Events

Vaccination and beyond: Lessons for ending the pandemic from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the U.S.

Globe getting an injection

Shutterstock.com

Vaccination and beyond: Lessons for ending the pandemic from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the U.S.

Tuesday, October 26, 2021
9:00AM - 12:00PM (EDT)
Event Details

This online event is co-sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Hub of the Reform for Resilience Commission at the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI); the Harvard Chan School of Public Health; the European University Institute; Cambridge Public Health; and Fubon Cultural and Educational Foundation.

As the COVID-19 pandemic nears the end of its second year, health systems worldwide continue to experience unprecedented strain, highlighting the need for solutions that make health care more effective, accessible, and affordable. Especially in the Asia Pacific, countries that experienced early success in pandemic management in 2020 now face new conditions that confound their exit strategies to a post-pandemic world.

Governments are encountering obstacles to vaccine procurement, manufacturing, and acceptance, and the emergence of new variants threatens the progress made in managing the spread of COVID-19. What lessons can be drawn from the Asia Pacific and other regions of the world? Looking ahead, the effects of climate change on human health will also challenge health systems in new ways. What health care, economic, and environmental innovations can be deployed to improve global economic and health system resilience in response to these new challenges?

The Reform for Resilience Commission gathers leaders from different regions and sectors to make the pandemic a catalyst for strengthening global institutional commitment to a healthier and more resilient model of global growth, especially in terms of public health, the economy, and the environment. The Asia-Pacific Hub of the Resilience Commission at the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI) is pleased to partner with the Miller Center, the North American Hub at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, and the European Hub at the European University Institute School of Transnational Governance and Cambridge Public Health to present this global, online event on recent successes and challenges in pandemic management.

The event will start with a discussion on vaccine progress in the Asia-Pacific region and the unveiling of the Asia-Pacific Hub’s report, Resilience in the Asia Pacific: Vaccines and the 'Triple Challenge,'" on the region’s pandemic responses and vaccination efforts. The report's themes are also highlighted in the October 25 op-ed in Nikkei Asia titled “Asia Pacific must fix its broken vaccine system,” by Malcolm Turnbull, co-chair of the Reform for Resilience Commission, and Syaru Shirley Lin, chair of the Asia Pacific Hub.

In the second half of the program, panelists will discuss the pandemic response in Europe, Asia, and the United States, and how health systems can be made more accessible, effective, and resilient around the world. 

 

Agenda

Opening remarks

Prof. Michelle A. Williams, co-chair, Resilience Commission; dean, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

The Honorable Chen Chien-jen, commissioner, Resilience Commission; distinguished professor at the Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica; vice president of Taiwan (2016-20)

 

Session 1: Vaccinating our way out of the pandemic

Enhancing development, manufacturing, distribution, and acceptance of vaccines in Asia Pacific

Prof. Syaru Shirley Lin, commissioner and chair, Asia-Pacific Hub, Resilience Commission; Compton Visiting Professor, Miller Center (moderator)

Ms. Pam Cheng, executive vice president, Operations and Information Technology, AstraZeneca

Prof. Yik Ying Teo, advisor, Asia-Pacific Hub, Resilience Commission; dean, National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health

The Honorable Malcolm Turnbull, co-chair, Resilience Commission; prime minister of Australia (2015–18)

Prof. Eng Kiong Yeoh, commissioner, Resilience Commission; professor of public health and director, Centre for Health Systems and Policy Research, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

 

Session 2: Finding innovative policy and private-sector solutions to public health challenges

Part 1 (10:20–10:30): Discussion of Asia-Pacific Hub's report “Resilience in the Asia Pacific: Vaccines and the ‘Triple Challenge’ ”

Dr. Anneke Schmider, research director, Asia-Pacific Hub, Resilience Commission

Prof. Adam Kamradt-Scott, professor and chair of global public health, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute

Part 2 (10:3010:40) Innovation and public health

Mr. Stan Shih, commissioner, Resilience Commission; founder and honorary chairman, Acer Inc.; chairman, StanShih Foundation

 

Session 3: Enhancing resilience in public health

Making health systems in the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific more accessible, affordable, effective, and sustainable

Dr. Patricia Geli, executive director, U.S. Hub, Resilience Commission; Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health (moderator)

His Excellency José Manuel Barroso, co-chair, Resilience Commission; chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; president of the European Commission (2004-2014)

Prof. Chang-chuan Chan, chair, International Advisory Board, Asia-Pacific Hub, Resilience Commission; chair professor of public health, National Taiwan University

