In an effort to educate the community on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, Queensborough Community College is hosting an online event this week.
On Wednesday, May 26, the school will welcome Dr. Torian Easterling, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s First Deputy Commissioner and Chief Equity Officer, to speak with students, faculty and staff.
“We know that to build trust in the vaccine, New Yorkers need to hear it’s safe from people they trust. We’re finding that people are getting vaccinated as much for the health of people they love as they are for their own safety,” Easterling said. “We want to end this pandemic once and for all by making sure that we’re supporting everyone’s decision and by making people feel comfortable, normalizing hesitancy and responding to questions and concerns.”
Eastering assumed his role as first deputy commissioner and chief equity officer in September 2020. At the time, Easterling said that his call to public service stemmed from a “passion for social justice, health, equity and movement building.”
“Now we face the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and longstanding racial inequalities,” he said. “We must work even more diligently to combat systemic health inequities so we can all live healthier lives.”
The NYC Health Department appointed Easterling to the positions of First Deputy Commissioner and Chief Equity Officer in September of last year. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Morehouse College, a Doctor of Medicine from Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School and a Master of Public Health from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Easterling completed two residencies, one in Family Medicine at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens and another in General Preventative Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
In April, Robert F. Kennedy Hall at QCC became a COVID-19 vaccine site run by the New York City Department of Health and the Hospital for Special Surgery. Since then, staff at the Bayside college have administered nearly 10,000 doses of the vaccine.
“Queensborough Community College represents all of Queens and we’re pleased to bring the community together to learn more about safe vaccinations,” said College President Dr. Christine Mangino.
“What Everyone Needs to Know About the COVID-19 Vaccines” is a live virtual event that will take place on May 26 at 1 p.m. Register at www.qcc.cuny.edu.
