The Pandemic at One Year: A Race Between Vaccines and Variants

Our esteemed speakers will discuss where we are - nearing the official one-year anniversary of the COVID pandemic - with regards to vaccinating the country and building trust in public health. Reflecting on one year, the speakers will help illuminate the path toward vaccinating the country and emerging from the pandemic.

Co-hosted by DFA, U.S. PIRG and #ThisIsOurShot Campaign, the skill-building session will be co-moderated by Farheen Qurashi, MD, a Trauma Surgeon and Board Member at Doctors for America and Matthew Wellington, Public Health Campaigns Director at U.S. PIRG.

The presentations and conversation will focus on how to communicate about the vaccines and answer questions people may have - particularly, how we should compare their reported efficacies and correct misconceptions and what we know about how the new vaccines work against emerging SARS-CoV2 variants.

The speakers will touch on how the distribution of new vaccines to the public is being affected by concerns around equity in access to vaccination, and what strategies can be used in talking to patients, families, colleagues, and communities in order to build trust.