Dr. J. Stephen Morrison, James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor, Miller Center; senior vice president and director, Global Health Policy Center, Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Honorable Alexander Stubb, commissioner, Resilience Commission; director and professor, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute; prime minister of Finland (2014-15)

 

Closing remarks

Mr. George Freeman, commissioner and founding convenor, Reform for Resilience Commission; UK minister for science, research, and innovation

Dr. William Antholis, director and CEO, Miller Center

When
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
9:00AM - 12:00PM (EDT)
Where
Online webinar
Speakers
Bill Antholis headshot

William Antholis

William J. Antholis is director and CEO of the Miller Center. Previously, was managing director at The Brookings Institution (2004–2014) and served in government (1995–1999). At the White House, he was director of international economic affairs on the staff of the National Security Council and National Economic Council, where he was the chief staff person for the 1997 and 1998 G8 Summits. He was also deputy director of the White House climate change policy team. At the State Department, he served on the policy planning staff and in the economic affairs bureau. He served for five years as director of studies and senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund. He was also an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations and a visiting fellow at the Center of International Studies, Princeton University. In 1991, Antholis co-founded the nonprofit Civic Education Project, which supported western-trained social science instructors at universities in 23 Central and Eastern European countries.

José Manuel Barroso headshot

José Manuel Barroso

José Manuel Barroso is chairman of Goldman Sachs International; chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and former president of the European Commission (2004–14). José Manuel joined Goldman Sachs in 2016 after an established career in EU and Portuguese politics. Having first been elected to the Portuguese Parliament in 1985, José Manuel served as state secretary for home affairs, state secretary for foreign affairs and cooperation, and minister for foreign affairs in successive governments. In 1999, he was elected president of the Social Democratic Party. In 2002, he was elected prime minister of Portugal and in 2004 he was nominated as president of the European Commission. During his two five-year terms, he was influential in the passing of the Treaty of Lisbon, responding to the financial crisis, and incorporating new EU members. On behalf of the EU, José Manuel received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and gave the acceptance speech with the president of the European Council.

Chang-Chuan Chan headshot

Chang-Chuan Chan

Chang-Chuan Chan is a distinguished professor at the Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University (NTU). He was the ninth dean of College of Public Health and director of the Global Health Center and Population Health Research Center at NTU. He is a member of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities Global Health Program Advisory Group and head of delegations for Taiwan in the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers, Universities and National Academies. He is also an advisor to the Taipei City mayor, a member of the Taipei 2050 Vision Committee, and member and vice executive officer of the Council for Sustainable Development, Taipei City Government. He has been a leading researcher in air pollution for more than 20 years. He has also published insight on Taiwan’s model of controlling COVID-19 in 2020 and a call in the Reform for Resilience Commission’s June 2021 research report to improve vaccine equity.

Chen Chien-jen headshot

Chen Chien-jen

Chen Chien-jen is an academician and distinguished research fellow of the Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei. He was a distinguished research fellow of the Genomics Research Center (2006–2015) and appointed as a vice president of the academy (2011–2015). Prof. Chen has dedicated himself to molecular and genomic epidemiological research on chronic arsenic poisoning and virus-induced cancers for over 40 years. His discoveries of the health hazards of arsenic in drinking water led to its global awareness and mitigation, and his research on predicting end-stage liver disease risk in chronic hepatitis B pioneered the viral load paradigm in its clinical management. Prof. Chen was appointed minister of the Department of Health (2003–2005) and led Taiwan’s efforts to manage the SARS epidemic. He was also a minister of the National Science Council (2006–2008) and served as the 14th vice president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (2016–2020).

Pam Cheng headshot

Pam Cheng

Pam Cheng joined AstraZeneca in June 2015 after having spent 18 years with Merck/MSD in Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain and Commercial roles. Pam was the head of Global Supply Chain Management & Logistics for Merck and led the transformation of Merck supply chains across the global supply network. Pam also held the role of president of MSD China, responsible for MSD’s entire business in China. Prior to joining Merck, Pam held various engineering and project management positions at Universal Oil Products, Union Carbide Corporation and GAF Chemicals. Pam holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey and an MBA in marketing from Pace University in New York. In addition to her role at AstraZeneca, Pam serves as a non-executive director of the Smiths Group plc Board. Pam also serves as an advisor to the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) Board of Directors.

