Carnegie Connects: Can We Beat COVID-19 Without Vaccinating the World?

Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, is a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology and the founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is also the codirector of the Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development. He is the author of Blue Marble Health: An Innovative Plan to Fight Diseases of the Poor Amid Wealth and Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad.

Kate O'Brien is director of the Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals Department at the World Health Organization (WHO). In this role she is responsible for leading the WHO’s strategy and implementation to advance the vision of a world where everyone, everywhere, at every age, fully benefits from vaccines for good health and wellbeing. Dr. O’Brien also serves as WHO’s technical lead of COVAX, the vaccine pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A). The mission of COVAX is to deliver 2 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021 to help end the acute phase of the pandemic.

Muhammad Ali Pate is the global director of the Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) Global Practice of the World Bank and the director of Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF), based in Washington, DC. Dr. Pate was until recently the chief executive officer of Big Win Philanthropy, based in the UK, and prior to that held several senior positions, including that of minister of state for health in Nigeria.