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The Doherty Institute welcomes the release of the Commonwealth Government COVID-19 Response Inquiry Final Report and commends the independent panel members who led the review – Ms Robyn Kruk AO (Chair), Professor Catherine Bennett and Dr Angela Jackson – for their astute recommendations.

In particular, we commend the Report for highlighting the critical need for adaptable national pandemic plans, infectious diseases surveillance systems and data sharing and linkage across jurisdictions. In addition, we applaud the Report for highlighting the essential role evidence plays in driving decision making, and the requirement for rapid and transparent synthesis and communication as the evidence evolves.

The Doherty Institute is extremely supportive of an independent Australian Centre for Disease Control, and compliments the Report for identifying the important role as a national authoritative voice on disease prevention and control, utilising strong partnerships with public health and research institutes to provide evidence for decision makers.

However, the Report omitted the important role of technical scientific expertise, innovation and workforce readiness to advance early detection of pathogens, diagnostics and clinical trials, and the need for sovereign capability for discovery, testing and manufacture of vaccines and therapeutics. These recommendations were at the forefront Doherty Institute’s submission to the Inquiry.

These capabilities are central to an effective pandemic response and many other countries are investing significantly in these areas to ensure adequate preparedness.

The Doherty Institute is willing and able to support the Commonwealth Government to address this to ensure we are in a better position for the next pandemic.