George Freeman headshot

George Freeman

George Freeman is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Norfolk since 2010. In 2021, he was appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state, minister for Science, Research and Innovation at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. George previously served as parliamentary private secretary to the minister of state for Climate Change (2010-2011), minister of state for the Future of Transport (2019-2020), parliamentary under-secretary of state for Life Sciences (2014-2016), chair of the Prime Minister's Policy Board in (2016-2017) and then chair of the Conservative Policy Forum (2017-2019). He is a founder of 2020 Conservatives group, Big Tent Ideas Festival, the Norfolk Enterprise Festival, and convenor of the Reform for Resilience Commission.

Patricia Geli headshot

Patricia Geli

Patricia Geli, PhD, is a research scientist in the department of Global Health and Population and executive director of the Reform for Resilience Commission’s North America Hub. She also guides Harvard’s participation in the Partnership for Central America, a coalition formed in response to Vice President Kamala Harris' May 2021 call to address the root causes of migration from Central America. Previously, Patricia worked at the World Bank for a decade, most recently as senior economist and task team leader for the Africa CDC program. She served on the World Bank’s COVID-19 task force and on an extended mission in Sierra Leone at the height of the Ebola crisis. Prior to that, she worked in the Public Health Agency of Sweden and Resources for the Future. Patricia's academic background spans economics, epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, and mathematical modeling. She holds a PhD in mathematical statistics from Stockholm University.

Adam Kamradt-Scott headshot

Adam Kamradt-Scott

Adam Kamradt-Scott specializes in global public health, international relations, and international law. His research and teaching explore how governments and multilateral organizations respond to adverse health events such as epidemics, pandemics, and emerging challenges. He has published three books and over 36 journal articles and book chapters. Adam’s most recent research examines civil–military cooperation in health and humanitarian crises and the adoption of international legal instruments for health. Prior to entering academia, he worked as a health professional specializing in emergency care and clinical risk management, a political advisor and a public servant in pandemic preparedness. He has also served as a consultant to the Australian Government and the World Bank on pandemic preparedness and the response to COVID-19. He is the co-founder and convenor of the Global Health Security conferences and currently serves as the chair of the Board of Directors for the Global Health Security Network.

Shirley Lin headshot

Syaru Shirley Lin

Syaru Shirley Lin is Compton Visiting Professor in World Politics at the Miller Center and an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is also a non-resident senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution. Widely published in English and Chinese, her current research focuses on challenges facing high-income societies. Previously a partner at Goldman Sachs, she specialized in the privatization of state-owned enterprises in Asia and spearheaded the firm’s investments in technology start-ups including Alibaba and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation. A graduate of Harvard College and the University of Hong Kong, she is on the board of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation and has been appointed by the Hong Kong government to the Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation and is a senior advisor to Taiwan’s Talent Circulation Alliance. She also sits on the board of Goldman Sachs Asia Bank and Langham Hospitality Investments.

Steve Morrison headshot

J. Stephen Morrison

J. Stephen Morrison, James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the Miller Center, is a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C., where he founded and directs its Global Health Policy Center. Dr. Morrison writes widely, has directed several high-level commissions, and is a frequent commentator on U.S. foreign policy and global health. The ongoing CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security is addressing the consequences of Covid-19 and the future of U.S. leadership in building better capacities against future pandemic threats. For several years, Morrison has led global health security fora at the annual Munich Security Conference. He has also directed and produced documentary films. In 2020, his podcast series, Coronavirus Crisis Update, featured more than 70 episodes with various prominent leaders. He served in the Clinton administration, as committee staff in the House of Representatives, and taught for 12 years at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Anneke Schmider headshot

Anneke Schmider

Anneke Schmider is the research director of the Asia-Pacific Hub of the Reform for Resilience Commission. She is an associate fellow at Chatham House and has led global research and policy initiatives in the United Kingdom and at the World Health Organization, as well as for Australian Governments. From her UK base, Anneke has delivered research for international development agencies and consortiums. She led the partnerships and submission processes for the Reform for Resilience Commission’s June Research Report. At the World Health Organization, she led a new approach to global investment strategy piloted in Asian and African countries and consequently worked on the Business Case for the World Bank’s new Global Financing Facility. She also delivered a new regional strategy in Africa during the Ebola outbreak, agreed by 50 African countries. She also led policy R&D for the Queensland Government and national statistics for Australian Government policy.

