Loras to Host COVID-19 Vaccine Q&A for Campus Community

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Loras College will provide virtual information sessions on the COVID-19 vaccine to students and the campus on Friday, February 5 and Monday, February 8.

Kate Cooper, Ph.D., professor of biology, Andrew Kehr, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry, and Kristen Thompson, Ph.D., associate professor of engineering, will discuss the basics of how the immune system works and how vaccines take advantage of natural aspects of the immune system to protect us. They will give an overview of how the virus infects people and provide more specifics on the two approved vaccines against the coronavirus and the next vaccine in the pipeline.

The session will also include a question-and-answer session for students, faculty and staff about the virus and vaccines.

“It’s not that this information is new or that people in our community can’t get this information other ways, but we want to make it more accessible to the community and provide a space for them to get their questions answered by people they actually know in real life,” Dr. Cooper said.

Loras will host both sessions through Zoom, and they will be accessible to all students, faculty and staff.

“We hope people will walk away with a general understanding of what the immune system does and how the vaccine to protect people from COVID-19 works,” Dr. Cooper said. “We also hope the knowledge will help eliminate any doubts or fears they might have had and that students, faculty and staff will then educate their own families and friends.”