight, July 21. Fellows will be selected July 22, and accepted fellows and their supervisors must confirm their participation by July 24. This fellowship is limited to 25 journalists and will be conducted in private Zoom sessions. Preference will be given to beat reporters and health assignment editors.

Support for this training comes from GlaxoSmithKline LLC. NPF retains sole responsibility for programming and content.