COVID-19 and the Ripple Effect with Dr. Jarashow

This past Thursday, fellow Global Scholar Madalena R. and I had the honor of hosting Poly's first GIP event, about COVID-19 launching the year long theme the Ripple Effect. Our guest was Dr. Claire Jarashow, a Poly graduate who possesses a wealth of national and international public health experiences ranging from being an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to consulting for the World Health Organization to leading the Epidemiology and Data unit for the COVID-19 response for LA County Department of Public Health.

At the beginning of her presentation, Dr. Jarashow emphasized the serendipitous nature of her career development. She explained that she initially did not see herself as having a clear direction, but that after experience with the Peace Corp in Nicaragua and the CDC in Namibia, she her path as a Public Health leader emerged. As a result of her experience in the field, Dr. Jarashow eventually became a vital member of the COVID-19 vaccine in response for LA county.

Dr. Jarashow addressed throughout the entire presentation the very direct tie between COVID-19 and the Ripple Effect. When discussing the arrival of COVID-19 in LA, she detailed the series of very specific events that lead to the massive outbreak that now plagues the entire country. The origin of the outbreak in LA specifically can be traced back to contagious people attending two separate parties. Dr. Jarashow emphasized the colossal exponential growth that emerged from these furthering her connection between COVID-19 and the Ripple Effect. She explained that the virus developed through different socio economic classes differently as a result of adequate or inadequate access to health insurance. Moreover, she described the patterns that COVID-19 took on first starting with the young and then moving to the older vulnerable population as well as the essential workers.

Alternatively, Dr. Jarashow also highlighted ways in which we could help slow the spread of the virus again emphasizing the contrast in ramifications. Dr. Jarashow stressed the importance of wearing masks, and how the prevention of contamination and unsafe social interaction may not affect a person directly, but it may impact loved ones at proximity. In the final portion of her presentation, Dr. Jarashow discussed the complexity of the vaccine response. She stated that the scientific community was cross referencing information and making unprecedented strides in communication, but Dr. Jarashow also pointed out that it will be no easy task to effectively produce and/or distribute these vaccines to a hesitant population.

Dr. Jarashow's work and perspective is profoundly appreciate by the Poly community, and her work reminds us all to operate within the confines of safety during these trying times. I personally found Dr. Jarashow's presentation uniquely interconnected. Dr. Jarashow's grasp of the pandemic and the impacts that it has had on us as a society uncovers a link between science and the nature of human social interaction raising the fundamental question: Are the masses ready to listen to scientists? What is certain, is that the Poly community is. Overall, Dr. Jarashow provided us all with a significantly more wholesome perspective about the development and trajectory of the Coronavirus, and pointed the Poly Community in a healthier and more hopeful direction.