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How can the world build back better public health after COVID?
How can the world build back better public health after COVID? | Global Stage | GZERO Media

How can the world build back better public health after COVID?

Every year, over ten million people globally die from high blood pressure, more than all infectious diseases combined. Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control, is tackling this massive problem in public health, among many others, as CEO of Resolve to Save Lives.

He told GZERO’s Tony Maciulis that ensuring easy access to three drugs — amlodipine for blood pressure, metformin for blood sugar, and atorvastatin for cholesterol — could save tens of millions of lives over the next quarter century for just a penny per pill.

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"We need to invest in public health," says former CDC director,  lessons that "we better learn"
| GZERO Media

"We need to invest in public health," says former CDC director, lessons that "we better learn"

If we've learned anything from COVID, former CDC chief Tom Frieden says it's that we need to invest a lot more in public health.

"We need a renaissance in our public health system. We need a robust primary care system. And we need resilient populations," he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

Without good primary care, we can't get detect outbreaks, diagnose, treat, or vaccinate properly. Resilient populations means those that can withstand the shock of a pandemic because, for instance, chronic diseases are under control.

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COVID ain't over
Ian Explains: COVID Ain't Over | GZERO World

COVID ain't over

We're not done with the pandemic — yet.

In the US, infections are up five-fold from a year ago, although both hospitalizations are down.

Although COVID will likely become endemic sometime this year in some parts of the world, the virus will still rage on everywhere else.

China's zero-COVID strategy is having a tremendous cost, while barely 17.4% of Africans are vaccinated. That bodes well for new variants.

Meanwhile, rich countries keep hoarding jabs, now also against monkeypox. Did we not learn anything after more than two years?

Watch the GZERO World episode: How depoliticizing the US health response will save lives (COVID isn't over)

"Stunningly infectious" COVID demands better preparation, says Former CDC director
COVID Could Still Become More Deadly, says Former CDC Director | GZERO World

"Stunningly infectious" COVID demands better preparation, says Former CDC director

Many people are done with the pandemic, but the pandemic ain't done with us yet.

Why? There's long COVID, and also we can't predict how the virus will play out in the future, former CDC chief Tom Frieden tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

Still, he points out, the best way to "keep yourself out of the hospital and, quite frankly, out of the morgue" is to get vaxxed and boosted.

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How depoliticizing the US health response will save lives (​COVID isn't over)
Will COVID Ever End? | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

How depoliticizing the US health response will save lives (​COVID isn't over)

We're not done with the pandemic — yet.

Although COVID will likely become endemic sometime this year in some parts of the world, the virus will still rage on everywhere else.

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer catches up on the pandemic's state of play with former CDC chief Tom Frieden, who has a message for everyone who hasn't gotten vaxxed yet: do it.

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Can the world learn lessons from vaccine inequity?
Can the World Learn Lessons From Vaccine Inequity? | Missed Shot | GZERO Media

Can the world learn lessons from vaccine inequity?

GZERO Media and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation convened leading experts in public health, research, development, and philanthropy on Thursday to discuss the uneven state of global recovery from health and economic perspectives. Participants included moderator Natasha Kimani of Africa No Filter; Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer; José Manuel Barroso, chair of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance; Dr. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control; Melanie Saville, director of vaccine research and development for CEPI; and Mark Suzman, CEO of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.They discussed vaccine equity and how we can end the COVID pandemic in a way that better equips the world for similar challenges in the future.

On many streets in the UK and US, it’s almost possible to forget that there’s an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With so many westerners double vaccinated and boosted, the threat of the omicron variant has eased. In fact, the CDC just lifted mask recommendations for much of the US. But that doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. For many countries, that’s far from the case.

Moderator Natasha Kimani, the research and media programs lead at Africa No Filter, kicked off the discussion by asking where things stand today as the world marks the second anniversary of the pandemic.

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Omicron: What the latest Covid strain means for public health, economic recovery, and Joe Biden

Omicron: What the latest Covid strain means for public health, economic recovery, and Joe Biden

We’re being told the ominous-sounding Omicron strain could have devastating consequences and take us back to the throes of March 2020. Or it could not. Maybe it’ll make things better rather than worse! But then again, maybe it won’t

Really, there’s still an awful lot that we don’t know about this highly-mutated strain now running loose through every continent (except Antarctica, those lucky bastards).

You can watch my initial quick take on Omicron’s impact here (though things have changed a bit since I recorded that on Monday):

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