In this episode Sean O’Leary, MD, MPH, FAAP, vice chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, joins hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, for a discussion about the COVID vaccine, newly approved for children ages 5 to 11. The hosts also interview the CDC’s Michael Bell, MD, and Amy Kolwaite, ARNP, MS, MPH, about infection prevention and control during respiratory virus season.
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Guests
Sean O’Leary, MD, MPH, FAAP
Guest
Sean O’Leary, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist, an investigator at ACCORDS (Adult and Child Consortium for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science), and the Director of the Colorado Children’s Outcomes Network (COCONet), Colorado’s pediatric practice-based research network. Dr. O’Leary is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on School Health and serves as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases (the Red Book Committee) for the AAP. He also serves as the liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and currently represents the AAP on ACIP’s COVID-19 Vaccine Work Group.
Michael Bell, MD
Guest
Michael Bell, MD, is the deputy director of CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion and the lead physician for Project Firstline. Dr. Bell’s career has focused on investigating and preventing transmission of healthcare-associated illnesses for hospital patients and staff alike. He has been instrumental in advancing evidence-based programs for prevention of antibiotic resistance and improvements in safe medical practices.
Amy Kolwaite, ARNP, MS, MPH, CAPT, U.S. Public Health Service
Guest
Amy Kolwaite, ARNP, MS, MPH, is a nurse epidemiologist in the CDC Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. In this role she supports the CDC efforts to build sustainable capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to healthcare-associated infections globally. Ms. Kolwaite has more than 20 years of experience as an acute and primary care certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner; she practices emergency medicine with Emory's Pediatric Emergency Medicine Group and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. She is a PhD candidate at Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing where her research is focused on identifying and addressing healthcare disparities in the pediatric acute care setting. Ms. Kolwaite is also a Captain in the US Public Health Service.
Resources
Project Firstline is CDC’s National Training Collaborative for Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control. As a Project Firstline partner, the AAP is working to expand and strengthen the capacity, collaboration, and coordination of pediatric heath care providers, and to develop and disseminate innovative, effective, and responsive infection control education during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure:
The interviewees have no conflicts of interest to disclose
Music Credits:
"Steadfast" by Blue Dot Sessions at www.sessions.blue
Theme music composed by Matthew Simonson at Foundsound.media
*The views expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and not necessarily those of the American Academy of Pediatrics.