At 7:30 on the morning of Wednesday, October 28, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi’s Chief Health Officer and State Epidemiologist, spoke at this year’s first Biomedical Club meeting. His topics of discussion ranged from his time in medical school to the difference between Initiative 65 and Initiative 65a to legalize medical marijuana.

He began his speech by giving attendees some academic and career advice. He urged students to keep up with their classes and to “never get a C if you want to get accepted to medical school.” He also told students to not think about the salaries of any job they might consider and to “follow your values and have fun doing it.”

Dr. Dobbs was relieved for the meeting to not be centered around the COVID-19 pandemic, something he does all too often at the frequent press conferences with the Governor. He did comment on the wide scope of responses to the coronavirus. He said that initially, people panicked about getting sick, but now many people have relaxed too much and are not taking necessary precautions. He says neither extreme is good and that everyone needs to avoid panicking, while still caring enough to abide by the suggested guidelines.