Alana Csaposs

TikTok star

Charli D’Amelio has been using her vast influence for good amid the pandemic. In partnership with Procter & Gamble, she released a video on TikTok called the #DistanceDance as part of a campaign designed to encourage young people to stay home and social distance. 

The activation led to the creation of more than 3.5 million unique #DistanceDance videos, which have collectively been viewed more than 15.6 billion times, the most viewed hashtag challenge on TikTok to date. The hashtag also generated more than 90 million content shares. D’Amelio’s original #DistanceDance video has been viewed more than 191 million times. The star has also been vocal on Instagram about her struggles with an eating disorder.

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Chief medical correspondent, Univision

A cardiologist and a longtime advocate of heart health, Dr. Juan Rivera has brought his expertise to bear as a leading voice for underserved Hispanic communities. In doing so, he became one of the country’s most trusted medical professionals.

With all sorts of roadblocks to accessing routine preventive care emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rivera took to the airwaves and social media to educate any number of audiences about heart health. He helped Univision keep people informed during the pandemic, notably via a Q&A segment on morning show Despierta América, where viewers could ask questions about the ongoing coronavirus crisis. He remains one of the most respected voices out there.

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Professor and chair of global public health, founding director of Global Health Governance Programme, Edinburgh University

With her strong academic pedigree and willingness to enter the fray, Devi Sridhar has become a popular gladiator in the COVID-19 info wars.

The global medical authority, media favorite and Twitter star has been published in multiple medical/scientific journals and penned COVID-19 op-eds.

Her advice is balanced, especially about restrictions and how they chafe the public’s patience. But her political critiques cut sharply, including her comments that it’s a tragedy the pandemic hit while Trump is the U.S. President and Boris Johnson is the U.K. Prime Minister.

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Chairman and cofounder, Klick Health

Leerom Segal has steered one of the largest healthcare marketing firms for two decades. But when the world was upended by the coronavirus pandemic, Klick Health chairman and cofounder Segal and his colleagues leapt into action in a manner not commonly associated with marketing organizations.

Klick began by donating masks and medical equipment to frontline workers. It then leveraged its digital health expertise to build tools for organizations working to stop the virus. 

“The COVID-19 challenge is a series of work streams that we’re lending our support to,” Segal said in March. “We’re here and ready to provide our support to anything that can help battle this human health crisis.”

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Editor-in-chief, Medscape and EVP, Scripps Research

Dr. Eric Topol is best known for his research, which includes a whopping 1,200 peer-reviewed articles and more than 250,000 citations. This places him on the list of the top 10 most-cited researchers in medicine. His focus is primarily on genomic and digital tools to individualize medicine, including a leading role in the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us initiative on precision medicine.

A cardiologist by training, Topol is also an expert on the integration of AI and new technologies in healthcare. But it’s his unapologetic nerdiness in explaining COVID-19 and vaccinations, often shared via helpful tweet-torials, that has made him one of the pandemic era’s must-follows.

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VP of corporate communications, Rite Aid

Jeff Olson joined Rite Aid as comms head in April, shortly after Heyward Donigan was named Rite Aid’s CEO and Jim Peters was selected as COO. Olson told PRWeek that the comms team is building “a whole new” Rite Aid in partnership with the leadership team. “We are looking to modernize comms, which will include more rich media content and more storytelling and the ability to have two-way conversations with customers and employees,” he said.

Olson has been helping the company to support employees on the front lines with COVID-19. Previously, Olson was a senior partner at ICF Next, EVP at Olson Engage and McDonald’s senior director of communications.

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