The Victorian immunity and infectious disease research centre is establishing an institute in preparation for future pandemics.
National coordination at all levels â data collection, research and rollout â facilitated by institutes like the newly founded Australian Institute for Infectious Disease is a must in the fight against future pandemics, says the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in its submission to the upcoming federal covid inquiry.
In its submission to the inquiry, published earlier this week, the Doherty Institute outlined key lessons it learnt regarding data collection, research, public testing and vaccinations from its position as a âfirst responder to any outbreak in Victoria and across [its] regionâ.
In its recommendations, the Doherty also highlighted the need for supply chain management at a national level to ensure equity in access to testing materials, as well as vaccines and therapeutics, and continued investment in skilled staff and equipment âto ensure capability and capacity for pathogen agnostic diagnostics and outbreak responsesâ.
Data collection and analysis should also be coordinated at a national level, ideally through the newly established Australian Centre for Disease Control (ACDC), the submission said.
To enable accurate interpretation and application of the data, the submission recommended all genomic data and analyses be shared nationally âusing secure platforms such as AusTrakka with clearly defined governance agreements, roles and responsibilities for Commonwealth and state government and public health laboratoriesâ.
To improve research, the institute recommended âstrategic fundingâ prioritising âlarge scale collaborative programsâ over isolated teams.
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The group also recommended âpre-approved protocolsâ and âstreamlined ethics approvalsâ that could be âextend across relevant pathogensâ, to make clinical trials more efficient.
According to the submission, Australia also requires more research facilities suitable for animal and human research into infectious diseases, known as PC3 facilities, to avoid delays in research.
âDevelopment of a national network of trusted scientific and public health communication experts to guide community engagement and public messagingâ is also a must, added the submission.
The Doherty Institute also recommended developing a network of research institutes trusted to conduct efficient research that can inform public health policy and action.
In addition, the submission recommended improved vaccine evaluation, increased capacity for community-based therapeutic trials and better communication between laboratories, clinicians and researchers âto ensure rapid applied research for public health responsesâ.
In partnership with the University of Melbourne and the Burnet Institute and with backing from the Victorian government, the Doherty Institute has founded the Australian Insititute for Infectious Disease (AIID), which is due to complete construction by 2027.
âThis new Institute will house the largest critical mass of scientists and public health professionals in the southern hemisphere, coupled with state-of-the-art technologies and industry partnerships needed to protect Australia and the Asia-Pacific region from global health issues,â the institute said in its submission.
âThe establishment of the AIID will contribute to several critical infrastructure and capability gaps identified in our response to covid-19, in conjunction with identified improvements from this Inquiry,â it said.
The final report for the federal governmentâs independent covid inquiry is set to be published 30 September this year.
The year-long inquiry is led by the former director-general of NSW Health Robyn Kruk, epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett and health economist Dr Angela Jackson â is set to deliver recommendations to be enacted in the case of a future pandemic.
