Dr. Linda Bell promotes vaccines and health parity

Data confirms that over 90% of cases in the SC measles outbreak were in unvaccinated school-aged children, Dr. Bell said.

That is why experts from MUSC Children’s Health urge the public to get vaccinated.

Dr. Bell, the state’s epidemiologist, emphasized that declining vaccination rates destroyed herd immunity. Bell said vaccines are one of the most effective tools we have for protecting our communities.

The doctor is clear as a bell about health parity while evenhandedly promoting vaccines.

The background informs her medical journey. Dr. Linda Bell is originally from El Paso, Texas. Her parents, Wesley and Gladys Wilson, encouraged her early interest in science, which eventually led her to pursue a degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin and, later, a medical degree from UT Southwestern in Dallas, where she also completed training in internal medicine. She was one of only five African Americans in her medical school class of 200, and the only African American in her internal medicine residency program.

Dr. Bell’s interest in infectious diseases led her to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) program. While participating in an investigation of Lassa Fever in Nigeria as an EIS Officer, Dr. Bell was impressed by the lack of basic medical care and its effect on populations. Her experiences with the CDC led her to change her career path to public health.

Since joining the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control in 1994, Dr. Bell has served in several roles. She became the State Epidemiologist in 2013 and the Director of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control in 2016, providing oversight of programs in infectious diseases, immunizations, Tuberculosis, and STD/HIV. She has served on the boards of EdVenture Children’s Museum, Healthy Learners, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, and Francis Burns United Methodist Church.

Dr. Bell has served a prominent role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, providing science-based public education and shedding light on longstanding health disparities that contributed to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on African Americans. For her efforts, Dr. Bell has been recognized by the Urban League, the NAACP, the SC Public Health Association, the Palmetto Medical, Dental, and Pharmaceutical Association, and various other organizations.