News

Parker appointed to state’s Infectious Disease Advisory Council

Published on December 7, 2020

A portrait of University of Iowa College of Public Health Dean Edith Parker.
Edith Parker

As planning continues for distribution of FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the Iowa Department of Public Health has selected four University of Iowa experts to serve on its Infectious Disease Advisory Council (IDAC). The council, which brings together more than 20 subject matter experts from across Iowa, will assist the state in developing COVID-19 vaccine distribution guidance and prioritization of populations for early in the response when vaccine supply will be limited.

The UI experts who have been named to the council include:

  • Brooks Jackson, MD, MBA, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Carver College of Medicine
  • Edith Parker, DrPH, MPH, dean of the UI College of Public Health
  • Lauris Kaldjian, MD, PhD, bioethicist in UI Hospitals & Clinics
  • Jorge Salinas, MD, infectious disease specialist in UI Hospitals & Clinics

The IDAC will develop recommendations for consideration by the director of IDPH. Additionally, the council will develop a process to solicit information from employers and other interested parties throughout the state to better understand the unique considerations of their workforce.

As vaccines receive emergency use authorization and Iowa receives information on distribution quantity from federal partners, the IDAC will reconvene to review ACIP, NIH, and NASEM priority recommendations and, if needed, tailor the prior recommendations accordingly.