Equity and COVID-10: A Fireside Chat with Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith
Equity and COVID-10: A Fireside Chat with Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith
Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, Chair of President Biden’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, spoke to the COVID Collaborative on March 24th. In the midst of an intense government-wide effort to roll out three vaccines, Dr. Nunez-Smith has played an integral role in ensuring an equitable distribution of doses, reminding us that “equity never happens by default” and instead requires purposeful effort to achieve. Dr. Nunez-Smith spoke at length about the need to bring the vaccine to the people, to overcome generational barriers of trust and disadvantage, and to ensure that race and place no longer prevent any American from accessing important treatments and disease prevention tools.
Historically marginalized communities have shouldered the brunt of the pandemic. The Biden Administration has spent a tremendous amount of effort trying to ensure that the vaccine reaches these communities, including by partnering with community and faith-based organizations to register people for the vaccine and to provide funding for mobile clinics and other initiatives to bring the vaccine to the people. Dr. Nunez-Smith stressed the importance of “meeting the people halfway”—taking the initiative to reach out directly to these communities and partner with local, trusted organizations and healthcare providers to address specific concerns about getting vaccinated. She also emphasized data-driven policymaking and fostering a culture of honesty throughout government about what we know and don’t know about efforts to ensure equity in vaccination. She reminded us that “the best vaccine is the one that is most available”—i.e. to not differentiate among the three available vaccine brands.
Dr. Nunez-Smith highlighted the importance of asking questions, listening to everyone, and ensuring that we have the most information available to determine the best routes forward for getting people the care and treatment they need, no matter their location or their race. She reminded us that race and place are the most important determinants of health in America, and it will take a multipronged and comprehensive effort to overcome these inequities going forward.