As the coronavirus pandemic began to escalate in Orange County, California, it became clear that additional measures to protect the community needed to be taken. In May 2020, the former Chief Health Officer for Orange County, Dr. Nichole Quick, instituted a county-wide mask mandate. Dr. Quick faced enormous opposition from both the community and county supervisors, ultimately leading to her resignation in June 2020.
With more than a decade of governmental public health leadership, Dr. Quick’s courage to prioritize public health over politics reflects her strength as a leader and fierce advocate for science. As one of PHR’s 2021 Physicians for Human Rights awardees, Dr. Quick spoke with Anna Werner, award winning National Consumer Investigative Correspondent at CBS News about the dangerous undermining of public health and science: “We need to elevate the voices of public health professionals, medical professionals, and science so we can avoid these negative consequences in the future.”
Miss the livestream of PHR’s 2021 gala? Watch the whole show here!