Considering the Needs of the Vulnerable in the Next Stage of the Pandemic

After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is flagging support for many of the public health interventions designed to help control the virus. The Biden Administration has struggled to secure additional funding for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests. Most states and municipalities have rolled back their mask mandates, as well as testing and case reporting initiatives.

How do we navigate this coming phase of the pandemic? Who bears the cost of decisions to remove mask mandates and vaccine requirements? What is the role of the individual and what is the responsibility of public health and medical leadership in the coming years? What are we accepting when we call this period “the new/next normal”?

Panelists

• Introduction and moderator: Carmel Shachar, Executive Director, The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School
• Jasmine Harris, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
• Abraar Karan, Infectious Diseases Fellow, Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University
• Katherine Macfarlane, Professor, Southern University Law Center and Chair-Elect, AALS Section on Disability Law

This event is sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School.