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Antibodies, convalescent plasma, gene-based vaccines — you may have heard these terms on the evening news, but what do they mean? How might they help in the battle against Covid-19?
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Black people are 3.5 times more likely to die of the coronavirus than white people. Why is this?
![The Global Vaccine Race: A Conversation with Bill Gates](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null39028c82-85f6-4b2f-9c33-9f2ae7ccf48b/speakers-june301.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=416%2C0%2C1718%2C1718&w=290)
Since its founding, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed billions of dollars to the search for and distribution of vaccines across the globe. Its knowledge, network, and resources are now being tapped amid the accelerated search for treatments for COVID-19. Gates joins Stephanie Mehta, editor in chief of Fast Company, and shares his expectations for a vaccine...
![A Troubling Prognosis: Race Disparities and Health Outcomes](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/48059c7c-4e10-4d46-9ee2-01bc80519949/35419958671_e69456a3dc_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1000%2C0%2C4016%2C4016&w=290)
By every measure — including life expectancy, infant mortality, and rates of heart disease and cancer — people of color fare worse than white people, even after controlling for education and income. Social policies that foster segregation, discriminatory employment and housing practices, and inequities in the criminal justice system can all have dire health consequences. E...
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In this pandemic recession, millions of Americans are going hungry, and Black and Hispanic households are hit harder than white ones. Throughout US history, hunger and health have been tied to race and now Covid-19 is affecting low-income, communities of color disproportionately.
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Throughout American history, racism has been embedded in health and health care. To justify slavery, scientists promulgated falsehoods about African Americans and health. More recently, social policies rooted in racism have led to less access to care, higher disease rates, and lower life expectancies for communities of color. Science writer Harriet Washington says structur...
![Countering Racial Bias with Empathy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9b5f56e6-0e79-4ec5-bf33-e25583520a2c/52171897596_e01db36af9_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1012%2C0%2C4024%2C4024&w=290)
No doctor awakens in the morning determined to discriminate against patients of color, yet their daily clinical decisions too often have that result. Implicit bias—unconscious assumptions and stereotypes—often cause the harm. The failure to ask the right questions, listen closely and reserve judgment can sabotage communication in any patient/physician encounter, but it wor...
![How To Dismantle Structural Racism in Health?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/26db16fe-9f06-4ff3-88be-c9edd1717752/53806498237_abd97894b4_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=775%2C0%2C3101%2C3101&w=290)
Structural racism, reflected in uneven access to care, inequitable community conditions, and the wealth gap, drives persisting racial disparities in health. Unconscionable differences in life expectancy and the incidence of numerous diseases are the result. The systems and structures at the root of these inequities were created intentionally and need to be dismantled just...
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The age of technology and the internet provides constant easy access to sexual content and information about sex, for all tastes and curiosities. But survey data show that young people are having less sex than people of previous generations did at their age, and the experts are trying to figure out why. In this 2019 talk from the Aspen Ideas: Health archives, three profess...
![A 'Stubborn Optimist' in the Face of Climate Change](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/987aa4f9-ac3e-4898-bd3d-30e5b79ba9f1/29151323668_b3917b5549_o3.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=714%2C0%2C1837%2C1837&w=290)
As secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres led the global adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. But she was not always so hopeful, and recalls a turning point as she consciously shifted her attitude from despair to stubborn optimism. Jeff Goodell, author of The Water Will Come sits down with Figueres to reve...
![Caring for Those Who Care for Us](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/538e8951-aaec-4e0e-9518-41cb6d2ce222/Untitleddesign14.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=840%2C0%2C2160%2C2160&w=290)
Health workers often face grueling working conditions. They regularly confront trauma, work long hours, are exposed to physical danger, and must keep pace with the demands of a rapidly-evolving health care system. The COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified these challenges, leaving many workers burnt out. Learn how we can we better support those who care for us, from trainin...
![Clearing the Air: Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a597681f-1fad-4f2d-ab86-6da0c79ffd60/41158587770_a5005df67b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is the third leading killer in the US, yet it rarely commands the attention paid to #1 heart disease and #2 cancer. As both advocate and patient, Grace Anne Dorney-Koppel is fighting to change that. After being given less than five years to live in 2001, Grace Anne embarked on an ambitious rehab program, and now helps fund pulm...
![Research Equity is the Foundation of Health Equity](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/29d200d7-d3e4-4733-8cc1-9d5709db1c40/Untitleddesign10.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=772%2C0%2C1081%2C1080&w=290)
Race, ethnicity, age, sex, environment, and other social determinants of health can all impact how different people respond to the same medicine or vaccine. This is why diversity and inclusivity at every stage of the medical research process are critical to learning about the safety and efficacy of potential treatments for all patients. Presented by Pfizer.
![Vaccine Rollout: Why Is It Taking So Long?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null1839c24f-58da-4807-9956-c93ae85cc52a/AdobeStock_359363550.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1500%2C0%2C4000%2C4000&w=290)
This week marks one year since the first known COVID-19 death. And while the remarkable pace of vaccine development is widely praised, the lag in its distribution is concerning.
A bone marrow transplant was Maggie Lake’s only hope of surviving lymphoma, and her sister, Elizabeth Lesser, was the perfect match. But Elizabeth’s decision to become a donor meant not only agreeing to a painful procedure, but also to exploring with Maggie their mind/body connection as they raced against the clock to clean up their relationship and strengthen their bond....
![The Science of Endurance and Superhuman Feats](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null6c21ca21-a805-4bae-80f8-ec232326ab0b/48133341997_dee7ab4b1c_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1247%2C0%2C4988%2C4988&w=290)
The ability to endure is the essential trait in every extreme athletic endeavor. Hundred-mile races, Himalayan Mountain expeditions, and cross-continental treks all require humans to push harder and achieve more than we ever thought possible. How important is the delicate interplay between mind and body in the struggle to keep pushing despite an agonizing will to stop? Wha...
![Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Conversation with Anthony Fauci](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullcf8d2715-a7b1-4875-a75d-efca558abb10/byrne-abrams-fauci2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=416%2C0%2C1718%2C1718&w=290)
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, joins CNN Senior Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, to discuss the current state of the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent surge in cases as the US reopens. Fauci talks about the US response to the pandemic, including missed opportunit...
![Birthing Justice: The Maternal Mortality Crisis](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/dbfb6de8-66c3-4212-bf09-d7f8d6f1779d/52997119939_7a2b73577f_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1808%2C0%2C4640%2C4640&w=290)
If Black women bear the heaviest burdens of the maternal mortality crisis—they are 2.6 times more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth—they are also the most determined to address it. Moving beyond grief and rage, their leadership is prioritizing culturally sensitive care, respect for best practices, and greater use of community-based models and licen...
![Report Card: How Do Colleges Score on Student Health Needs?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d21c4108-9f72-4a20-8df6-fa01074789c4/42068584495_4f04f82453_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
College presents opportunities for students to test their wings, explore new relationships, pursue their personal best, and develop an enduring passion for learning. Often the first opportunity for real independence, the college years can also pose serious health risks — among them, mental health issues, binge drinking, sexually transmitted diseases, date rape, infections,...