On the Verge – Lessons from Japan’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (005)

In this episode, Christine Parthemore, the CEO of the Council on
Strategic Risks, interviews Dr. Tomoya Saito, director of the
Department of Health Crisis Management at Japan’s National
Institute of Public Health. Dr. Saito is taking part in his
country’s COVID-19 response, applying his deep experience in
emergency preparedness and response, health surveillance, and
biosecurity. Christine and Dr. Saito discussed several specific
lessons that show the potential for strong pandemic prevention and
response, including: Japan detected the infection patterns at a
very early stage, showing the importance of disease tracking and
early warning. Like all countries, Japan is navigating improvements
in data collection and sharing. This also relates to the strength
of a nation’s modeling and disease-trend prediction capabilities.
Japan established effective contact tracing and cluster busting
strategies early, and its “Avoid 3Cs” campaign helped with public
communications and cooperation in preventing disease spread. The
roles of health centers in communities around Japan in contact
tracing and helping the public, and its accessible medical care for
everyone, undoubtedly contribute to progress in containing the
spread of COVID-19. Dr. Saito shares specific insights and examples
from the work he and his colleagues continue to do in addressing
the COVID-19 crisis in Japan. These can and should inform how the
United States improves its responses to this current pandemic, and
establishes the systems needed to halt future outbreaks before they
sicken and kill millions. Watch the Interview as a Video:
https://youtu.be/4_LUDMrW0r8