Webinar #255 Prof Annelies Wilder-Smith - COVID-19 five years on – what have we learned?

Recorded on 10 July 2025 for ICMDA Webinars.

Howard Lyons chairs a webinar with Prof Annelies Wilder-Smith

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that global health is interconnected, and delayed action costs lives. Strong public health systems, early response, and equitable access to vaccines are critical. The rapid development of mRNA vaccines showed the power of well-funded, coordinated science.

However, science must remain apolitical - when politicized, it erodes public trust and fuels misinformation. Clear communication, preparedness, and protecting vulnerable populations are essential. The pandemic revealed the fragility of health systems and the urgent need for resilience. As Scripture reminds us, pestilences are part of a broken world (Luke 21:11) - COVID-19 was not the first and will not be the last.

Dr. Annelies Wilder-Smith has devoted her career to emerging infectious diseases, particularly those impacting low- and middle-income countries. Her path was shaped during two decades in Asia, where she was at the forefront of the SARS outbreak, and investigated the H5N1, dengue and Zika virus outbreaks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she served as an external advisor to the World Health Organization, where she developed COVID-19 vaccine policies for the global use.

Annelies is Honorary Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Past President of the International Society of Travel Medicine, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Travel Medicine. Her academic career resulted in 380 publications and many research grants. She leads the Lancet Commission on Dengue and was Principal Investigator of EU-funded research consortia.

Her awards include the Myron Levine Vaccinology Prize and the CDC Honor Group Award. Annelies is also the author of Travel Medicine: Tales Behind the Science and Grasping Heaven, a biography of Dr. Tami Fisk. She lives in Switzerland with her husband, a professor of neurology; both their children are physicians in training.

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