Episode 48: Tom Sequist on mirrored Covid tragedies — thousands of miles apart

First Opinion Podcast

Like many of us, Tom Sequist had no idea what was about to happen as he began his new job as chief medical officer of Mass General Brigham hospital system in Boston during the first weeks of 2020. Through his position, he saw firsthand how Covid-19 tore through low-income communities like Chelsea, just north of Boston. From 2,000 miles away, he also saw how the virus ravaged the Taos Pueblo tribe in New Mexico that he is a member of. This week, Sequist talks about Indigenous health disparities, and the ways in which these two communities, which can feel worlds apart, were similarly vulnerable to the pandemic's deadly nature.