Health Disparities and the COVID-19 Vaccine

For the third time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, ClassACT examines the impacts of the virus on racial and ethnic groups and among under-served populations across the globe and within the United States. Now, with the remarkable development of multiple vaccines to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, we turn to the topic of vaccine development and distribution to explore how we may address the worldwide health disparities that the pandemic has dramatically exacerbated. Our moderators and panelists, drawn from a broad spectrum of expertise in global health issues, will examine aspects of vaccine development, distribution and access that intensify health disparities and those that may promote health equity.

Dr. Johnson Lightfoote ’73, Chair, Commission for Women and Diversity, American College of Radiology, and Dr. Deborah (Debbie) Winn ’73, Retired Acting Director, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, will co-moderate our distinguished panel, composed of leading experts on vaccine development, international health strategy and policy, and the elimination of racial health disparities: Dr. Uché Blackstock ’99, MD ’05, Founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity; Dr. Kenneth Chien ’73, Distinguished Professor of the Swedish Research Council, Karolinska Institutet and Co-Founder of Moderna, Inc; and Nina Schwalbe ’88, Principal at Spark Street Advisors, a global health think tank.