30th Annual Bar Media & Judiciary Conference

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal,Georgia
• Citation: Vol. 26 No. 5 Pg. 0026
• Pages: 0026
• Publication year: 2021

30th Annual Bar Media & Judiciary Conference No. Vol. 26, No. 5, Pg. 26 Georgia Bar Journal April, 2021

Feature

The 30th anniversary of the Bar Media & Judiciary Conference, held virtually over three days in February, brought together judges, lawyers, and print and television journalists to explore current issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

BY ASHLEY G. STOLLAR

Normally, the Georgia Bar Media &JudiciaryConference fills one very full Friday in February. As you might imagine, this year, things weren't normal. The 2021 conference was spread out over three days in February and featured discussions covering COVID-19, social justice issues, elections and election law, and reporting. Each day, registered participants were sent links to view the scheduled panels from the comfort of their home or office.

The conference opened on Wednesday, Feb. 24, with a panel discussion on how to apply lessons learned in 2020 to today—and tomorrow.

Coping with COVID-19: The Science & Our Society

Moderator

• Andy Miller, Georgia Health News

Panelists

• James Curran, Chair, Georgia Board of Public Health; Dean, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University

• Carlos del Rio, Professor of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University

• Patrice Harris, President-Emeritus, American Medical Association, Atlanta

• Amber Schmidtke, Microbiologist and Author, Georgia COVID-19 Updates Newsletter

• Scott Steiner, President & CEO, Phoebe Putney Health System, Albany

The first panel of the conference looked at how COVID-19 has affected society, and the science behind the shifting, and often contradictory, health guidelines that the United States has been wrangling with since the beginning of the pandemic. Discussion included issues such as the underestimation of the severity of the pandemic, health inequities across the country, mental health strain, safely reopening schools and vaccine hesitancy among racial groups based on historical issues (e.g., Tuskegee Syphilis Study).^[1]

Beyond the immediate grief of those who have lost loved ones and the disruption of routines, Dr. Patrice Harris expressed concern about the long-term impact of the pandemic, especially on mental health, saying, "Historically, mental health infrastructure has been ignored and underfunded." Scott Steiner related his experience as the hospital administrator who dealt with

While a departure from the usual, this year's iteration of the Bar Media & Judiciary Conference was one that will be remembered for its unique interactive opportunities and powerful subject matter, which will hopefully guide all participants as they move forward in their respective professions.

being Georgia's COVID-19 ground zero. By March 24, 2020, Albany was the fourth hottest spot in the world for COVID-19 issues. At one point, 70% of their patients had COVID-19.

James Curran evaluated the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) performance and explained that no one thought a respiratory disease would kill 500,000 people in one year. The CDC slowed down testing when, rather than buying tests used overseas, the United States chose to make its own. Curran felt that the CDC's role was politicized, and that it was unable to work without oversight by the former administration. But, Curran noted, he is optimistic because "we've learned from the perils of the pandemic."

With vaccination numbers increasing, is this the beginning of controlling COVID-19? Dr. Carlos del Rio remarked that though the numbers look good, it is too early to tell: "We're coming down from Everest. We're just at the first base camp."

Amber Schmidtke related that, at this point, the younger cohort is the group that is transmitting COVID-19 at a higher rate. Variants are 40-80% more transmissible, so the risk of spreading will increase. Schmidtke stated that it's a race against time to get the younger populations vaccinated so that they aren't inadvertently spreading COVID-19.

Day Two | Feb. 25

The second day of the conference featured a panel that addressed access to data and reporting information about the pandemic, followed by a panel that reviewed Georgia's election process, both topics that will...