The national committee develops vaccination guidelines for the U.S.

MU Health Care family medicine physician, Dr. Laura Morris, has been named to the Center for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which develops recommendations for U.S. immunizations.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is charged with advising the director of the Centers for Disease Control on the use of immunizations, including the ages when vaccines should be given, number of doses, time between doses and precautions and contraindications.

Morris’ tenure on the committee begins this month. On the committee, she will represent the American Academy of Family Physicians, which is an association of 130,000 family physicians working to solidify family medicine as the cornerstone of a functioning health care system.

“This role brings a significant opportunity to influence national level vaccination policy,” Morris said. “My job is to represent the perspective and needs of our organization and our specialty, family medicine. It is a privilege to participate in this process.”

In addition to being a physician, Morris holds a master's degree in public health and is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She has served as a family medicine physician at MU Health Care’s Callaway Physicians clinic for the past 17 years. She is also MU Health Care’s Chief Medical Officer for Ambulatory Care. In addition to her administrative roles, Morris is the William C. Allen, MD, Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the MU School of Medicine.

During the pandemic, Morris served as co-chair of the MU Health Care vaccination committee coordinating and promoting community vaccination events while functioning as the primary physician spokesperson for the health system on topics related to COVID-19 vaccination. Morris appeared in hundreds of publications across the globe and became a popular expert adept at debunking COVID-19 vaccination myths.

Contact: Rochita Ghosh, rochitaghosh@health.missouri.edu, (573) 884-1115

Media: Click here for a photo of Laura Morris, MD.