Jane Halton, who formerly headed the federal health and finance departments, is chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness.
CEPI, founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is at the forefront of the international search for a COVID-19 vaccine.
She is also a member of the Morrison government’s National COVID-19 Coordination Commission, which liaises with business and advises government on how to mitigate the economic and social impacts of the pandemic.
Currently she’s undertaking a nationwide review of the hotel quarantine system.
Halton, who when in the public service took part in a government pandemic rehearsal, says Australia was relatively ready. But she says that inevitably, when there’s a review in the wake of COVID-19, there’ll be a lot to learn from this experience. “Just like we’ve learnt from H1N1…just like we’ve learned from SARS.