Stan Shih headshot

Stan Shih

Stan Shih is the chairman of StanShih Foundation and the co-founder and honorary chairman of the Acer Group. Throughout his career and all his life, he has been a social entrepreneur. Since January 2017, he has served as the honorary chairman of Major League IoT to promote the rapid transformation of Taiwan’s industry to face critical challenges in the future, including future disease outbreaks. During the pandemic, he is working to bring vaccine manufacturing capabilities to the region. Mr. Shih serves on the boards of Acer., Nan Shan Life Insurance Co., Ltd., Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation and Chinese Television System, and he was formerly on the board of TSMC. He is the chairman of Cloud Gate Culture and Arts Foundation, head of Taiwan Connection Fun Club, One Song Orchestra Fun Club, the convener of the Cultural Tech Alliance, Taiwan, and the chairman of CTAmbi Investment and Consulting Inc.

Alexander Stubb headshot

Alexander Stubb

Alexander Stubb is the director and professor of the School of Transnational Governance (EUI) as of 1 May 2020, and has served as prime minister, finance minister, foreign minister, trade and Europe minister of Finland (2008-2016). He was a member of the European Parliament (2004-2008) and the Finnish national parliament (2011-2017). He was the chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party (Kokoomus, 2014-2016) and VP of the European Investment Bank (2017-2020). Previously, Alex worked as an advisor at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in President Romano Prodi's team at the European Commission (1995-2004). He was involved in the negotiations of the Treaties of Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon. Stubb has written numerous books and academic articles on European affairs and publishes columns for several newspapers, including the Financial Times, on a regular basis.

Yik Ying Teo headshot

Yik Ying Teo

Yik Ying Teo, commonly known as YY, is the second dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore. Trained as a mathematician at Imperial College with an MSc and DPhil at Oxford in statistical genetics, YY returned to Singapore in 2010 after working for four years as a lecturer in Oxford and as a researcher at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics. Prior to his deanship, he was the founding director for the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research and director for the Center for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research. He is presently a member on the Council of Scientists for the International Human Frontier Science Program, 11 as well as a governing board member of the Regional Centre for Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network for Southeast Asia. His co-authored 2021 article “Living with COVID-19: The road ahead” detailed a vaccination-driven global exit strategy from the pandemic.

Malcolm Turnbull headshot

Malcolm Turnbull

Malcolm Turnbull was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia. Prior to entering politics, he enjoyed successful careers as a lawyer, investment banker, and journalist. Malcolm established an investment banking firm in 1987 and co-founded the first big Australian Internet company, OzEmail Ltd. Malcolm joined Goldman Sachs in 1997, becoming a partner of the firm and heading their Australian business for four years. He entered the Australian Parliament in 2004 and served as minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Minister for Communications, and as Prime Minister (2015-18). As prime minister, Malcolm delivered an economic growth agenda that lead to record job creation. His government legalised same-sex marriage and reformed the school funding model to ensure a consistent, needs based approach across all school sectors. Malcolm has a deep interest in renewable energy. He started the construction of the Snowy Hydro 2.0 pumped hydro scheme, which will be the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Michelle Williams headshot

Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams is dean of the faculty, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Angelopoulos Professor in Public Health and International Development. Michelle is an internationally renowned epidemiologist, public health scientist, award-winning educator and a widely recognized academic leader. Prior to becoming dean, she was professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and program leader of the Population Health and Health Disparities Research. Before joining Harvard, Michelle had a distinguished career at the University of Washington School of Public Health. She co-directed the Center for Perinatal Studies at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle from 2000 to 2011. In 1994, Michelle developed, and directed until 2019, the international research training (MIRT) program that allows for the development and operations of undergraduate and graduate student training in global health, biostatistics, and epidemiology in research sites in South America, South East Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Eng Kiong Yeoh headshot

Eng Kiong Yeoh

EK Yeoh is professor of Public Health and director of the Centre for Health Systems and Policy Research at the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He was director of the School from 2014 to 2020. Professor Yeoh was Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food of the Government of Hong Kong between 1999 and 2004. From 1990 to 1999, he was head and the first chief executive of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. He is a member of the World Health Organization Social Science Research Group on COVID-19 and led a study of government responses in the Western Pacific Region. He has been commissioned by the Food and Health Bureau of Hong Kong to i) study Hong Kong’s early detection, assessment, and response system to COVID-19 and ii) investigate the epidemic intelligence required for a risk assessment system critical for controlling COVID-19.

CAPRI Logo

 

APAC Hub logo

 

Fubon CEF logo

 

Harvard Chan school logo

 

EUI school of transnational governance logo

 

Cambridge Public Health logo

 

Reform for Resilience logo