“A Tale of Two Pandemics: Historical Insights on Persistent Racial Disparities” Uses the Form of Comics Journalism to Highlight Research Co-Authored by Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan
Posted in Media | Tagged Lakshmi Krishnan, Media 2020
![Comic that has three panels. 1st panel: Caption: "The influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 infected more than a third of the world's population, killing up to 50 million people". Underneath appears image of a healthcare facility with numerous convalescing patients, with the text box: "More than 500,000 people died in the United States". 2nd panel: Caption: "Reliable statistics are hard to find, but it's evident that black Americans died from the flu at higher rates than white Americans". Underneath, image of a graveyard. 3rd panel: Caption: "Working together at Johns Hopkins University, doctors Lakshmi Krishnan, S. Michelle Ogunwole, and Lisa A. Cooper wrote about the racial dynamics of the 1918 pandemic...". On the right, image of a journal with the headline: “Historical Insights on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, and Racial Disparities: Illuminating a Path Forward”. Underneath, image of three female doctors, identified as Dr. Krishnan, Dr. Ogunwole and Dr. Cooper, with this speech bubble: "Contagion... augmented biologically deterministic beliefs, including that blacks were innately immune to certain diseases". On the right, Dr. Krishnan with this speech bubble: “As a result of biological theories of [black] immunity that used to circulate in the white community, and then get repackaged in the black community, these stories endure”.](https://medicalhumanities.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/316/2021/10/A-tale-of-two-pandemics-1.png)
In a “A Tale of Two Pandemics: Historical Insights on Persistent Racial Disparities,” Josh Neufeld uses the form of comics journalism to highlight Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan‘s co-authored research. Based on that research, the comic explains racial health disparities and the spread of misinformation during the coronavirus pandemic and the 1918 influenza pandemic.
The comic cites the article titled “Historical Insights on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, and Racial Disparities: Illuminating a Path Forward,” as well as additional resources —including interviews with co-authors Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan, Dr. S. Michelle Ogunwole and Dr. Lisa A. Cooper.