County Health Officer Travis Gayles to Discuss Deeper Aspects of COVID-19 as The Featured Guest on Montgomery College ‘Presidential Dialogue Series’ on Thursday, Jan. 28

Montgomery County Health Officer Travis Gayles, who has been at the forefront of the County’s response to the COVID-19 health crisis, will be the featured guest at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28, on the next episode of the Montgomery College video “Presidential Dialogue Series.” He will discuss the County’s actions during the health crisis with Montgomery College President DeRionne Pollard. 

The event will be streamed here: http://bit.ly/mc-presidential-dialogue-ce. Viewers can submit questions that may be asked during the broadcast by emailing them by Monday, Jan. 25, to presidentialdialogue@montgomerycollege.edu

Dr. Gayles has been delivering urgent messages to the community about transmission, treatment and vaccinations since the health crisis started in March 2020. 

The pandemic has drawn renewed attention to health disparities in the nation. While African Americans are only 30 percent of the population of Maryland, they make up 50 percent of COVID fatalities.

Vulnerability to infectious diseases often correlates with social variables such as income inequality, access to affordable health care, housing and transportation. COVID-19 has demonstrated how race and immigration impact disease transmission, progression and outcomes.

Dr. Gayles, a medical doctor who also holds a Ph.D. in Community Health, will address how the County has made decisions about health protocols, communicating them to diverse communities and strategizing about how support for basic needs will mitigate infections.

This year’s Presidential Dialogue Series focuses on how to build racial justice in a multicultural society.

Previous guests on the Presidential Dialogue Series have included Congressman David Trone, Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones, University of Maryland-Baltimore County President Freeman A. Hrabowski III, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, political consultant Neera Tanden and authors Elaine Weiss and Elsa Barkley Brown.