EXCERPT:
BLACKSTOCK: "Right, so I would say that much more needs to be done. We essentially lifted all of the Covid policies. There are no mask policies anymore. There are no vaccine policies anymore. So, while we had these tools, meaning vaccines and therapeutics — the question is whether, not that they are available but whether they are accessible, we don’t have nearly have as many people who should be boosted, boosted and we need even more people to get their second boosters and first time vaccinations. I still think that more needs to be done in terms of outreach and messaging. We know that there are still disparities in who is getting Covid. We know that the last omicron wave was disproportionately black and Latino people getting Covid. We have a holistic view of this. Vaccines and therapeutics may help to some degree, and we are fortunate to have them, but we also need to look at policy. We need to look at who has health insurance and who doesn’t? Who has workplace protections? Who is been exposed to higher risk of Covid at work, which is mostly low income workers? We are disproportionately represented among low income workers. I need the administration to have a more holistic perspective on how we are approaching living with Covid. What that means is reducing the harm of Covid and having an equity focus approach to it, making sure the most vulnerable and marginalized communities are not harmed."