Canceling your registration will remove your access to the event. If you proceed, you will no longer be able to participate or access event-related materials.
The conference aims to help people learn more about immunizations. Here are some things the conference hopes to achieve:
Who Should Attend?
The conference planning committee is excited to also offer a Motivational Interviewing Training Specific to Immunizations workshop on June 20!
Heather Lynch of Boost Oregon will lead a motivational interviewing training specific to immunizations. Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based and culturally sensitive way to speak with hesitant patients about getting vaccinated. The goal of motivational interviewing is to help people manage mixed feelings and move toward healthy behavior change that is consistent with their values and needs. The workshop will run 8:30am - 2:30pm with lunch provided. The registration fee is $30 and is limited to 100 attendees.
You can register for the workshop along with the Immunization Conference by clicking on the Attendee Registration button above.
Molly Howell
North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services
The presenter will provide an overview of immunization rates, vaccine preventable disease occurrence, and activities to increase immunization rates in the state. The presenter will also discuss immunization-related legislation that has been introduced. The presenter will identify immunization-related topics on the horizon for the state.
Karen Ernst
Voices for Vaccines
Your community relies on you for life-saving vaccines every day, but they also rely on you for life-saving vaccine information out in the community. Learn how to engage with your community online and in person in order to build confidence and spread good information about vaccines.
Tracie Newman
NDSU, FCPH, Sanford Health
A review of vaccine preventable diseases and current immunization recommendations in children and adolescents.
Andrea Huseth-Zosel
North Dakota State University
In North Dakota, a significant number of adults aged 65 and older are not fully vaccinated against key diseases, such as influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia, shingles, and COVID-19. These vaccinations are critical for reducing illness and mortality risks in older adults, prompting health professionals to explore the reasons behind this undervaccination and strategies to improve uptake. A comprehensive survey conducted in the spring and summer of 2022 aimed to understand the vaccination behaviors, beliefs, and barriers among this demographic, with a particular focus on rural populations. Additionally, follow-up interviews were conducted in the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023 to get nuanced information related to decisions about obtaining a vaccine or abstaining from vaccines. Results highlighted a lower vaccine uptake in rural areas, especially for shingles and COVID-19 vaccines, and revealed more skeptical beliefs about vaccine benefits among rural older adults. Additionally, trust issues were identified, specifically related to sources of immunization information. The findings underscore the need for targeted efforts to address these challenges and improve vaccination rates among older adults in North Dakota, which will be discussed in this session alongside best practices and strategies.
Kelsey Nefzger
Essentia Health
Sara Harty
Sanford Health
Amber Miller
Dickey County Health District
Various healthcare facilities will discuss their immunization best practices and lessons learned in order to increase vaccination rates.
Miranda Baumgartner
ND Dept of Health and Human Services
Keipp Talbot
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Jenny Galbraith
North Dakota Health and Human Services
The adult immunization schedule will be reviewed in detail. This session is meant to be a good introduction for newer staff or people who are not overly familiar with the immunization schedule.
Kate Gartner
Bismarck Public Schools
Joan Connell
UND Center for Family Medicine
Dominique Martin
Family HealthCare
Katie Logan
University of North Dakota
Mary Woinarowicz
ND Department of Health & Human Services
Provide updates on the current NDIIS, review public NDIIS data dashboards, and provide details on the new version of the system that will be rolled out later this year.
Kelly Osmundson
Odd Duck
This interactive workshop is designed to help you craft strategic stories that disrupt the dominant narratives and drive social change. We will delve into the practical application of disruptive stories in promoting vaccines and health equity. The workshop will guide you through a step-by-step process of creating a compelling strategic story.
During this session, conference attendees will watch the documentary Virulent: The Vaccine War.
Elizabeth Skoy
North Dakota State University
Tracie Newman
NDSU, FCPH, Sanford Health
This session will review new RSV immunization products, which populations they are recommended for, and update new efficacy data around their use.
Sharon Humiston
Immunize.org
After this session, you will gain renewed confidence that HPV vaccination of males and females is important to cancer prevention. Unfortunately, HPV vaccination coverage was one of the public health setbacks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll discuss data that suggest that starting HPV vaccination at age 9 or 10 years may improve coverage by age 13 years in some primary care settings. We’ll also review the evidence on the effect of some time-honored approaches (e.g., effective provider communication, provider prompts).
Danni Pinnick
ND HHS
Participants will learn about the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). We will cover the recent history of these diseases in North Dakota and the region, as well as notable case studies.
