Herpes Zoster beyond an age criteria: A GP panel discussion on immunisation as a preventative health strategy.

Dr Rodney Pearce AM

Dr Rodney Pearce AM is a country and city GP and Medical Officer of Health for the Eastern Health Authority (HA), Adelaide. Dr Pearce became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on Australia Day 2012. He received the award for his long-standing service to medicine as a General Practitioner, through contributions to national medical organisations and to education.

A/Prof John Litt

Associate Professor John Litt is a retired academic GP and public health physician in the Discipline of General Practice at Flinders University and was the Deputy Chairman of the National Quality Committee of the RACGP (from 2000-2018).

His major clinical and research interests are in prevention and its implementation. John has over 130 refereed publications (journal articles, book and book chapters). He conducted the first Australian National Influenza and Pneumococcal Survey in older adults in 1998 and the first Australian Zoster Attitudes and Beliefs Survey in older persons and GPs in 2009.  More recently he has helped to develop an online COVID Risk Calculator (CoRiCal), which assists the patient decision-making process for COVID vaccination.

John has been a member of several national committees, consortia, and Scientific Advisory Committees including NHMRC, ATAGI, Cancer Australia and NCIRS. He was one of the inaugural directors of the ISG and is currently a member of the Immunisation Coalition’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

Dr Anita Muñoz

Dr Anita Muñoz worked as a Clinical Editor and Clinical Advisor for 6 years with North Western Melbourne PHN through which a passion for health system improvement, innovation, sustainability, and equity emerged. She sees general practice as the key to a rational health system that produces better outcomes for patients and practitioners alike.Anita Muñoz is a GP in private practice in Melbourne’s CBD and has a dedication to evidence-based medicine, lifelong learning, and promoting the role of general practice in the health of patients, communities and in public health more broadly.

Anita has held advisory positions with Better Care Victoria and Safer Care Victoria and has been a medical educator for over 9 years. She is particularly preoccupied with the wellbeing and experience of general practice registrars, and of securing a high-quality general practice workforce for the future.

Dr Anita Sharma

Dr Anita Sharma is the practice principal of Platinum Medical Centre, a medical educator and an accredited supervisor for general practice registrars and medical students. She is co-author of RACGP Handbook of T2 D management in Primary care and contributes towards writing CHECK programs for RACGP. She is a member of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ Education Committee and the Diabetes National Faculty Specific Interest Group. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland’s School of Clinical Medicine Primary Care Clinical Unit and serves on the editorial board for Medicine Today.

Dr Sharma serves on the advisory board for Reed Medical Education and develops education modules on chronic diseases like diabetes, heart failure, Chronic Kidney Disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obesity and osteoporosis. Dr Sharma is a medical review officer and designated aviation medical examiner for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Medical Review Officer for Civil Aviation Society of Australia. She is a member of MDA National’s State Advisory Committee (Queensland) and active member of Queensland Medical Women’s Society (QMWS), Australian Federation of Medical Women( AFMW) and Doctor’s Health Queensland ( DHQ). Maintaining high clinical standards, contributing to articles and clinical  guidelines and teaching are her passions.