Date:
Location:
June 10 – Race to a Vaccine
Rapid development of a vaccine for COVID-19 is a global imperative. Without development and widespread deployment of an effective vaccine, the world faces repeated waves of infection in the coming years, until 60 to 70 percent of the global population can develop immunity. In Africa, COVID-19 increases the risks of food insecurity, lack of access to medical supplies, loss of income and livelihood, difficulties in applying sanitary and physical distancing measures, a looming debt crisis, as well as related political and security risks. Therefore, the benefits of developing and deploying an effective vaccine to prevent repeated or continuous waves of outbreak on the African continent are even higher.
The goal of today’s webinar is to discuss where we are in vaccine development process, how African research institutions are involved in that process, and explore questions about equity and access, especially in light of countries in the global north banning or restricting exports of PPE.
In addition to the scientific angle (where are we at in development and how are African institutions a partner or leader in this effort), this webinar will explore questions of affordability and equity to access (who gets a vaccine and when?). This panel would also naturally continue the conversation about misinformation.
Confirmed Speakers:
- Dr. Robert Gallo, MD, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-founder and chairman of the international scientific leadership board of the Global Virus Network
- Dr. John Nkengasong, Director, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Professor Helen Rees, Executive Director, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI), the University of Witwatersrand
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Moderated by Professor Phyllis Kanki, Mary Woodward Lasker Professor of Health Sciences, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
(Listen to Professor Kanki's May 5, 2020, press conference on the progress of the COVID pandemic in Africa)
Register for the webinar here:
https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IhqX8STmR9qpGTGVKVWPEg
This webinar will be livestreamed on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HarvardAfricanStudies/live/
The Harvard University Center for African Studies in partnership with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is hosting a series of webinars on the topic of COVID-19 and Africa. Held each Wednesday for one hour from 10am EST, CAS’ Africa and COVID-19 Webinar Series will bring together the private sector, policy makers, academics, and practitioners for a series of conversations across health, technology, and economy, among others. Please check our COVID-19 Resources page for upcoming webinars and recordings of previous webinars. Join our weekly newsletter to receive updated information.
7:00AM PDT (California)
10:00AM EDT (Boston/New York)
3:00PM WAT (Nigeria/UK)
4:00PM CAT (South Africa)
5:00PM EAT (Ethiopia/Kenya)
ORGANIZERS: Harvard Center for African Studies & Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention