Assistant Professor Taleed El-Sabawi provided insights on COVID-19 vaccines for a December investigative story by Carolina Public Press on health woes and prison infrastructure in North Carolina.
An Elon Law faculty member with an expertise in public health and health services management was among the experts quoted for a December investigative report into conditions inside North Carolina’s prisons that may exacerbate health woes even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Assistant Professor Taleed El-Sabawi spoke with Carolina Public Press for “Chronic NC prison problems predate pandemic, will outlast it,” the second installment in a two-part report.
El-Sabawi’s insights focused on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and how their availability for prisoners doesn’t mean the coronavirus will be immediately brought under control inside facilities.
“Assuming that the vaccine being released is going to solve the pandemic immediately, it’s not wise,” El-Sabawi told the independent nonprofit news organization. “That’s not how vaccines work.”
El-Sabawi has a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health, Health Services Management and Policy. She practiced law in California and Nevada after earning her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, where she was articles editor of the Texas Journal on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights. El-Sabawi graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology.
Her research focus is in the areas of mental health and addiction policies, with particular attention to the intersection of drug policy, health law, and legislation, especially legislative responses to the opioid crisis.