Vaccines and Immunity: When can we achieve herd immunity?
Aggressive vaccination programmes are underway in ASEAN, even as new variants appear on the horizon. What do we know about these variants and the challenges they pose to sero-conversion in a vaccinated population, longevity of host immunity, and achieving the ‘holy grail’ of herd immunity? Earlier estimates for achieving herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 were 60-70%. The new estimate is 80-90% due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, according to a report from Infectious Diseases Society of America on Aug 3, 2021. In this webinar, we will discuss ongoing vaccination efforts using various vaccines, challenges posed by mutating virus and possible approaches to eventually achieve herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2.
Additionally, the webinar will introduce the ASEAN Serosurveillance Study for COVID-19 Vaccines. The study is coordinated by ASEAN Dx Initiative and supported by Temasek Foundation.
Chair and Moderator:
Dr Benedict Yan - Pathologist and Director of Molecular Diagnostics Centre, National University Health Systems, Singapore
Speakers and Panelists:
- Dr Kristine Dela Cruz - Paediatrics, Infectious Diseases, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippines
- Prof Wang Linfa - Professor, Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
- Dr Safarina Malik - Head, Laboratory, Eijkman Institute, Indonesia
- Assoc Prof Chan Yoke Fun - Medical Microbiology, University of Malaya, Malaysia
- Assoc Prof Tan Le Van - Head, Emerging Infections, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Vietnam
- Dr Watsamon Jantarabenjakul - Infectious Diseases Paediatrician, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thailand
ASEAN Dx Initiative Co-chairs:
Dr Sidney Yee - Chief Executive Officer, Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub), Singapore
Dr Jaime Montoya - Executive Director, Philippines Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), Philippines
This webinar is organised by ASEAN Dx Initiative, supported by Philippines Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub), National University Health System, A*StartCentral and Temasek Foundation.
About ASEAN Dx Initiative
The ASEAN Diagnostics (Dx) Initiative is co-chaired by Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) and Singapore's Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub) with the mandate to build diagnostic capacity among ASEAN member countries.
For more information – please visit https://aseandx.com/