Episode 38: Singapore's Covid Journey Thus Far: Valuable Lessons Learned From the Past Two Years

More than two years into the global pandemic, COVID-19 continues to impact the ways we work, live, and interact, and new variants of the virus continued to emerge. Meanwhile, many regions and countries around the world, including Singapore, are lifting pandemic restrictions, as they take steps toward living with the virus.

Asia Society Hong Kong Center continues to bring you regular updates on the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong, and around the world. We are pleased to host on-the-ground public health experts and internationally renowned specialists as they share the latest facts and evidence-based findings on the global pandemic. Over the past two years, this ground breaking series has featured nearly 40 episodes and welcomed more than 250,000 online views.

In this episode, S. Alice Mong, Executive Director of Asia Society Hong Kong Center will host Dr. Vernon Lee, preventive medicine physician and Senior Director of the Communicable Diseases Division at the Ministry of Health, to discuss the latest COVID-19 updates from Singapore, as well as examine lessons learned from Singapore's COVID-19 journey over the past two years. This episode will explore questions including: What were the most significant steps Singapore took toward “living with the virus?” How did Singapore overcome vaccine hesitancy among older adults? Despite the high COVID-19 case numbers earlier this year, how has Singapore kept fatalities so low? How significant was the April 1 border opening allowing travel by land with Malaysia? What lessons has Singapore learned through the pandemic that other countries can implement? What is Singapore doing to be prepared for the next variant?

Prof. Vernon Lee MBBS, PhD, FAMS, FAMM, MPH, MBA is a preventive medicine physician and Senior Director of the Communicable Diseases Division at the Ministry of Health, Singapore. He is also adjunct Professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, and sits on the Council of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore.
His areas of expertise include infectious diseases epidemiology, pandemic preparedness and response, and evidence-based health policy.
He has previously worked in the WHO Office in Indonesia and WHO headquarters in Geneva, and continues to contribute to international working groups and advisory panels on infectious diseases.
Prof. Lee graduated from medical school at the National University of Singapore. He also holds a PhD in epidemiology from the Australian National University, and the Master in Public Health and Master of Business Administration degrees from the Johns Hopkins University, USA. 

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