On October 2nd, I attended the Who Gets Sick? Who Gets Care? Inequalities in Health and Health Care Panel put together by COMPAS. It was moderated by Dana Howard, a professor of Bioethics and Philosophy here at the Ohio State University. This event focused on the varying rate of infection and mortality among different people groups. In the United States particularly there a huge disparities regarding COVID-19. These inequalities are by no means new issues, they are just being highlighted by the pandemic. Marginalized communities in America lack access to medical care and health education which puts them at higher risk of contracting this infectious disease.
One speaker was Dr. Sridhar Venkatapuram who is a Senior Lecturer in Global Health and Philosophy at King’s Global Health Institute in the United Kingdom. He has received degrees from Brown University, Harvard University and the University of Cambridge. Dr. Venkatapuram is highly accomplished in his field and has been working on pressing public health concerns for more than 25 years. The other speaker was Dr. Yolonda Wilson who is a professor of Philosophy at Howard University. She focuses on bioethics, race theory and feminist philosophy. Dr. Wilson focuses on rectifying injustices in the United States, specifically in the field of health care and disparities involving race.
Although, the two speakers come from differing backgrounds, it was fascinating to see how similar their viewpoints on this pandemic were. Their areas of expertise overlapped in unique areas which made for an interesting and informative conversation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.