By Chen Haiming | China Daily | Updated: 2021-05-08 07:21 Share CLOSE Kevin Baker, director of an international school in Guangzhou, gives a thumbs-up while being vaccinated. [Photo by Zheng Erqi/China Daily]
With the rollout of several efficacious vaccines in more and more countries and the concerted efforts of people to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and return to normalcy, the issue of vaccination passport is being discussed across the world.
A vaccination passport is a documentation certifying that the bearer has been vaccinated against COVID-19 and is safe to travel within as well as outside a country. This will ease restrictions on travelers and help reopen economies without compromising public health.
May 06, 2021
World Health Organization has launched an intelligence hub which will be a global platform for pandemic and epidemic intelligence. Courtesy photo
GENEVA An international hub for pandemic control is to open in Berlin to ensure better preparedness and transparency in the fight against likely future global health threats, the UN health agency announced on Wednesday.
Supported by the German Government, the center will specialize in gathering epidemic intelligence, data, surveillance, and analytics innovation.
It will open later this year, according to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who explained how she had first discussed the idea last autumn, with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
WHO and Federal Republic of Germany establish new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federal Republic of Germany will establish a new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, data, surveillance and analytics innovation. The Hub, based in Berlin and working with partners around the world, will lead innovations in data analytics across the largest network of global data to predict, prevent, detect prepare for and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks worldwide.
H.E. German Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel said: The current Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that we can only fight pandemics and epidemics together. The new WHO Hub will be a global platform for pandemic prevention, bringing together various governmental, academic and private sector institutions. I am delighted that WHO chose Berlin as its location and invite partners from all around the world to contribute to the WHO hub.
The hub, due to officially open later this year, is envisaged as a way to create a large network of global data to predict, prevent, detect prepare for and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks worldwide, WHO said in a statement Wednesday.
WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that one of the lessons of Covid-19 is that world needs a significant leap forward in data analysis to help leaders make informed public health decisions. This requires harnessing the potential of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, combining diverse data sources, and collaborating across multiple disciplines. Better data and better analytics will lead to better decisions, he noted at a press briefing announcing the creation of the hub.