The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected many facets of society and has contributed to the worsening of the pre-existing, disproportionate morbidity and mortality of people of color. This presentation will discuss the overall impact of the pandemic and the evidence that it has intensified the epidemic of drug-related overdoses.
William B. Lawson, M.D., Ph.D D.L. F.A.P.A, is the founder and Director of the Institute to Reduce Disparities LLC, Director of Psychiatric Research for the Emerson Clinical Research Institute, and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is an emeritus professor of psychiatry, at the Dell Medical School, University of Texas, Austin, and emeritus professor and formerly chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Howard University School of Medicine. He received a PhD in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire and MD from the Pritzker School of Medicine University of Chicago, did his residency at Stanford University and a fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health. He has held faculty positions at the University of Illinois, Urbana, University of California, Irvine, Vanderbilt University, University of Arkansas, and Howard University. He has held numerous senior positions and received national recognition including past President of the DC chapter of Mental Health America, Past President of the Washington Psychiatric Society, past Chair of the Section of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the National Medical Association, and past president of the Black Psychiatrists of America.
Annelle Primm, M.D., MPH, is the Senior Medical Director of the Steve Fund, an organization focused on the mental health of young people of color. She is also a member of the Black Psychiatrists of America Council of Elders.
