3 takeaways on coronavirus from a vaccine expert

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Microsoft debuts a new kind of paid family leave, Gap Inc. Makes a big bet on merchandise, and we hear from a vaccine expert on coronavirus. Have a productive Monday.

– Meeting of the MPW minds. At the end of last week, members of Coins2Day‘s Most Powerful Women community joined a videoconference for our first virtual event. The topic—and featured guest—were timely; we heard from Dr. Julie Gerberding, EVP and chief patient officer for Merck, where she works on global public policy and population health.

Before Gerberding began her current role, she was president of Merck Vaccines. And before that, she was director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Needless to say, members of the MPW community had a lot of questions for her. Most of the conversation was off the record, but below are three interesting takeaways from Gerberding’s talk.

All eyes are on Asia

With China and other Asian countries a few months ahead in their coronavirus outbreaks, U.S. Experts are closely watching the region for a sense of what its its domestic future may hold. “If we see a second wave, that will be an ominous sign,” Gerberding noted. But if the next weeks and months unfold relatively smoothly in Asia, that should inspire some hope.

It’s not just about a vaccine

While a vaccine will be crucial to ending the global outbreak, there are other ways to fight the disease, Gerberding said. “If we could convert this into a mild disease or a disease that has a much lower fatality rate than it currently does, then we would be dealing with something that’s more manageable,” she said. One way that could happen: an effective therapy for treating the virus.

An antibody test won’t solve the economic crisis

Some have been hopeful that an antibody test would allow individuals to determine their past level of exposure and, in some cases, resume their lives—and work—accordingly. But antibody tests aren’t a quick fix, Gerberding said. “Individual by individual, it’s premature to say a positive antibody test means you’re protected, she warned. “We can’t jump to the conclusion that this is the back-to-work ticket.”

Gerberding reminded her video audience—a mix of executives from companies in health care, tech, and more industries—that they all have a role to play during this crisis. “We’re powerful women,” she said, “and we can do a lot.”

Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
@_emmahinchliffe

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

- Ahead of the curve. How did San Francisco flatten its coronavirus curve? Mayor London Breed took swift, decisive action. When Breed moved to declare a state of emergency before the city had its first confirmed case, she was criticized for moving too fast. "Not anymore!" She says now. The Atlantic

- Difficult deliveries. In Venezuela, pregnant women seeking medical care are being turned away. The collapse of the country's health care system has been most extreme in its maternity wards, where vital sign monitors, ventilators, and sanitation systems have broken down. In Brooklyn, doctors at a community hospital raced to save three pregnant women critically ill with the coronavirus, and their babies.

- Art activism. Italian comic book artist Milo Manara usually draws fictional women in unrealistic circumstances. But as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged Italy, he turned his attention toward the women fighting the crisis in the real world. See his drawings of nurses, cashiers, janitors, and doctors here: Washington Post