The Jameel Institute has recently marked its second anniversary. The Institute uses data analytics to combat disease threats worldwide and has three core research themes: responding to health emergencies, strengthening health systems, and building partnerships and capacity. Since the Institute launched in October 2019, the team has been supporting national and international efforts to help model and advise governments and policy makers on the trajectory of the pandemic. Below are some of the key achievements and activities of the Institute over the last 12 months.
The full report can be reviewed at the following link.
“2021 has proved to be another challenging year for the Jameel Institute and its partners in countries around the world, but one filled with hope with the arrival of the vaccines. As the measurable positive impacts of the COVID-19 vaccines in many countries emerge, we are beginning to see some form of normality being brought to the Institute.” – Professor Neil Ferguson (Director, Jameel Institute)
COVID-19 response
The Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team’s work has been diverse and far reaching. The following numbers illustrate just some of the ways in which our activity, in collaboration with other Imperial research groups, has made a profound impact on the international response to the pandemic.
At the start of the year, COVID-19 cases surged in the UK and in other countries due to the spread of the Alpha variant. The Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team continued its policy of sharing research findings immediately on the developing pandemic. This immediate release has enabled policymakers to react quickly to introduce pandemic control interventions.
All the reports that have been produced by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team can be reviewed here.
Professor Helen Ward and the team have also continued work on the Real-Time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT) studies, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care in England. Over two million people aged five years and above have been tested during 15 rounds of data collection. This series of studies has greatly improved understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic is progressing across England, providing vital real-time intelligence to the UK government and healthcare leaders.
“We really need surveillance of long COVID. Up to now the burden of SARS-CoV-2 has mainly been measured by the numbers of cases diagnosed and mortality from COVID-19, with an implicit assumption that you either die or get better. We also need to measure long-term health impacts. We are starting to see that there is a substantial burden of disability and prolonged symptoms. It’s not something that we have got a global handle on so far, but in many studies it’s between 10 and 30 per cent of people who have these persistent and late symptoms, some of which are really debilitating.” – Professor Helen Ward (Lead Investigator, REACT study)
Other activities: Health systems strengthening
In partnership with Imperial College Business School, the team developed the integrated epidemiological-economic model DAEDALUS. We have been collaborating with the Centre for Global Development (CGD) to project the return on investments into pandemic preparedness for the G20 High Level Independent Panel (HLIP) on financing the global commons for pandemic preparedness and response.
“The pandemic confronts us with immensely challenging trade-offs between health, economic output, hospital capacity, and personal liberties. We need multidisciplinary approaches to give effective policy guidance on how to control pandemics.” – Professor Katharina Hauck (Co-creator of DAEDALUS)
Professor Timothy Hallett’s group has continued to examine the impact of potential public health interventions on a range of pressing endemic and epidemic diseases. The team reviewed the global epidemiology of hepatitis B (HBV) and making the case of the impact of increasing the availability of birth dose of HBV worldwide and for scaling-up treatment in China, investigating strategies for screening for HCV among key populations in Yunan province (China). This review also examined the role of novel tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics in sub-Saharan Africa, evaluating the potential of new methods of HIV prevention (long-acting Cabotegravir-based pre-exposure prophylaxis) and contributing to the global strategic plan for HIV.
“I am really interested in the use of unconventional, novel data sources. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have come to rely on data from mobile phone apps to understand contact patterns. That is just one example of how different data sources can meaningfully support public health planning.” – Professor Timothy Hallett (Global Health)
Jameel Institute Symposium
Following the success of our first anniversary symposium where we invited a range of external speakers to explore ‘Shaping the post COVID-19 world’, we held our second anniversary symposium on 2nd November titled: ‘Data analytics in a pandemic: policy, politics and partnerships.’ The symposium examined how data has been communicated and how it has been politicised.
Session 1 - Communicating science in the post-truth age
The first session, ‘Communicating science in the post-truth age’, explored the role of public health messaging during the pandemic and the relationships between scientists, the media and politicians. The panellists were Anjana Ahuja, Science Commentator for the Financial Times; Professor Christian Drosten, Director of Germany’s Institute of Virology; and Nyka Alexander, Health Emergency Communications at the WHO. The session was moderated by the Science Media Centre’s Fiona Fox.
During the discussions, the WHO’s Nyka Alexander talked about their work to counter misinformation spread on social media:
“We often were advising people to seek sources of information that they trust, and that’s why people turn to traditional media. People react to emotional headlines…and editors are under huge pressure to make sure that headlines are a clickable lead, and sometimes that doesn’t align with the public health goal.” – Nyka Alexander (Health Emergency Operations, the WHO)
Session 2 - Data analytics at the science-politics interface
The second session, ‘Data analytics at the science-politics interface’, discussed the role that scientists have in informing policy and decision-makers. The panellists were Dr Anders Tegnell, State Epidemiologist of Sweden; Professor Glenda Gray, President and CEO of South Africa MRC; and Professor Dame Angela McLean, the Chief Scientific Advisor for the UK’s Ministry of Defence. The session was moderated by the BBC’s Nick Robinson.
During the session, Dame Angela, explained how SAGE has helped inform decision making in the UK and how science and data may play a greater role in policymaking in the future. Dame Angela said:
“The pandemic has affected how data and analytics might inform policy in the future. There’s already a big conversation happening in government about how we can be more scientific, and put science at the heart of decision making.” – Dame Angela McLean (Chief Scientific Advisor for the UK’s Ministry of Defence)
Session 3 - Partnerships and equity in the global response to COVID-19: success or failure?
The third session, ‘Partnerships and equity in the global response to COVID-19: success or failure?’, assessed how successful international partnerships have been in the global response to the pandemic. The panellists were Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI); Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director of Africa; and Sir Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity at the University of Oxford. The session was moderated by Amanda Glassman, Executive Vice President, CEO of CGD Europe, and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development.
“We’ve also seen the important emergence of regional mutual security efforts…If we take advantage of those opportunities that are emerging from the pandemic and we look objectively at what created the outcomes that we've got, which are unacceptable, I think we have an opportunity to prepare the world for much better preparedness for future threats.” – Dr Richard Hatchett (CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations)
Thank you
“I am incredibly proud of how the team has shown resilience during these uncertain times. They have been adaptable, flexible, and pragmatic this year and I look forward to seeing how our newest researchers contribute to the Institute’s strategic vision. Our sincere thanks to Community Jameel for championing the Institute and showcasing our work to partners and potential collaborators. Your flexibility has not only enabled us to support multiple stakeholders with the COVID-19 pandemic, but has also helped us further examine pandemic preparedness, zoonotic disease outbreaks and health economics. We look forward to 2022.” – Professor Neil Ferguson (Director of the Jameel Institute)