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Highlights from our live discussion on post-pandemic health security
Here are a few highlights from our June 8 live event, "Beyond the Pandemic: A Radical New Approach to Health Security," hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Flagship Pioneering. Watch more at https://www.gzeromedia.com/healthsecurity.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (above) has criticized the European Union over its sluggish vaccine rollout. But overall he supports the EU's decision to purchase the jabs collectively and distribute proportionally because it demonstrated the same European solidarity that delivered the bloc's COVID economic relief package. "I don't want to be competing with Germany, France, or Italy" in a race to buy vaccines, Mitsotakis said during a livestream discussion about post-pandemic health security hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Flagship Pioneering.
Why is Pfizer using much smaller doses of its COVID vaccine in its clinical trials on infants? And when does the company think we'll all need booster shots, especially to deal with new and potentially more vaccine-resistant variants? CEO Albert Bourla explains Pfizer's process to develop updated vaccines against new variants in 100 days.
Pfizer CEO on What’s Next for Vaccines for Kids, Booster Shots | Albert Bourla | GZERO Mediayoutu.be
For science journalist Laurie Garrett, the US bungled its pandemic response because its health security infrastructure was only prepared to deal with threats from parts of the world that America regarded as inferior. In her view, this post-colonial mentality not only did a disservice to the US by causing the worst COVID epidemic in the world, but also justified attacking China at a moment of raw US-China competition despite the fact that probing the origin of the virus was — and still is — is a lost cause.
Did Post-Colonial Mentality Hobble US Pandemic Response? | GZERO Mediayoutu.be
Should the US Congress investigate the government's pandemic response with a 9/11-style commission similar to the one that Democrats want to probe the January 6 Capitol insurrection? Former US Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson is in favor, especially if such a commission truly focuses on the lessons learned — not the politics.
Jeh Johnson Backs Idea of US Congressional Commission on COVID Response | GZERO Mediayoutu.be
"It took a tiny virus for many of us to realize that inconceivable things were actually conceivable" on cooperation between the US government and the private sector on COVID vaccine development, says Moderna co-founder Noubar Afeyan. Afeyan, also CEO of the Flagship Pioneering venture capital fund, credits Operation Warp Speed as a "stellar success" without which America would not have recovered from COVID as fast as it has.
How a Tiny Virus Helped Accomplish the 'Unconceivable' | Moderna's Noubar Afeyan | GZERO Mediayoutu.be
The second part of the series, Stronger Partnerships for a Healthier World: Mutually Assured Protection, is scheduled for Wednesday, June 9 at 11 am EDT. Register to watch at www.gzeromedia.com/healthsecurity
This live event series is produced by GZERO Media in partnership with Flagship Pioneering. We thank our event partners, Partnership for a Healthier America and Medtronic.
Let's learn from COVID to prevent the next pandemic
Days before G7 leaders meet in the UK to talk about how to "build back better" after the pandemic, experts are warning them that they should not lose sight of the opportunity to learn from the experience of COVID to be more prepared when the next public crisis hits. Below are a few insights from a livestream discussion between political leaders, policy makers, health experts and scientists, entitled Beyond the Pandemic: A Radical New Approach to Health Security, hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Flagship Pioneering.
It's time to not just move on, but rather think carefully about pre-empting future pandemics by bolstering health security, said Noubar Afeyan, co-founder of Modern and CEO of the Flagship Pioneering venture capital firm. That would be the best way, he explained, to do justice to the global calls for "never again." For Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media, the window of opportunity to rally the global cooperation that was virtually absent during the worst of the pandemic is closing fast.
Science journalist Laurie Garrett blasted global leadership, especially in countries like Brazil and India, for making the pandemic worse with their politicized responses, and for underplaying the importance of preventive public health. Many governments, she pointed out, obliterated their own public health capacity by putting politics first, for instance in the US by demonizing experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci and weaponizing the probe into the origins of COVID to blame China.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis offered the lessons Greece has learned from dealing with a massive public health crisis barely after recovering from an economic depression. Mitsotakis also came out in support of the EU's decision to procure vaccines as a bloc over "solidarity," and anticipated that very soon people who still don't want to get vaccinated will realize their lives will become much easier when they agree to get the jab.
For his part, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla defended his company's opposition to waiving vaccine patents because the doses are for all — rich or poor, east or west — and that the only reason they can't produce more is because not enough raw materials are now available. Pfizer, he added, is looking into expanding mRNA technology to develop better flu vaccines, those that can boost the immune system to fight non-communicable diseases like cancer, and illnesses that stem from genetic mutations.
Other key moments of the program:
- Former US Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson on a possible COVID commission in the US Congress
- Partners in Health founder Paul Farmer on why only former colonial powers are against lifting vaccine patents,
- Dame Sally Davies, England's former chief medical officer, on why we need to think differently about pandemic data
- Partnership for a Healthier America CEO Nancy Roman on the importance of nutrition in preventing unnecessary deaths in any public health crisis
- Lord Ara Darzi (Flagship Pioneering) on why governments need to take public health threats as seriously as national security
- Lovisa Afzelius (Flagship Pioneering) on why we should care about the Global Pathogen Shield.
