Hong Kong can play key role in data sharing among scientists to fight next pandemic: expert

A top public health expert has called for a global effort to build trust among scientists to encourage data sharing to combat the next global pandemic wave, hailing Hong Kong’s actions during Covid-19 as a role model.

Rebecca Grais, executive director of the France-headquartered international research alliance Pasteur Network, said Hong Kong could also share its experience handling various infectious diseases, such as Covid-19, bird flu and swine flu, with others.

Grais told the Post on Monday at the Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum that the world had not yet learned its lessons from Covid-19 and was not well-prepared for the next pandemic.

“One of the best ways to be prepared is to rebuild and work on trust,” said Grais, who is also a member of an advisory group of the World Health Organization. “Scientists are people, and people have a tendency to disclose, to trust other people, and to share, when they know someone else.”

She said those connections among individuals could help with data sharing and best practices.