Through a facilitated discussion, Kristen Dow from BerryDunn will work with session participants to discuss current data, explore and recommend strategies, best practices, and approaches to help increase immunization coverage in North Dakota over the next five years. The session will include interactive data collection efforts with polls, word clouds, and open-ended questions
Jenny Galbraith
North Dakota Health and Human Services
Courtney Ali
Family HealthCare/North Dakota Ryan White Program
Mary Woinarowicz
ND Department of Health & Human Services
Provide updates on the current NDIIS, review public NDIIS data dashboards, and provide details on the new version of the system that will be rolled out later this year.
Kristen Dow
BerryDunn
Through a facilitated discussion, Kristen Dow from BerryDunn will work with session participants to discuss current data, explore and recommend strategies, best practices, and approaches to help increase immunization coverage in North Dakota over the next five years. The session will include interactive data collection efforts with polls, word clouds, and open-ended questions
Jennifer Sanders
ND Medicaid
Chrystal Bartuska
North Dakota Insurance Department
Abbi Berg
North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services
Overview of different health insurance plans available to consumers and high level over view of federal regulations that impact health insurance plans.
Angie Seidel
Bismarck Burleigh Public Health
Christina Morin
Indian Health Service
Kelsey Nefzger
Essentia Health
Various healthcare facilities will discuss their immunization best practices and lessons learned in order to increase vaccination rates.
Maeve Williams
NDSU CIRE
Kylie Hall
NDSU CIRE
Tracie Newman
NDSU, FCPH, Sanford Health
Traditional public health efforts to improve vaccine uptake frequently struggle to reach those most able to make change--providers. Previous peer-to-peer education for healthcare professionals successfully increased HPV vaccine confidence and uptake in North Dakota. In 2021, the NDSU Center for Immunization Research and Education (CIRE) implemented a peer-to-peer education program to increase provider knowledge around COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines and confidence addressing vaccine concerns. Content has been developed and updated to meet the educational needs of healthcare professionals, including talks on vaccine communication strategies, vaccine safety, and pediatric respiratory viruses. This session will describe previous peer-to-peer efforts in North Dakota, introduce the current project and share its successes and challenges, and perspectives from a current peer-to-peer educator will be shared.
Georgina Peacock
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC's Vaccines for Children (VFC) program covers the cost of vaccines for children whose parents or guardians may not be able to afford them. This session will provide an overview of the program's first three decades as well as future planning and program opportunities.
Immunize.org
Voices for Vaccines
Karen Ernst is a nationally recognized expert in engaging families to counter vaccine misinformation and build confidence. She has been the Executive Director of Voices for Vaccines for over a decade, having previously worked as an educator. She lives in Saint Paul with her husband, sons, and cats.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr. Georgina Peacock is currently serves as the Director of the Immunization Services Division in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC. In this role, Dr. Peacock oversees the U.S. domestic immunization including the Vaccines for Children program, vaccine confidence and demand activities, adult immunization initiatives and immunization research and surveillance. Previously, she served as the Director for the Division of Human Development and Disability (DHDD) in the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD). During her 15 years with CDC, Dr. Peacock has been dedicated to developing and implementing public health programs that support children and adults in underserved populations to lead healthy lives and be productive members of their communities. Dr. Peacock served as an integral part of the COVID-19 Response on the Vaccine Task Force. She also served as the Chief Medical Officer for CDC at the Georgia Department of Public Health supporting the state’s vaccination efforts. In addition to her role at CDC, Dr. Peacock sees patients in the Developmental- Behavioral Pediatrics clinic at the Good Samaritan Health Center. Dr. Peacock received her Doctor of Medicine and Master in Public Health from University of Kansas. She completed her Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship at Developmental Disabilities Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
H. Keipp B. Talbot, MD, MPH is a Professor of Medicine and Health Policy within the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. As a dual appointee in Medicine and Health Policy, Dr. Talbot has played a pivotal role in the evaluation of viral respiratory diseases in adults and the evaluation of new and existing vaccines in older adults so as to improve immunization policy and vaccine development. Her goal is to continue to evaluate the use and effectiveness of vaccines, with a focus on prevention of infection and morbidity in adults. Dr. Talbot began her career by investigating the presentation of influenza in hospitalized adults. Her recent work has contributed to our understanding of the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus. Dr. Talbot is the chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and has served as the chair of the ACIP’s Influenza Vaccine Work Group and co-chair of the COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group. She has authored more than 200 manuscripts. Her work has informed national policy on the implementation of enhanced influenza vaccines for older adults, the use of pneumococcal vaccines in the setting of changing epidemiology, and COVID-19 vaccine introduction and use. Dr. Talbot currently co-leads the Tennessee Emerging Infections Program at Vanderbilt, which works to better understand viral respiratory disease epidemiology and inform vaccine policy.
Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
O'Kelly Hall, Room 300 - 221 Centennial Drive Stop 9021
Grand Forks, ND 58202
Phone: 701.777.0488