The Cities of Somerville, Cambridge, Framingham, and Chelsea in collaboration with the Chelsea Collaborative and Cambridge Health Alliance invite Massachusetts families to join a virtual (online and phone) panel discussion “Keeping Our Kids Safe and the COVID-19 Vaccine” on Tuesday, June 29, at 6:00 p.m.

During the virtual event, a panel of experts and parents will discuss COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy among children, common questions and concerns about vaccinating children against COVID-19, and what to consider when making a decision about the COVID-19 vaccine. Participants will also have the opportunity to ask the panel questions. Simultaneous Spanish interpretation will be provided.  

The panel will include:

• Dr. Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, Dean of the School of Public Health and Professor of Public Health, Policy, and Practice at Brown University; 

• Dr. Julia Koehler, MD, Associate Physician in Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; 

• Dr. Treniece Lewis Harris, PhD, Training Director of Child Outpatient Psychology, Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School; and 

• Vanessa Meneses, a parent and member of the Chelsea Collaborative. 

The panel will be moderated by Felice J. Freyer, a health policy and public health reporter at the Boston Globe. 

The City of Somerville in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance has held vaccine question and answer sessions in other languages that are available for viewing on demand. For more information, visit somervillema.gov/virtualevents or call 311 (617-666-3311). To view recordings or check for future events in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Kreyol, or Nepali, visit somervillema.gov/vaccine. 

Join the COVID-19 Vaccine Panel Discussion:

• Join on Zoom either online or from any phone: The meeting will be hosted via the teleconferencing platform Zoom. Participants can join online or call in from any phone. At the time of the meeting, go to tinyurl.com/KidsVaxZoom or dial 301-715-8592 and enter meeting ID 984 9595 2174 #. The link and call-in instructions will also be available at somervillema.gov/virtualevents.

• Join on Facebook Live: Visit the city’s Facebook page to join via Facebook Live: facebook.com/SomervilleCity

• Call-in information will also be available starting the afternoon of the meeting on City-run GovTV (RCN Channel 13 or Comcast Channel 22)  or by calling Somerville 311 at 617-666-3311.

• If you need help connecting to the forum, please call Somerville 311 at 617-666-3311 for live assistance.

Watch: 

The meeting will be live-streamed and made available for later watching and on demand.  

• Watch live and repeats on GovTV (RCN Channel 13 or Comcast Channel 22) 

• Watch live or on-demand on the city’s Facebook page: facebook.com/SomervilleCity

• Watch live or on-demand at city YouTube: youtube.com/SomervilleCityTV 

• Watch live via the city website: somervillema.gov/TV (Select “Watch Live Stream”) 

For more vaccine information, answers to your questions, to sign up for vaccine alerts, or see the calendar of upcoming informational events, please visit the city website at somervillema.gov/vaccine. To find out when and where you can be vaccinated, visit the State’s website at mass.gov/vaccine. 

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Nancy Bacci at 617-625-6600 x 2250 or nbacci@somervillema.gov.