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b'Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, director of the Washington DC Department of Health, shares her insights\\xa0into battling the pandemic. Washington is the opposite of self-contained.\\xa0Protesters of many stripes transport their grievances to Washington, often stoking \\u201cstrife and agitation\\u201d with little regard for the health of the community. Emergency preparations intensified beginning in 2015: \\u201cWe were ready\\u201d in 2020\\xa0but had \\u201cstill so much to learn\\u201d as the pandemic unfolded. Messaging in the fog of a pandemic is difficult, in need of constant refinement. Testing got off to a halting start. But as swabs, reagents, and skilled staff became available, the city quickly scaled its testing. It also raised a caution: testing is costly and long-term. How to sustain? Vaccine distribution, including to high numbers of non-residents who work in the Capitol, has been a challenge. Equity and accountability concerns continue to dominate. One reality persists: \\u201cWe simply do not get enough vaccine here in the District.\\u201d\\xa0And when doses move through retail pharmacies and hospitals with insufficient oversight and coordination, equity suffers.\\xa0Luckily, \\u201ddemand is so high\\u201d for vaccines.\\n\\xa0\\nDr. LaQuandra Nesbitt is Director of the District of Columbia Department of Health in Washington, D.C., a position she has held since January 2015.'