Lessons for the ‘next pandemic’: UNMC’s Khan named to national CDC vaccine study committee – Omaha World-Herald

The dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Centers College of Public Health is among more than a dozen experts who will review vaccine safety systems and communications about vaccine safety research in the United States.

Dr. Ali Khan has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine committee tasked with conducting an in-depth review of the systems, methods and processes of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Immunization Safety Office, focused heavily on the COVID-pandemic.

The committee, said Khan, a former CDC outbreak investigator, will provide recommendations at the end of the yearlong process for sustaining, maintaining and strengthening the offices monitoring systems and communications.

This couldnt be more important, he said. Since the pandemic, the nation has seen a marked increase in vaccine hesitancy and an increase in measles cases mainly in children who are not vaccinated for the highly infectious disease. During the pandemic, there also was outright distrust of absolutely great science.

To build trust, vaccine safety officials need to make sure there are robust safety systems in the U.S. and globally that can pick up signals of adverse events related to vaccines, even extremely rare ones, Khan said. Those officials also need to be able to communicate the comprehensive nature of those systems so people trust that officials have looked closely for such events.

We need to be able to assure people that they (are) getting the most accurate information ... thats not just accurate but trusted, Khan said. And I think these are some of the difficulties the committee is going to tackle.

Its also important for the public to understand that vaccine safety officials are independent from those making and promoting vaccines, he said, and to be able to trust that there are no hidden risks. During the pandemic, some people believed they would be magnetized if they received the vaccine or that the shots contained a chip that could be used to track them. Neither was true.

How do we develop systems so that people can trust that there is an office out there looking at this so when they say there is no chip in COVID vaccines or you dont get magnetized with COVID vaccines, they can trust that there is no chip in COVID vaccines and you dont get magnetized by COVID vaccines? he said.

Khan said all vaccines, just like all medical procedures, carry some risk, although most risks are very rare.

Vaccine safety is about making sure we fully understand what those risks are, however small, he said. Individuals then can gauge those risks against the benefits.

Health officials, in fact, recommended against using AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine after it was associated with a rare risk of blood clots, which was determined to outweigh the shots benefits.

Experts also disclosed the extremely small risk of myocarditis associated with mRNA vaccines, mostly after a second dose in young men, he said. But the CDC also explained that infection with the coronavirus itself carried a higher risk of heart inflammation.

We really need to make sure vaccine safety people are trusted to say, These are the actual risks, whatever they may be, he said. Thats critical moving forward.

In that regard, the pandemic provided an opportunity for learning. There will be a next pandemic, Khan said. And we need to make sure weve learned from the recent pandemic so were better able to prepare and can save lives in the next one.

Sharlyn Davis, 66, helps her father, Orie Staab, 90, both of Omaha, to vote early, ahead of next weeks primary, at the Douglas County Election Commission office at 12220 West Center Road on Tuesday.

Runners head west on Farnam Street during the Berkshire Hathaway Invest in Yourself 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024.

A runner goes south on 14th Street during the Berkshire Hathaway Invest in Yourself 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024. The race closed several streets in downtown Omaha.

Runners head west on Farnam Street during the Berkshire Hathaway Invest in Yourself 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024.

Danielle Herzog sits for a portrait with book "Where are you, Lou?" at her Omaha home on Thursday, May 2, 2024.

A participant carries an inflatable dolphin in the Berkshire Hathaway Invest in Yourself 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024. The dolphin was for members of the Disney Dolphin Run Club from Disney Elementary School to be able to find an adult they trust if needed in the race.

Runners start the Berkshire Hathaway Invest in Yourself 5K in Omaha on Sunday, May 5, 2024.

Nebraska's Rebekah Allick (5) and Nebraska's Bergen Reilly (2) go up for a block in the first set the Nebraska volleyball spring match vs. Denver at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

Fans watch the first set the Nebraska volleyball spring match vs. Denver at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

People run to the arena after being let in for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

People line up on the skywalk from the Hilton Hotel for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

People line up for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

People run to the arena after being let in for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

Omaha police block off the intersection of 22nd and O Streets as they investigate a shooting in Omaha on Sunday, May 12, 2024. One victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to police.

Laurie Jones of Des Moines holds a sign as she and demonstrators gather across from the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting at the CHI Health Center to protest MidAmerican Energy's coal energy in Omaha on Saturday, May 4, 2024. MidAmerican Energy is owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

Students and community members gather outside the University of Nebraska Union in Lincoln on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

Warren Buffett talks with Katie Farmer, president and CEO of BNSF Railway, at the BNSF booth during the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Shopping Day at CHI Health Center in Omaha on Friday, May 3, 2024.

Sophia Phillips, 14, of Omaha, tries on a cowboy hat during the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Shopping Day at CHI Health Center in Omaha on Friday, May 3, 2024.

Father Daniel Hendrickson, Creighton University President, points out the view from the chapel in the Jrme Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, May 2, 2024.

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Workers clear water off of the track after a thunderstorm left the area with standing water at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Workers clear water off of the track after a thunderstorm left the track with standing water at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

A downpour hits the track as a severe storm warning halts the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

A downpour hits the track as a severe storm warning halts the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Fans and athletes seek cover as a severe thunderstorm warning hits the area at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Lincoln High's Brynn Tlamka prepares to compete in the Class A pole vault at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Wahoo's Jake Scanlon competes in the finals of the Class B shot put at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Gering's Creighton Beals crosses the finish line as Boys Town's Isaah Poteet-Brown falls on a hurdle in the Class B 300 meter hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Milford's Isaac Roth falls during the in the Class B 300 meter hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Auburn's Addison Darnell, left, hugs Sidney's Chloe Ahrens after they ran in the Class B 300 hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

From left: Seward's Kelsey Miller Auburn's Addison Darnell, Sidney's Chloe Ahrens compete in the Class B 300 hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

From left: Lincoln Southwest's Jackson Mowitz, Kearney's Zaire LaGrone-Miller, and Bellevue West's Asher Jenkins, compete in the Class A s00 meter dash at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

From left: Kearney's Zaire LaGrone-Miller, Bellevue West's Asher Jenkins, Omaha Westside's Preston Okafor compete in the Class A 100 meter dash at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Elkhorn South's Zander Carson-Koestner stumbles at the start of the the Class A 800 meter run at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024. The race was restarted.

Sidney's Chloe Ahrens celebrates her win in the Class B 100 meter hurdles at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Holdrege's Rylan Landin competes in the Class B pole vault at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Millard West's Kate Hessel competes in the Class A high jump at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

Papillion-La Vista South's Zaidah Lightener competes in the Class A triple jump at the Nebraska state track meet at Omaha Burke in Omaha on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

A large whole appeared in Center Street near 67th Street after a break in a 24-inch transmission water main inOmaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. MUD says " preliminary information indicates it was related to the excess rainfall and flooding."

An early-morning storm knock tree branches onto the Pacific Street sign on 42nd Street in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

The sign for Amateur Coffee located at 3913 Cuming St., is reflected in water on the floor. The shop was closed due to flooding after heavy rains in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

Water pours out of a parking lot onto the ground near 46th and Farnam Streets in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

An Omaha police officer and an employee of nearby Dingman's Collision Center push a car that had been caught in flood waters out of Saddle Creek Road north of 50th Street in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

Members of the grounds crew spread dirt on the right field line trying to make the field playable again after heavy rains delayed the Big Ten baseball tournament at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

Dark clouds portend the storm approaching that delayed the Big Ten baseball tournament at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

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Lessons for the 'next pandemic': UNMC's Khan named to national CDC vaccine study committee - Omaha World-Herald