We intend to run this monthly Zoom series indefinitely. A calendar of future events into 2022 is currently under development and will be published shortly. Stay tuned!
Y65 Zoom Events – Mark your calendar! – 4 pm, third Wednesday of every month!
NEXT Y65 Zoom Event – Mark your calendar!
May 19: Richard Hodes, Y65 on “Aging: Challenges at 80”
PAST Y65 Zoom Events – To see videos, click on the date links below!!
April 21: John Shattuck, Y65, on Global Human Rights Leadership March 17: Jason Schwartz, Yale Professor, on “COVID Vaccinations” February 27: David Hawkins, Y65 on “Net Zero Emissions-Achievable Pathways” January 27: Bob Woodward, Y65 on “From Trump to Biden” December 16, 2020: David Swensen, Y80 on “Yale Endowment & ESG Investing” October 29, 2020: “Snowflakes at Yale?”
Yale Class of 1965 Zoom Hour
March 17, 2021
“Covid Vaccines: When Will the Pandemic End?”
Speaker:Jason L. Schwartz Vaccine expert, Yale faculty, government advisor
Prof. Jason L. Schwartz is an expert on vaccines and vaccination policy, a faculty member at the Yale School of Public Health, and a member of Connecticut’s COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group. He has testified before Congress on FDA vaccine reviews, and has written on COVID vaccine distribution policy, both in the New England Journal of Medicine and in Health Affairs, the latter as a co-author with Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new CDC director.
95 of the 120 registrants tuned in to hear Prof. Schwartz discuss COVID vaccination science and policy in three parts: How did we get here, where are we now, and where are we headed? In the introduction, Dennis Mack mentioned that, given the topic of vaccines for pandemics, this zoom hour was being dedicated to our classmate David Barry, whose research work prior to his death led to the development of therapeutic and preventative drugs that helped reduce the effects of the AIDS crisis, and further mentioned how pleased we were that his widow Gracia Barry was on the call. Prof. Schwartz covered the current vaccine science; the vaccine testing and evaluation processes; national and global programs to distribute and administer vaccine doses quickly, widely, and ethically; and the outlook for further virus variants and new vaccines. His bottom line: we can expect the current pandemic crisis to end sometime in 2021, but we can also expect a series of endemics for the indefinite future. Richard A. Kaslow and Walt Senterfitt, two Y65ers with career expertise in epidemiology, medicine, and public health, offered their own views and posed questions to Prof. Schwartz selected from classmate submissions on various aspects of COVID vaccines and vaccination policy. The 30 or so participants who stuck around for the informal period got a huge extra bonus–further insights by Dick and Walt who are as knowledgeable as our speaker on this topic.
Dave Hawkins wowed over 100 attendees with his masterful summary of an important new study by a team of Princeton academics that examines several pathways to get the U.S. to net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 — a target consistent with what the latest science says is needed to protect the climate. As Dave explained, “the identified changes to our energy system are both technically feasible and economically sensible, and now require ‘only’ the political will and investment choices to implement.’ He provided personal observations on the opportunities and challenges these proposals present. There was a lively panel discussion with classmates with various perspectives on this topic — Duncan Bremer, Ted Garrett, Charlie Harte, and Tim Merrill.
Classmates submitted more questions on this topic both prior to and during this session than could be answered in the 90 minutes allowed, and enthusiastically endorsed the suggestion for a follow-up session to discuss this critical topic in more depth. STAY TUNED FOR MORE DETAILS!!
On the horizon: March 17:Dr. Jason Schwartz (Yale) speaking on COVID vaccinations. April 21: John Shattuck Y65: “Biden’s Foreign Policy Challenges.” May 19: TBD.
About the Y65 Monthly Zoom Series Third Wednesday every month, 4pm est
Bob Hammond (sherrillbrookmd@gmail.com) and Dennis Mack (dennis-mack@nyc.rr.com), honchos for this already popular new series, encourage all classmates and widows to contact them with ideas for future Zoom calls. Please visit our Zoom archive to see the complete list of Zooms and all recordings.
Philip H. Debenham
Copley E. Crosby
Director of the National Institute on Aging at the NIH