What We've Learned from Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic

We need to respect the peculiarities of this virus and the evolving characteristic of SARS-CoV-2 to adapt[...]But I'm very confident the science and technology have come up with several solutions that can be incorporated[...]I'm very optimistic about the future.
-Dr. Esper Georges Kallas

The smartest people on earth have been studying, sequencing, analyzing, theorizing, and data-crunching the COVID-19 pandemic for two years now. (To be fair, everyone else has been thinking about quite a lot, too.) On January 19th, ActivePure partnered with the Employee Health Innovation Round Table to bring six of those experts together in one (virtual) room:

• Sen. Tom Daschle, co-founder of the Bipartisan Policy Center and former Senate Majority Leader.
• Dr. Deborah Birx, former White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator. Dr. Birx was also the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator under two presidents. She served 28 years in the United States Army, retiring with the rank of Colonel. Dr. Birx is now Chief Medical and Science Advisor to ActivePure.
• Dr. Eng Eong Ooi, co-director of Viral Research and Experimental Medicine at the Duke-National University of Singapore Academic Medical Center. Dr. Ooi led the team which developed Singapore's vaccine candidate.
• Mr. Michael Conway, a Senior Partner Global Health Policy Practice of McKinsey & Co. This organization seeks to assist governments, nonprofits, and healthcare companies find equitable healthcare solutions for the "most vulnerable populations."
• Dr. Esper Georges Kallas, professor of Allergy and Immunopathology at the School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The event was moderated by Ambassador James K. Glassman, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and head of a Washington-based advisory firm on public policy. Ambassador Glassman is also an accomplished journalist in both television and print.

The discussion was attended by over 600 corporate representatives, legistors, educators, city government officials, and healthcare professionals. The result was the global forum 'Two Years of a Global Pandemic: Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future.'

Conversation during the forum focused on what employers and policy makers can do moving forward as COVID-19 transitions from a pandemic to an endemic virus (i.e. from a crisis to a part of everyday life).

Even though ActivePure hosted it, we found the information riveting, and we'd really like to share it with you. Some key takeaways include:

• Most buildings are not designed to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses.
• Policy makers need to be clearer about what they know and what they only guess.
• We have more tools than just vaccines.

Want to learn more? Download a complete summary of the January 19th forum below.

This will be an ongoing series, so follow us on LinkedIn to be apprised of future forum dates.