Women’s Leadership During the COVID Crisis

Written by: Mary Anne Peck, Mary Anne Peck: Writing and Workshops

Women’s Leadership During the COVID Crisis

• "When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less important whether or not I am unafraid." — Audre Lorde, writer and activist

When coronavirus first appeared on the evening news and our Instagram feeds, the global population had no way of anticipating what was about to happen. After the initial outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019, novel coronavirus was deemed an international threat, and by January 2020, COVID-19 had begun to spread. Globally, communities were faced with an uncertain and terrifying future. 

DEVELOPING A VACCINE became a top priority from the beginning, and scientists around the world worked towards the same goal. One unexpected leader that emerged during this time was Dr. Kati Kariko. The daughter of a Hungarian butcher. Dr. Kariko began her career in Hungary, but when faced with a lack of research funding, she and her husband moved to Philadelphia in search of new opportunities. 

Dr. Kariko has never been motivated by fame or money; the sole focus of her research for decades has been messenger RNA and the possibilities mRNA presents. Dr. Kariko spent years moving from laboratory to laboratory, pursuing proof of her revolutionary idea–that mRNA could instruct a person’s cells to fight disease. 

Despite her love of “the bench,” her desire to spend her days in a laboratory, Dr. Kariko changed the world when her mRNA research built the foundation of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations. In 2021, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine for her work. 

According to Dr. Langer, who worked closely with Dr. Kariko, the secret to this success was resilience. “Kate’s genius was a willingness to accept failure and keep trying,” Dr. Langer told the New York Times. When faced with overwhelming challenges, Dr. Kariko rose after each “failure” and tried again. 

PROTECTING THE VULNERABLE POPULATION IN AMERICAN SAMOA was the prime concern for local leaders from the beginning of the crisis. Before Dr. Kariko’s research yielded a COVID vaccine, American Samoa employed a different tool for protection against the pandemic: geographic isolation.

American Samoa’s border was closed and our island’s inhabitants watched from isolated safety as the rest of the world fought the pandemic. In Washington D.C., Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen secured funding to help American Samoa through the lockdown and facilitate the building of necessary healthcare systems to fight the pandemic. 

COVID funding, including the CARES Act, provided American Samoa with additional funding for Medicaid, education, and nutrition assistance. Congresswoman Amata represented the needs of the people in American Samoa, bringing attention to the impact of lockdown on a small island territory.   

LOCAL EDUCATION AND VACCINATION were vital in protecting the well-being of the people of American Samoa, and the American Samoa Government established the COVID Task Force and COVID Vaccine Working Group to implement plans to safeguard the island. Dr. Francine Amoa, a pharmacist, was instrumental in developing the vaccination plans for American Samoa. 

“Underneath the sleep deprivation, long work hours, lists of problems and juggling what feels like endless tasks, it has been truly an honor and a privilege to be a healthcare worker during these times,” Dr. Amoa said in an interview with ASDOH and ASTCA in 2023. “The science and clinical practices surrounding the pandemic from vaccine development using the latest technology to design and develop therapeutic agents to treat COVID-19 has all been so equally rewarding to learn and teach other health professionals in order to deliver the best care to our patients and community.”

In her efforts to help her island, Dr. Amoa had to face an intangible kind of challenge: misinformation spreading on social media about the dangers of vaccines. 

“We've had to be very creative and dynamic in our approach to address the various perceptions and misinformation surrounding the pandemic,” Dr. Amoa remembers. “The best part about my job is being able to provide direct services through vaccination or dispensing medicines for COVID-19 for people and their families. At the end of the day, all we can hope for is an opportunity to make a difference through service or acts of kindness to others.” 

THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF COVID is well-documented, and around the world, women faced serious challenges during the pandemic beyond the threat of the disease itself. Labeled as the “Shadow Pandemic” by UNWomen, there has been a documented increase in domestic and sexual violence since the initial outbreak of COVID-19. Lockdown and travel restrictions created environments where women were trapped with their abusers and separated from friends, family, and community resources. 

American Samoa Alliance Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, led by Jennifer Tofaeono, worked throughout the height of the pandemic to connect victims to local resources and provide virtual webinars and training events for the community. The organization continues to partner with local community partners to provide workshops and training focused on resilience building.    

MOVING FORWARD means facing the heartbreaking realities of COVID. As of May 2023, 6.86 million people around the world have died of COVID, and survivors of the pandemic have been left to cope with the physical and social consequences of the disease. 

Dr. Kati Kariko, Congresswoman Aumua Amata, Dr. Francine Amoa, and Director Jennifer Tofaeono are just a few of the women who worked, and continue to work, to help build resilient populations. By facing challenges head-on and rising in the aftermath of disaster, these resilient women set a strong example for our community today. 

This month, as we celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, let’s take the time to honor the women in our families, our villages, and our global community who have carried us through the pandemic and brought us out the other side.

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