Dr. Ashish K. Jha | Dean, Brown University School of Public Health
1. How will you use your new role to shape COVID-19 policy at Brown, and across the state? I will use my role to provide science-based guidance and to advise leaders at the university and other institutions as they continue to use the best evidence available in their decisions on how to navigate the ongoing pandemic. I will also advise on how to best communicate that evidence so people understand why we are doing what we are doing.
2.You have been researching pandemics well before COVID-19. What lessons can we apply from prior outbreaks? We have learned … the high price of underestimating the speed and voracity of a novel virus, and of being underprepared. We have played catch-up with this virus from the beginning. The worst move in a pandemic is to do nothing because the virus is always moving. There is another important lesson in remembering “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We have abandoned our public health infrastructures. Many of our problems with testing enough people, safely opening schools and other challenges stem from a lack of investment in public health.
3. What can be done to contain or mitigate a surge in COVID-19? There are very basic but critical steps we all can and must continue to take … mask wearing, social distancing, avoiding crowds. And there are steps our government and public and private institutions must take: more testing and tracing, especially in critical settings such as nursing homes, prisons, and schools and universities. We also need better coordination of needed supplies … and more modeling of positive behavior that will encourage everyone to take responsibility for keeping each other safe.
4. What should businesses know about the continued public health effects of this crisis as they reopen or plan for the year ahead? Businesses need to know that the pandemic isn’t over, and that a vaccine, once it becomes available, won’t change things overnight. It is worth it for businesses to invest in doing all they can to keep their employees and their customers safe. Businesses will find they will be able to use the precautions and procedures they develop now to stay resilient in future crises as well.
5. Will COVID-19 improve the communication between public health experts and the general public? The pandemic has reminded all of us … of the importance of good information and evidence. The majority of people … are paying attention to the public health experts. Polls repeatedly show that Americans know this virus is serious, and that they trust doctors and scientists more than anyone else when it comes to information about the pandemic.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
