Ep. 79: Smart Vaccination Passports - Ain Aaviksoo, MD, MPH (CMO Guardtime)

Health Unchained Podcast

Ain Aaviksoo, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer of Estonia-based Guardtime Health which has rolled out a COVID19 vaccine passport technology called VaccineGuard. Ain has worked as Undersecretary for E-services and Innovation for Estonian government overseeing the digital transformation and innovation of health care, labor and social matters. Dr Aaviksoo obtained MD from University of Tartu and MPH from Harvard University. He has earlier work experience as a physician, senior level civil servant, international level consultant on large system transformation and technology adoption in healthcare, health policy researcher, CEO of public policy think-tank Praxis and as a health-tech entrepreneur. Dr Aaviksoo has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles and contributed into several book chapters on health policy and e-health, he is also regularly presenting as invited keynote speaker on digital services and health care innovation at international events. He is lecturing in various universities on innovation and technology in healthcare. Guest info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ainaaviksoo/ Guardtime Website: https://guardtime.com/ Show notes •Introduction to Ain's background •What drove you to the healthcare industry? •How did you first hear about blockchain technology? •COVID-19 Vaccination rate statistics and updates globally •COVID-19 Vaccine supply chain expectations •What is the vision for Guardtime as a company? •What is the impact of COVID-19 on pharma supply chain and on Guardtime? •Can you briefly describe Guardtime's services/products/platforms and their technology stacks? oMIDA cybersecurity – work with Verizon oZero-Trust system oGuardtime KSI platform oBlockchain Protocols oVaccineGuard What will be the experience for a regular person getting vaccinated? What are your company milestones goals for 2021? •Integration with medical records •Naturally infected/immune people oHSX - Life Sciences oKSI Cash - Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) •Experience working with the Estonian government and the WHO •Any feedback from beta-testers of your platform? •What is Guardtime's business model? •Who are your company partners and major investors? •How would you describe the company culture at Guardtime? Are you hiring? •Outlook for 2021 and beyond •Most influential books you've read – The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick. Team of Teams : New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by Stanley McChrystal •Final Takeaways News Corner https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/02/10/966304438/up-against-mutants-who-says-astrazeneca-vaccine-is-still-a-good-bet. In recent months, there have been more reports of new variants of the coronavirus across different parts of the world. In South Africa, there were plans to distribute millions of AstraZeneca-Oxford covid vaccines (viral vector genetically modified virus type) until some new evidence suggested the vaccine provided “minimal protection” against mild or moderate cases involving the B.1.351 variant also known as 501.V2. The plan would be to still rollout some of the AstraZeneca vaccine but in limited quantities and to monitor recipients closely to see how well it's working. In terms of doses that have so far been purchased, AstraZeneca is currently the world's largest source of COVID vaccines, scheduled to deliver more than 2 billion doses this year. One thing that seems safe to say is getting a vaccine now is better than waiting for a perfect vaccine a year from now. Health Unchained Links Website: https://healthunchained.org Telegram: t.me/healthunchained Twitter: twitter.com/Healthunchaind