Troy Tassier on Vaccines and the Covid-19 Pandemic

Fordham News

The vaccines are here! This month, residents of long-term health care facilities and frontline workers such as nurses and doctors began receiving the first COVID-19 vaccine approved by the FDA, and a second vaccine is expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks as well. That’s the good news. The bad news is, the coronavirus pandemic will still be with us until spring, as authorities work to distribute the vaccines to the nation’s 300 million-plus residents, some of whom may not be receptive to taking them. Just as the pandemic forced us to adjust to a reality that once seemed unfathomable, ending it will require a coordinated effort unlike anything we’ve experienced since World War II. Troy Tassier, a professor at Fordham who studies economic epidemiology, has been focused on the pandemic since it first struck the United States in March. He’s dismayed by the recent exponential rise in infections and deaths but says there are some lessons from the spring that can serve as a guide for going forward.