The Hopkins Forum: Debating the Legacy of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Wednesday, September 17 | 6:30 p.m.
JHU School of Nursing Auditorium | 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205
It has been five years since the start of COVID-19, and the world is still reckoning with its impact: millions of lives lost, strained health systems, and divisions that continue to shape our politics and daily lives. Public health agencies like the CDC and WHO were asked to respond to fast-moving science and intense uncertainty, while societies faced the challenge of trust, misinformation, and compliance with evolving guidance.
This debate asks a pressing question: where did the pandemic response break down, and what does that teach us about the responsibilities of both public health systems and the societies they serve?
Some argue that institutional preparedness and communication were not strong enough to meet the crisis. Others emphasize the role of social mistrust, misinformation, and resistance to basic measures that made it difficult for even the best-prepared systems to succeed.
The goal of this conversation is not to assign blame but to examine what happened, why it mattered, and how public health and society can work together more effectively when the next crisis arrives.
The pandemic revealed both vulnerabilities and resilience across our systems and communities. This debate brings together national leaders in medicine and public health to consider where the response fell short, what lessons we can take forward, and how to strengthen trust and preparedness for the future.
Participants
- Tom Frieden — Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); President and Chief Executive Officer at Resolve to Save Lives
- Dr. Mikhail Varshavski — Board-certified family medicine physician, UNICEF Ambassador, and Influencer
- Dr. Jerome Adams — 20th Surgeon General of the United States; Presidential Fellow, Executive Director of the Center for Community Health Enhancement and Learning (HEAL), and Distinguished Professor of Practice at Purdue University
- Dr. Dara Kass — Emergency Medicine Physician; Founder of the FemInEM Foundation; Former Region 2 Regional Director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Moderator: John Donvan, Emmy Award-winning journalist
