Bechara Choucair
White House Vaccinations Coordinator
In office January 20, 2021 – November 22, 2021
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Position established
Personal details
Born	1973 or 1974 (age 51–52)[1] Beirut, Lebanon
Education	American University of Beirut (BS, MD) University of Texas, Dallas (MS)

Bechara Choucair (Arabic: بشارة شقير) is a Lebanese-American physician and public health advisor who is the chief community health officer of Kaiser Permanente.^[2] He was the senior vice president of safety net and community health at Trinity Health and served as the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health from 2009 to 2014.^[3]

Choucair was born in Beirut. He earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and Doctor of Medicine from the American University of Beirut. He then earned a Master of Science degree in healthcare management from the University of Texas at Dallas.^[4]

Choucair was appointed as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health on November 25, 2009, by Richard M. Daley,^[5][6] and reappointed by Rahm Emanuel upon his election. He stepped down from the post in December 2014.^[7]

Together with Mayor Emanuel, Choucair launched Healthy Chicago in August 2011,^[8] the City's first comprehensive public health agenda.^[9][10] in different Chicago neighborhoods.

Choucair previously held an appointment at Feinberg School of Medicine as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.^[11]

Choucair was chief community health officer for Kaiser Permanente.^[12]

In April 2018, Choucair led the mission-based nonprofit organization's commitment of $2 million to researching gun injury prevention. As part of this public health initiative, Choucair serves as a co-lead on the Kaiser Permanente Taskforce on Firearm Injury Prevention.^[13]

In May 2018, Choucair announced Kaiser Permanente's $200 million impact investing commitment to address affordable housing and prevent displacement, a precursor to homelessness.^[14]

On December 30, 2020, it was announced that Choucair would serve as White House Vaccinations Coordinator in the incoming Biden administration.^[15][16] Choucair stepped down from his role on November 22, 2021, and resumed his role at Kaiser Permanente on December 27, 2021.^[17][18][19]

• 2010, Community Leadership Award, Midwest Asian Health Association^[20]
• 2011, Healthcare Community Leadership Award, The Chicago Health Executives Forum
• 2012, Friend for Life Award, Howard Brown Health Center^[21]
• 2012, Chicago's "40 under 40," Crain's Chicago Business^[22]
• 2014, Housing Champion Award, Metropolitan Tenants Organization
• 2019, named sixty-eighth among the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare.^[23]

• • Survey of a Bekaa Community Health Needs, LMJ 47:1:13-17, 1999, Jamal N, Choucair B, Khalil H, Hamadeh G.
  • Health Care for the Homeless in America, Am Fam Physician, 2006 Oct 1;74(7):1132-8.
  • Homelessness and Healthcare: Considerations for Evaluation, Management, and Support within the Primary Care Domain, Disease-a-Month, 2010 Dec 56(12):719-733. Koon A, Kantayya V, Choucair B.
  • Program to Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening in Low-Income, Racially Diverse Population: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Annals of Family Medicine, 2012 Sept/October 10 (5): 412-417. Jean-Jacques M., Kaleba E., Gatta J., Gracia G., Ryan E., Choucair, B.
  • Chicago Health Atlas: Engaging in Public Health Surveillance Beyond the Confines of the Local Health Department, NACCHO Exchange, winter 2013 12(1). Jones R, Choucair B., O’Neil D., Kho A. Regional Extension Center.
• Select Abstracts
  • An Innovative Governmental Approach to Childhood Obesity Prevention in Chicago: The Inter-Departmental Task Force on Childhood Obesity, 2010. American Public Health Association 138th Annual Meeting and Expo. Choucair B, Harrington J, Herd J, Becker A, Bozlak C.
  • Poverty Medicine Collaborative: Global Health Experience for Medical Students. 2008. American Academy of Family Physicians Global Health Conference. Choucair B, Koon A.

• Chicago Department of Public Health
• Crain's 40 under 40: 2012