Watch the second part of the series, Stronger Partnerships for a Healthier World: Mutually Assured Protection, which was recorded live on Wednesday, June 9.
This live event series was produced by GZERO Media in partnership with Flagship Pioneering. We thank our event partners, Partnership for a Healthier America and Medtronic.
Watch our live event: global health beyond the pandemic
Could the biggest health crisis of our lifetimes actually lead to a healthier world? Watch the second part of our live event series about what public health will look like after the COVID-19 pandemic, presented in partnership with Flagship Pioneering, the bio-platform company that founded Moderna and dozens of other life sciences firms.
Days before world leaders G7 meeting, we will bring political leaders and policy makers together with health experts and scientists to discuss lessons learned from and the latest innovations to preempt both COVID-19 variants and future infectious disease pandemics.
Attendance is free and open to the public. Please register to attend.
The virtual event will be hosted by Noubar Afeyan, founder & CEO of Flagship Pioneering, and Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media.
Tuesday, June 8, 2021 | 11 AM - 12:30 PM ET (recording available)
- Beyond the Pandemic: A Radical New Approach to Health Security: As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, what are the lessons learned and how can we use them to not only prepare for, but also preempt the next pandemic? On day one, speakers will discuss new and powerful ways to combat the wide range of threats to our health, including preventing variants and future infectious disease pandemics, and tackling 'slow-burn' pandemics such as obesity and chronic disease. CNBC's Meg Tirrell will moderate the conversation.
Wednesday, June 9, 2021 | 11 AM - 12:30 PM ET
- Stronger Partnerships for a Healthier World: Mutually Assured Protection: On day two, we'll focus on the need for greater collaboration between governments, international institutions, and the private sector in order to get beyond sick care and create a world where we secure and protect people's health by postponing if not preventing disease, and by promoting good health and wellbeing. Bloomberg TV anchor Shery Ahn will moderate the conversation.
Speakers include:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Prime Minister of Greece
Kristalina Georgieva
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Stéphane Bancel
CEO, Moderna Therapeutics
Agnes Binagwaho
Vice Chancellor, University of Global Health Equity
Geoff Martha
Chairman & CEO, Medtronic
Nancy Roman
President and CEO, Partnership for a Healthier America
Paul Farmer
Professor, Harvard Medical School; Co-founder, Partners In Health
Gargee Ghosh
President, Global Policy & Advocacy, Gates Foundation
Amitabh Chandra
Professor, Director of Health Policy Research, Harvard Kennedy School
Sally Davies
GCB DBE, Master of Trinity College
Laurie Garrett
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
Jeh Johnson
Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; former Secretary of Homeland Security (2013 - 2017)
Albert Bourla
CEO, Pfizer
Noubar Afeyan
President & Founder, Flagship Pioneering
Ian Bremmer
President & Founder, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media
Additional speakers include:
- Junaid Bajwa, Chief Medical Scientist, Microsoft
- Matt Hancock, UK Health Secretary
- James Stavridis, Admiral, USN (Ret), former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO
- Sundar Raman, President, Global Home Care and P&G Professional, Procter & Gamble
- Greg Behar, CEO, Nestle Health Sciences
This event is produced by GZERO Media in partnership with Flagship Pioneering. We thank our event partners, Partnership for a Healthier America and Medtronic.
Advice from former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to the incoming Cabinet head
If former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson could give incoming Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas advice, what would it be? "Well, first I would say, 'Ali, I'm glad it's you, not me.'" His conversation with Ian Bremmer was part of the latest episode of GZERO World.
National security before and after the Trump era
What is the number one national security priority that will land on President Biden's desk on January 20th? That was a question Ian Bremmer posed to former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Jonson. Another: What did President Trump do to strengthen the United States' homeland security? Their conversation was part of the latest episode of GZERO World.
Russian cyber attack: How should the Biden administration respond?
How should the incoming Biden administration respond to Russia's unprecedented cyber attack on American government institutions and corporations? "Governments really don't like it when you sanction their people," says former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. Sanctions are just one of a variety of response measures that Johnson explores with Ian Bremmer. Their conversation was part of the latest episode of GZERO World.
Assessing the damage from the Russian cyber attack
Experts are still trying to assess the scope of Russia's cyber attack against the United States. But even without all the details in, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson provides a sense of the damage: "If one assumes that this was espionage, then the Russians know a lot more about people like you and me or people in government or our capabilities or what we are talking about within government or within some of the more sophisticated elements of the private sector." Johnson's conversation with Ian Bremmer was part of the latest episode of GZERO World.
Russia’s cyber attack: an act of espionage or war?
This week's pro-Trump rampage on the Capitol was an attack on the citadel of American democracy. But the United States was already reeling from another kind of assault, an unprecedented cyber attack on US government agencies and major American companies, very likely perpetrated by Russia. Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson spent years trying to protect the United States against such an attack and he joins GZERO World to take stock of what we know—and what we don't—at this point. He also raises a fundamental question: At what point should we view such a breach as more than just high-tech espionage? When does it constitute an act of war?