Ankita Tandel

Ankita Tandel is currently serving as the Immunization Program Manager for San Mateo County in California. In this role, she is responsible for rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine for the county and standing up the first drive-through vaccination clinic in the state. Through this clinic, Ankita and her team have vaccinated over 130,000 residents, which equates to 92% of her county. Her job consists of 16-18 hour work days, long clinic days, fighting to reach the hardest to reach population in the county and being as equitable as possible for those members of color. In the midst of her vaccination efforts, Ankita found out that she has a pituitary tumor that may prevent her from ever having more kids and took her on a roller coaster of medical appointments, MRIs, and emotional heart ache. Football has always been something that unites her family for better or worse, and Ankita was grateful to have this season to keep her going through the hard times. As she visited the first two pre-season games this year, Ankita thought to herself, "I wonder how many people were vaccinated through the clinics I was able to help stand up and therefore are that much safer enjoying America's favorite past time."