CHDS Seminar with Dr. Anna Vassall: Evolution of Decision Support Across Covid-19 Pandemic Phases

Abstract:  Covid-19 required the unprecedented mobilization of decision support. The initial focus was on rapid analyses to inform non-pharmaceutical interventions. This focus was expanded to address questions related to vaccine deployment, testing and treatment strategies. Faced with limited data and time, analysts needed to make decisions about what models to use and outcomes to evaluate, as well as how to engage with decision makers. This talk examines those choices in the context of supporting low- and middle-countries responding to Covid-19, and reflects on whether these choices and methods were ‘good enough.’

Bio: Professor Anna Vassall is the Director of the Global Health Economics Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has published widely on economic evaluation and priority setting for infectious diseases. She has an interest in combining health systems analyses with economic evaluation and priority setting. She has recently co-led a research programme supporting the Covid-19 response across low- and middle- income countries. She was awarded the Joep Lange Chair of Global Health in 2018.