The Workers Compensation Research Institute announced that Dr. Jewel Mullen will discuss health equity and COVID-19 vaccinations during the opening keynote of its 37th Annual Issues & Research Conference in March.

Dr. Jewel Mullen

Mullen is an internist, epidemiologist, public health physician leader and the former principal deputy assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While at HHS, she also served as the acting assistant secretary for health and as acting director of the National Vaccine Program Office.

Currently, she is an associate dean for health equity at the Dell Medical School, as well as an associate professor in the school’s population health and internal medicine departments.

As a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, Mullen will discuss the framework constructed by NASEM to assist policymakers in carrying out an equitable allocation of a COVID-19 vaccine. She will share her perspective on how the distribution is going, including the criteria used to prioritize vaccine recipients and the barriers to equitable distribution.

She will also touch upon the role employers and other organizations can play in the distribution of the vaccine, as well as the importance of communication and credibility in dispelling misinformation and confusion.

The WCRI conference is March 23-24 and will highlight the institute’s latest research findings as well as perspectives from workers’ compensation experts and policymakers from across the country.

This year’s virtual conference will be shorter and feature three sessions per day in the afternoon from 1-4 p.m. Eastern, WCRI said. The following are among the topics the conference will address:

• The economic impact of COVID-19.
• Highlights from WCRI’s latest research on prescription drugs.
• Physical therapy treatment patterns and outcomes.
• Selective findings from State of the States reports.
• The future of work and worker safety.
• The impact of COVID-19 on claims and the delivery of medical care.

The virtual conference is free for WCRI members, state legislators and members of the press, and $175 for nonmembers.

Additional information, including a registration link, is here.