Medical experts explain the science behind the mutant variants, and settle the argument of which vaccine is the best
By ONME Newswire
In parts 1 & 2 of News Too Real episodes -- Mutant Variants vs Vaccines:
Which Will Prevail in the Pandemic Race? producer host Julia Dudley Najieb reviews the conversation of four medical experts from last week's Ethnic Media Services media briefing. The medical professionals explain the path of the mutant variants coupled with real science, followed by a review of the most recent vaccines available along with an in-depth background on each one's efficacy rate and study results.
It was President Joe Biden who announced March 11 that all tiers of vaccine distribution would be lifted, enabling anyone over the age of 18 in the U.S. to get vaccinated.
But vaccine distribution has continued to run into bottlenecks -- from shortages of supply to lack of access to vaccine hesitancy.
Meanwhile, a mutant variant known as the B117 UK variant-- more contagious and virulent than its predecessor--could become the dominant strain by summer. However these medical experts suggest that the U.S. quickly gets everyone vaccinated before the B117 prevails:
Dr. Nirav Shah is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine - Primary Care And Population Health at Stanford University.
Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH, is Senior Scholar at Stanford University’s School of Medicine and Chief Medical Officer of Sharecare. Dr. Shah is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale School of Medicine, and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Shah’s expertise spans health and healthcare as a member of the HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee, as Senior Fellow of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and as an independent director of public and private companies and foundations. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, and as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.
Dr. Shah presents an overview of vaccine vs. variant.
Dr. Dali Fan is a UC Davis Health Science Clinical Professor.
Dr. Dali Fan is a UC Davis Health Science Clinical Professor. He received his M.D. from Peking University Health Science Center and his Ph.D. and M.Sc. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is a member of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American Society of Echocardiography, and the Chinese American Heart Association
Dr. Fan discusses the rollout of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, and its impact on getting the U.S. vaccinated by this summer.
Watch part 2 now!
Dr. Turner Lloveras is the founding Member of the Latino Coalition Against COVID-19.
Dr. Turner-Lloveras graduated from The University of Southern California with a B.A. In Interdisciplinary Studies, and received his medical degree from The University of Chicago – Pritzker School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian | Columbia University Medical Center. After finishing residency, he moved to Los Angeles, where he completed his four-year commitment as a National Health Service Corp Scholar. Dr. Turner-Lloveras started the Latino Medical Student Association chapter at The University of Chicago and helped form The Department of Medicine Diversity & Inclusion Committee at Harbor-UCLA.
He addresses vaccine inequity in the LatinX community and highlight the "Digital Companero" program, a new initiative to address vaccine-related digital literacy.
Dr. Kim Rhoads is anassociate professor of epidemiology & biostatistics at UC San Francisco's School of Medicine.
Dr. Rhoads' background and scholarly work spans the full cancer continuum. She has training in health policy at Harvard and as the inaugural Philip R. Lee Fellow in Health Policy at UCSF. She has formal training in community organizing at the Center for Third World Organizing in Oakland, California; and Community Based Participatory Research training from the UCOP California Breast Cancer Research Program. Before returning to the faculty at UCSF, Rhoads founded the Community Outreach and Engagement program for the Stanford Cancer Institute.
Dr. Rhoads discusses vaccine inequity in the Black community, and the pop-up testing and vaccination sites she built in Oakland in partnership with Umoja Health.
