Conversations About COVID, Pt. 2 - Dr. Michael Mendoza

In part 2 of our Conversations About COVID series, we talk with Dr. Michael Mendoza about the impact of individuals’ actions on public health, striving for herd immunity, and the Delta variant as evidence of this pandemic’s tenacity. Guest bio: Dr. Mendoza is the Commissioner of Public Health for Monroe County and a professor of Family Medicine, Public Health Sciences, and Nursing at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He previously served as Medical Director at Highland Family Medicine for seven years, and he helped establish the Finger Lakes COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force in the wake of the pandemic. [00:45] - Vaccine Task Force goals & current directions [03:11] - Vaccine hesitancy, community ambassadors, meeting people where they’re at [09:20] - Reconciling differences, centralization in public health, preventable hospitalizations [13:14] - Herd immunity & looking forward   Additional information & resources: Vaccinated vs. immunized: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/imz-basics.htm (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/imz-basics.htm) More on the Delta variant: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html)  How COVID-19 mRNA vaccines work: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html)  Infographic in https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/vaccines/COVID-19-mRNA-infographic_G_508.pdf (English) & https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/vaccines/COVID-19-mRNA-infographic_G_SPANISH_508.pdf (Spanish) Find a COVID-19 vaccination site near you: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/ (https://www.vaccines.gov/search/)