Getting safely back to school (and elsewhere)
Ken Chan is working to overcome vaccine hesitancy, and thinks mandates might be the way forward (450 words, 3 min)
NPC Healthbiz Weekly is presented to you in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions
“As we think about how we’re going to live with the pandemic,” Ken Chan, Vice President Administration at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., said, “we need to be mindful of the role of vaccines in enabling us to live with some form of normalcy.”
On the last episode of Season Five of the NPC Podcast, hosted by Peter Brenders, Chan (photo below), who until recently served as Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ontario government’s Vaccine Distribution Secretariat, shared his thoughts on vaccine protocols.
“This time last year, vaccines weren’t even a reality,” Chan said. “In December 2020, the approval of vaccines for use in Canada … was the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Chan recalled the “number of people who were patiently but also anxiously waiting to be vaccinated” during the early days of the vaccine rollout. Now, he said, “an overwhelming majority of people are fully vaccinated.”
“In Ontario, we’re well over 80 per cent of people with one dose and soon a similar number of people with second doses. But that’s not enough,” Chan said. “To get to a point where we’re in a position to deal with the emergence of the Delta variant, we need our numbers to be at least 85 per cent. That’s what we’re hearing from scientific advisors to the province.”
“Now, the focus really is on getting at that small number of people who have yet to be vaccinated.” To do that, Chan said, “we need to get to the heart of why people aren’t being vaccinated.”
“When I was still on the provincial Vaccine Secretariat, we worked hard with various communities to understand why there’s hesitancy. In some cases it had to do with education, and in some cases it had to do with access,” Chan said. “Fast forward to today, what I find very troubling is recent images on social media of anti-vaxxers protesting at hospitals.”
Chan said that Brock University, which has implemented a campus vaccine mandate, hasn’t been subject to any protests yet. “However, we’ve received emails and we’re seeing the sentiments of a small number of people who don’t want to be vaccinated.” These people, Chan explained, “are not only opposed to vaccines, they’ve also been opposed to wearing masks and to lockdowns. So certainly, this is a movement that is not backed up by any science.”
“At the end of the day, I think the vaccine passports will be a key tool,” Chan opined. “When the province of Ontario announced they would be requiring vaccine passports, the number of vaccine appointments doubled overnight. People who were waiting on the sidelines for whatever reason are going to get vaccinated.”
“Lockdowns are something we all want to avoid,” Chan said, “and the only way to do that is for Canadians to help educate the remaining 20 per cent, to get people vaccinated so we can achieve the herd immunity that many scientists are talking about.”
“We need to bring [vaccination] numbers up for all of our sakes,” Chan said. “If vaccine passports are the way to get more people vaccinated, I’m all for it.”
Further Reading: Despite a lack of provincial guidance, Brock University is one of several Ontario schools that will mandate vaccines for students and staff on campus
LISTEN NOW
Hear the whole story: In this week’s episode of the NPC Podcast, our host Peter Brenders talks with Ken Chan about the decision to implement a vaccine mandate at Brock and his experience working with the Ontario Vaccine Distribution Secretariat.
WEEK 09/14/21
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Verity Pharmaceuticals has received Health Canada approval to distribute its Verity-BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) bladder cancer treatment. Following years of drug shortages and worldwide scarcity of BCG, the approval of Verity as a supplier has bee welcomed by patient groups, including Bladder Cancer Canada.
Endo International and its subsidiaries have agreed to pay US$50 million to settle three lawsuits in New York state related to the marketing and sale of opioids. The deal follows news of a US$26 billion opioid settlement from Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health, agreed to by 42 states.
CANADIAN HEALTHCARE MARKETING HALL OF FAME
The Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame awards were established in 2002 to honour healthcare marketers who have contributed to our vocation and inspire others.
More than 100 honourees have been selected during the past 18 years. In the selection committee's view, they stand for a representative cross-section of the qualities that make our business unique and fulfilling. Each week, NPC Healthbiz Weekly will acknowledge one past Hall of Fame Honouree.
2018 Inductee
Eric Tse
Toronto
Editor’s Note: Eric Tse is now the General Manager and Country Head at Allergan Aesthetics.
The blend of science and business is what drew Eric Tse to the pharmaceutical industry. “My dad is a physician so he introduced me to the industry. I just learned from there,” says Tse, General Manager at Shire Canada. After graduating from Queen’s University, Tse came into the industry as a sales representative for CIBA Vision, which eventually became part of Novartis. During his time at Novartis, he worked his way up to Brand Director for the company’s blockbuster drug Lucentis, all while studying to earn his MBA in General Management from the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management.
During his time at Novartis and more recently at Shire, he has faced some of his biggest challenges and greatest accomplishments. The launch of Lucentis, which was at the time the most successful product launch Novartis had seen, is what Tse considers one of his greatest accomplishments.
Another significant accomplishment was leading the relocation of Shire’s offices from Mississauga and Montreal to a single location in Toronto, all while maintaining the organizational focus on the patients and the business.
As general manager at Shire, Tse says that one of his keys to success is to nurture the right work culture.
“It’s really important to me. We’re a very flat organization. Not just in terms of structure, but also philosophy. One thing that people comment on when they join Shire is that it’s not a hierarchical organization. People don’t wear their egos here. It’s about how do we get together and accomplish our objectives.”
He developed these principles from mentors like Debbie King, who he worked with at Novartis.
“Her culture of developing people, counselling people, coaching people, has had a big impact on me not just from a personal perspective but it has also inspired how I work with others as well.”
At the end of the day, his top priority is his family—his wife Jennifer and their two children—and that’s what enables and motivates him to perform better at work, he says.
STILL LISTENING? TRY ANOTHER PODCAST
And now for something completely different. As part of an educational series on dermatologic concerns in Black skin, Dr. Neil Shear, former Head of Dermatology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and founder of its Drug Safety Clinic, and Dr. Brian Carleton, Senior Clinician Scientist at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, discuss Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), also known as toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). SJS/TEN is a drug-induced disease involving extensive blistering of the skin and a high risk of death—but genetic markers can help predict which patients it may occur. Tune in for a discussion of genetic screening and rare drug reactions.
NEXT WEEK
In the 09/21 edition of the NPC Healthbiz Weekly, a special interview on leadership in pharma—Tiana DiMichele, Director of Business Development at Impres Inc, speaks with Ed Gudaitis, President & CEO of Acerus Pharmaceuticals, and Janine Pajot, VP of Human Resources at Bayer. It’s easy to get your no-charge subscription and have the issue sent to your phone or inbox each Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. sharp.
Stay safe, stay sure, and stay on your game. We’ll see you again next week.