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COVID-19 and Women

Home  /  Our Work  /  Improving Healthcare  /  Public Health Campaigns  /  COVID-19

Impact of COVID-19 on Women

“We stand at a crossroads: We can allow the coronavirus crisis to reinforce the worst impacts of the digital gender divide; or we can use the crisis to accelerate change, expand horizons, and get millions of girls and women online.”

– Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka of UN Women and Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen of Plan International

COVID-19 starkly exposed and amplified longstanding disparities affecting women’s health, economic stability, caregiving burdens, and safety. Women physicians — already navigating pay inequities, burnout, and bias—faced disproportionate risks and workforce pressures throughout the pandemic. For AMWA, the pandemic underscored the urgent need to advance gender-equitable policies, support the well-being of women in medicine, and strengthen systems that protect the health of all women.

AMWA is a Partner of the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project (CVEEP)

AMWA Helps Establisth the Respiratory Antiviral Alliance

AMWA partnered with the Sepsis Alliance and the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs along with Alliance for Aging Research, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, HealthyWomen, National Hispanic Council on Aging, and NCBA to establish an alliance that would help ensure timely access to antiviral treatments for older adults and other high-risk groups.

AMWA’s Policy and Advocacy Campaigns

AMWA advocated for better PPE for healthcare workers, mental health protections for healthcare practitioners, and legislative bills like the Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Act which was passed in 2022.

To address ongoing disparities and gaps in COVID-19 care and treatment, AMWA launched a COVID-19 Vaccination, Policy, and Advocacy Campaign and COVID-19 Therapeutics Campaign in 2023-2024.

Vaccination
Therapeutics

AMWA Was a Founding Member of the COVID Community Corps (HHS) and a Partner of Made To Save.

Made to Save was a grass roots coalition that worked to save lives by increasing access to the COVID-19 vaccines in communities of color.

Made to Save Impact Report

Studio AMWA Artist in Residence 2020-2021 Highlighted COVID-19 Care Six Feet Apart

In 2021, AMWA Artist-in-Residence, Dr. Karen Poirier-Brode created Six Feet Apart and WASH to reflect the changes wrought on our society by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Six Feet Apart is an accordion-style book depicting social distancing. I used the clear polymer background because so many of us are behind shields and glass during the pandemic. The 6ft/2m circles are like the ones we see for queues everywhere. You’ll notice that I chose an imprint of high heels. The love stethoscope seemed the best image for this lady doctor. Technique: Computer-designed images were made into decals, and the stickers were applied to the clear plastic. The joins are dyed Tyvek or Satin binding tape. The covers are made of leather-look bookbinding paper and marbled endpapers. The cover letters are black Cappuccino Thickers from American Crafts. The dimensions are 9 x 11 x 0.8 inches.

WASH: The book is made of 20 Bounty paper towels using single folio signatures with a die-cut “20” on each signature’s first page. The number 20 represents washing for 20 seconds, but there is also a double meaning with the 20 sheets and the number 20 representing the year 2020. The signatures are bound to a soft backcloth cover by waxed linen thread French-Lock and Kettle stitching. The Kettle stitches go through the accordion folder Reeves BFK to add strength to the structure. The cover letters are white Dolce fabric letter Thickers from American Crafts. The book dimensions are 6 x 5.75 x 1.5 inches.”

One World, One War Against COVID-19: Women Physicians Come Together

From the start of the pandemic in the U.S. until 2023, AMWA lead a series of international webinars, bringing together the international community of women physicians through the Medical Women’s International Association. The title of these webinars was coined by our colleagues at the Taiwan Medical Women’s Association (TWMA) who we reached out to early on, given their country’s swift response and expert management. These webinars served to be a lifeline for our various medical associations across the globe as we gathered to share knowledge, experience, and expertise. We supported efforts to provide pulse oximeters and masks to our colleagues in Italy, oxygen cannisters for colleagues in India, and masks and face shields (in partnership with the Tzu Chi Foundation, Operation Pegasus, and The Robonauts) to U.S. communities, Navajo Nation, Haiti, and Africa. Our Taiwan colleagues were also generous to share face masks and shields when the U.S. was in short supply.

During the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, AMWA reached out to colleagues in the Taiwan Medical Women’s Association (TMWA). This led to the beginning of the webinar series, One World, One War Against COVID-19: Women Physicians Come Together. Since then, AMWA has continued to connect with sister medical associations around the world to share knowledge, experience, and expertise as we unite in our efforts against COVID-19. These webinars have been organized and moderated by AMWA’s Global Health Lead, Dr. Padmini Murthy in partnership with AMWA’s COVID-19 Lead, Dr. Saralyn Mark.

Other Events:

AMWA Leaders in the News:

AMWA Spokesperson Dr. Saralyn Mark was an active media spokesperson during the pandemic. She and other AMWA leaders were often called on for expert opinion.

AMWA Applauds the Heroic Work of Dr. Helen Chu

Student Efforts to Support the Medical and Local Community