MARK McCLELLAN, Chair Professor of Duke University, spoke at the launching ceremony of Institute for Global Health and Development, Peking University (PKU-iGHD) and the Beijing Forum 2020: COVID-19 Shocks to Global Health and Development:
Congratulations to Peking university on the special occasion. This event marks not only the launch of the PKU Institute for Global Health and Development, it also highlights the global public health emergency caused by COVID-19 that makes this Institute so critical. It is needed to bring together perspectives from public policy, public health, medicine, economics, and other disciplines to develop evidence-based policy solutions to engage leaders and government and business and to train future leaders across the globe.
We have adopted a similar approach at Duke University where I am based. Our center for health policy brings together faculty and expertise from throughout the university to engage with leaders from government and the private sector to respond to health care challenges. In our work, it has been a privilege to collaborate with my good friend, Professor Gordon Liu, and his colleagues at the academy of sciences and other parts fortunate Chinese Academy as well as through the national committee on US-China relations. Because I know Dean Liu well, I have my expectations for his leadership at the new Institute.
The Institute has urgent work to do. The pandemic has made clear that coordinated public health action is more critical than ever, but also that it has fallen short. The US and China do not agree in some policies, but public health collaboration is an area where much more progress should be possible.
COVID-19 is the first pandemic of the era of synthetic biology and advanced digital and computational technology. Rapid sequencing of the genetic code of the novel coronavirus made possible the quick production of accurate diagnostic tests in January. Innovation in mRNA technology made possible human testing of vaccines in March within two months of sequencing and the completion of large-scale clinical trials and manufacturing within a year. Synthetic antibodies capable of neutralizing virus among people who are not immune were also developed and tested in a matter of months.
These new technologies augmented the mobilization of the more traditional proven steps to fight a pandemic, including the testing of existing medications, the rapid development of vaccines on more traditional viral platforms, and public health measures, like isolation and quarantine. Yet the new technologies have not fulfilled their potential to prevent millions of deaths and ongoing near-global economic disruptions likely to be followed by adverse population health consequences for many years to come.
For example, in the United States, we did not make diagnostic tests widely available in the first few months of 2020, preventing us from containing the initial spread of the virus. We now in the process of vaccinating millions of Americans using mRNA vaccines that have been proven to be safe and effective in those very quick but large-scale full clinical trials. Yet thousands of Americans are dying every day due to COVID-19, due to challenges in implementing public health measures alongside economic support for affected workers and businesses. We have only limited access to monoclonal antibodies that can neutralize the virus when patients are treated quickly and our health care system, which is still paid mainly on a fee-for-service basis has struggled to protect population health, an especially for low-income populations. Many other countries are struggling with containing the virus and are re-imposing lockdowns at substantial economic cost to avoid further strains on their health care systems.
Most countries do not yet have a clear path to safe and effective vaccines or widespread access to rapid diagnostic tests, effective therapies, and innovative medical care that can lessen the pandemic's impact in the meantime. We have made progress in digital technology and biomedical sciences that could substantially limit the global impact of the pandemics, but scientific progress is not enough.
New kinds of timely global policy collaboration are needed to limit impacts. Rapid sharing of public health information about pandemic threats is critical. Collaboration among nations with the greatest capacity to help the world combat the scale of the pandemic, including China and the United States, is also critical to diminish the shortages and the inequities in access to prevention and treatment that are the hallmark of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We can see ahead to the eventual end of this pandemic with scaled-up vaccines and other effective therapies, but we have much hard work to do to get there. Low-cost testing, greater availability of effective therapies, like monoclonal antibodies and adequate supply and distribution of vaccines for the whole world still is ahead of us. And after that, we need to work together to develop the policies and collaborations to use these new technologies and innovative medical practices across the globe to make sure that the next pandemic has far less consequences for health and economic well-being.
I am looking forward to the Institute's leadership in both ideas and collaboration across countries for this brighter future. Thank you for the important steps at PKU today to help us get there.
