Greek-American doctor named CDC’s Senior Vaccine Equity Lead

Greek-American Dr. Demetre Daskalakis has been named Senior Vaccine Equity Lead at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Washington Post reported. Dr. Daskalakis had previously been the CDC’s Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) in the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), a position he began in December 2020. Prior to that, he had spent six years in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and “was the city’s deputy commissioner for disease control during the first nine months of the pandemic,” the Post reported.

With many years of experience in HIV prevention and control, Dr. Daskalakis will oversee “vaccine equity efforts, according to a person familiar with the move and an internal memo, underscoring the agency’s efforts to address racial and other disparities threatening the nation’s immunization effort,” the Post reported, adding that “he will report directly to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the CDC.”

Dr. Daskalakis’ “responsibilities will include running outreach to states and other jurisdictions as they strive to close yawning racial gaps that have opened up in early immunization data, as well as coordinating with retail pharmacies and community health centers, which are cornerstones of the Biden administration’s efforts to bring shots to vulnerable communities buffeted most severely by the coronavirus,” the Post reported, noting that “the new position is a signal of the emphasis placed by the Biden administration on equity in its response to the pandemic.”

Dr. Daskalakis, a first-generation Greek-American, told The National Herald in a previous interview that his parents were both from Evrytania, his father from Megalo Chorio, and his mother from Karpenisi, and they instilled a relentless work ethic as they worked hard to ensure a better life for their son. Gratitude, he told TNH, is also an important part of the heritage instilled by his parents.

Though Dr. Daskalakis did not respond to a request for comment at press time, he “will be the main CDC liaison to the White House team focused on these issues,” the Post reported, adding that “chief among them is Marcella Nunez-Smith, a former associate dean for health equity research at the Yale School of Medicine who is chairing the administration’s COVID-19 health equity task force.”