Lessons from COVID-19: "International Cooperation Crucial for Next Pandemic Response"

'2022 World Bio Summit'

[Image source=World Bio Summit]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] In light of COVID-19, voices have emerged emphasizing that the most important factor in responding to the next novel pandemic is international cooperation.

Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), stated at the ‘2022 World Bio Summit’ held on the 26th at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul, “Through global cooperation, the world was able to rapidly develop safe and effective vaccines,” but also noted, “The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerabilities of global public health systems.” He emphasized that future pandemics require more efficient preparedness through additional improvements and feedback.

Hatchett said, “COVID-19 is not the last pandemic. Recent cases suggest another pandemic is likely to occur soon,” adding, “Despite complex and conflicting global crises by country, it is important not to neglect preparedness in the public health sector.”

Concerns were also raised that vaccine inequity between regions and countries must be addressed in the next pandemic. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), pointed out, “Thanks to the efforts of scientists worldwide, at least three COVID vaccines were developed by the end of 2020,” but “while over 50% of the population in high-income countries completed their first dose by the end of 2021, only 3% of the population in Africa, which accounts for about one-fifth of the global population, had been vaccinated,” she noted.

She added, “In this regard, securing vaccine procurement and distribution must be ensured going forward,” emphasizing, “Ultimately, it is not the vaccine itself but vaccination that can prevent infectious diseases.”

Kim Heon-ju, Deputy Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, “Above all, what is important after COVID-19 is that the international community strengthens its capacity to prepare for the next pandemic based on the experience of responding to the current one,” adding, “In this process, cooperation with international organizations is very necessary.” Korea has developed infectious disease response capabilities through experiences with the 2009 H1N1 flu and the 2015 MERS outbreaks, but the lessons learned from experiencing a pandemic on a different scale are invaluable.

Deputy Director Kim stated, “For the international community to respond to future novel infectious diseases, it is crucial to rapidly share infectious disease surveillance information and response strategies and to establish an information-sharing system.” This is because information on infection routes, transmissibility, and fatality rates of newly emerging viruses is very limited initially, causing delays in global health authorities’ responses. He added, “The Republic of Korea promises to share its experience overcoming COVID-19 with the world and actively cooperate in the next pandemic.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.