Experts in US, China call for more collaboration to fight pandemic

More collaboration in sharing experiences and developing vaccines is needed to fight against the pandemic, leading Chinese and US experts said during an online seminar.

Wang Chen, president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said massive and rapid testing, home isolation and makeshift hospitals played a crucial role in curbing the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus.

"Meanwhile, more global collaboration is needed in scientific research and developing vaccines," said Wang when attending an online seminar held by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Wuhan University and Taikang Public Health and Epidemic Prevention Fund.

Wang added COVID-19 reshaped the world and let government leaders recognize that medical and healthcare services are critical to countries and their people. A higher percentage of GDP should be spent on the healthcare sector to strengthen the integration of prevention and treatment.

Harvey V. Fineberg, former president of the US Institute of Medicine (now National Academy of Medicine), also firmly believes that tightened cooperation between the US and China is highly necessary to cope with the pandemic.

"This pandemic will not be solved anywhere until it is solved everywhere," said Fineberg, who is also the former provost of Harvard University. He also stressed the importance of looking back to review the decision-making and implementation process to draw lessons.

The death toll from COVID-19 exceeded 80,000 worldwide on Tuesday, and the global total of confirmed cases reached 1,407,123, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

According to Margaret Hamburg, chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), it is highly necessary to have cooperation in scientific research, not only in sharing research results but also in sharing research capabilities, since lots of questions are still dangling. For the development of the vaccine, how to ensure quality during mass production is critical, added Hamburg, who is also former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).