Annual Conference to Kick-Off With an Examination of COVID-19

August 29, 2022

Minnesota’s health commissioner and a CDC representative will kick off this year’s Annual Conference with their perspectives on the current state of the pandemic, lessons learned, and where we go next as a state, nation, and world. 

Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm and José T. Montero, MD, MHCDS, director, Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will serve as keynote speakers for the conference at St. Paul’s Union Depot on Friday, September 23 from 1 to 6 p.m. 

After Malcolm and Montero present, the conference will switch to a facilitated conversation with discussions on the following topics: 

• Concerns with misinformation and disinformation flooding the public discourse. 

• The inequitable effects of COVID-19 on our most vulnerable populations. 

• The role of COVID-19 vaccines in protecting communities. 

• The challenges that variants present, and how public health systems can effectively respond to a virus that naturally mutates over time. 

• What needs to be done to ensure we are ready for the next public health emergency.  

Part II of the opening session will continue with a 30-minute table discussion, where attendees will engage with colleagues at their table.  Attendees will have a chance to discuss (1) lessons learned during the pandemic; (2) the toll the pandemic took on physician wellbeing; and (3) what medicine and public health need to do differently to be better equipped to take on a public health emergency in the future. 

For more information and to register, click here.