Learning Objectives
Explore the historical milestones in vaccine development from early inoculation to modern immunization strategies.
Understand the impact of vaccines on global health outcomes and economic savings, especially in childhood mortality and disease prevention.
Examine historical and ongoing opposition to vaccines, exploring the roots of vaccine hesitancy and organized anti-vaccination movements.
Discuss the ethical challenges related to vaccine mandates, informed consent, research practices, and global equity.
Evaluate the public health implications of vaccine acceptance and refusal, using predictive modeling and real-world case studies.
Speakers
Disclosure: All faculty and planners for this activity have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
David J Cennimo, MD, FACP, FAAP, FIDSA
Dr. David Cennimo is a graduate of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School where he also completed a combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency, Internal Medicine chief residency, and fellowships in both Adult and Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Currently, Dr. Cennimo is practicing clinical infectious diseases and infection control at the VA New Jersey Health Care System where he is also the Associate Chief of Staff for Education and the Med-Peds residency associate program director. His pediatric practice encompasses an appointment as a Pediatric Infectious Diseases attending at University Hospital and the Global TB Center, both in Newark, NJ. He continues to pursue his passion for medical education as core faculty in multiple programs and an Associate Dean for Education at NJMS. Dr. Cennimo’s clinical foci range from HIV, tuberculosis, and emerging pathogens to vaccination implementation and infection prevention including as a consultant to the NJ State Department of Health.
Dr. David Cennimo practices clinical infectious disease and infection control as an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatric Infectious Disease at Rutgers University. He serves as Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. In addition, His clinical interests include long term HIV care, antibiotic resistance, tuberculosis, vaccine hesitancy, and emerging pathogens.
Luis Alzate-Duque, MD, MPH
Faculty Title(s): Assistant Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, NJMS
Luis was born in Bogota, Colombia and immigrated to North Bergen, NJ at the age of 12. Growing up, he observed family members, neighbors, and friends interacting with the healthcare system from a perspective of illness with little emphasis on prevention. This, among other experiences, including early exposure to the field of public health, awakened in him a desire to pursue medicine as a career path. He received his medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in 2014 (and fell in love with the community of Newark.) He completed residency training in combined Internal Medicine & Pediatric at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in 2018 and completed an Academic Medicine Fellowship through the Hispanic Center of Excellence at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in 2019, and has an MPH from the Rutgers School of Public Health completed in 2024. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, where he is dedicated to providing primary care services to adults and pediatric populations in a Newark-based Federally Qualified Health Center. He is the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at New Jersey Medical School, where his passion for holistic, individually centered approaches using a social determinants of health lens, aids him in addressing the academic needs of a diverse student body. Luis interests include addressing disparities in underserved communities with the use of community engagement, community outreach, education and preventive measures to improve health outcomes.
