Covering Coronavirus: How a Pro Covers Vaccines
Our nation’s mass vaccination campaign is complex and unprecedented, and Americans are hungry for any information to guide them out of the devastating COVID-19 crisis. Given the pace and scale of vaccine deployment, it’s easy for journalists to feel overwhelmed. To aid in efficient and accurate coverage, we’ll turn to one of the best reporters on the COVID-19 beat: Lisa Krieger, the science and medicine reporter for The San Jose Mercury News, who in recent months has focused almost exclusively on vaccine coverage. She’ll provide an up-to-date overview of the vaccine pipeline, describe key players in the industry and offer projections of the 2021 timetable. She’ll summarize allocation and distribution strategies on the federal, state and county levels. She’ll provide context, suggest compelling story ideas and summarize current controversies -- and recount how she stays on top of this fast-moving story, offering practical tips that will bolster your coverage.
This webinar is free and made possible by The Commonwealth Fund and the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation.
Panelists
Lisa M. Krieger is a journalist for the San Jose Mercury News/Bay Area News Group (BANG), covering science, medicine and the environment from Stanford University, University of California, NASA-Ames, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrence Livermore National Labs and other Bay Area-based research facilities. She is BANG’s lead reporter on the COVID-19 crisis. Prior to joining the Mercury News, she covered HIV/AIDS and clinical medicine for The San Francisco Examiner. She also covered public health problems in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and rebel-held Sri Lanka after the East Asian tsunami in 2004, on loan to Knight-Ridder. She is an instructor in UC Santa Cruz's Science Communication Program, where she teaches science feature writing. She is also a freelance contributor to National Geographic Online, Bay Nature and University of California publications. She scripted the KQED e-book “Biotechnology;” co-authored the book “Incredible Voyage: Exploring the Human Body.” published by National Geographic Press; and edited the University of California Press Book “AIDS: A Community Response.” She earned a degree in biology from Duke University.