The Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement will connect rural residents with local and statewide health experts to share information about COVID-19 vaccines and answer questions.

Rural Indiana’s Shot: A COVID-19 Vaccine Discussion will be a virtual panel discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Panelists joining the discussion include Dr. Yolanda Yoder, a physician at Southern Indiana Community Health Care; Dr. Lana Dbeibo, an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the IU School of Medicine; Graham McKeen, assistant university director of public and environmental health at IU; and Dr. Lindsay Weaver, chief medical officer at the Indiana State Department of Health.

The discussion will be moderated by Katherine Pope, health liaison at the IU Center for Rural Engagement.

Panelists will share information about the science behind the vaccines and their development, the role the vaccines play in getting back to normal, the vaccines’ side effects and other medical information to consider and insights regarding rural Indiana’s access to the vaccines.

Hosted as a webinar via the Zoom platform, the event will give attendees the opportunity to ask questions in advance and during the live program. The program also will be broadcast via Facebook Live on the IU Center for Rural Engagement’s Facebook page.

More information about the panel can be found at the event’s page at events.iu.edu/rural/event.