Dr Magda Campins appointed chair of the Covid-19 Scientific Advisory Committee by the Department of Health for her pandemic control approach

Dr Magda Campins, head of the Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology Department at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital and the Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) has been appointed chair of the Covid-19 Scientific Advisory Committee: an advisory body for pandemic control strategies in Catalonia set up by the Department of Health that will act with independent judgement in the exercise of its functions.

The Committee will have 32 members besides the chair, four of whom are professionals at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital. These are Dr Tomàs Pumarola, head of the Microbiology Research Group at the VHIR and head of the Microbiology Department at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital; Dr Anna Suy, principal investigator of the Maternal and Foetal Medicine Research Group at the VHIR and head of the Obstetrics Department at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital; Dr Benito Almirante, head of the Infectious Diseases Research Group at the VHIR and specialist in Infectious Diseases; and Dr Antoni Soriano, principal investigator of the Infections in Immunocompromised Paediatric Patient Research Group at the VHIR and physician in the Paediatric Infectious Pathology and Immunodeficiency Unit at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital.

In recent months, the Department of Health and the Public Health Secretariat have worked continuously to advise on different strategies for controlling the pandemic, doing so in contact with various experts from around the country. In order to formally set up this Advisory Committee, the Catalan Minister of Health, Josep Maria Argimon, has decided to go one step further and approve its creation.

The Covid-19 Scientific Advisory Committee will act as a technical advisory body, based on the scientific knowledge of its constituent members, in determining the Department of Health’s Covid-19 control strategies. It will also issue recommendations and proposals on how to tackle the problems brought about by the pandemic.

It will be comprised of a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 35 members, who will be professionals of renowned prestige in the fields of healthcare, medicine, health sciences as well as social, legal and economic sciences. All members will be appointed for a period of three years.

Independence of judgement in the functioning of the Committee is a guarantee of service to the public. For this reason, its composition is diverse enough so as to ensure that individuals with proven scientific knowledge from different professionals and fields of work can help to shape the activity of the committee.

To ensure that the Committee is operational, it is envisaged that, in addition to plenary sessions, it will also act in working committees. The committee shall meet in ordinary session at least once every quarter, and in extraordinary session whenever required by the Minister of Health or the Public Health Secretary.

This Committee is being created in accordance with recommendations issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), which has indicated that it is good practice for governments to rely on an independent scientific advisory committee to manage the pandemic.

Composition of the COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Committee

Chair: Magda Campins Martí

Secretary:  Montserrat Martinez Marcos (Public Health Secretary)

Members:

1.        Daniel Prieto-Alhambra

2.        Sílvia de Sanjose Llongueras

3.        Julià Blanco Arbués

4.        Antoni Plasència Taradach

5.        Antoni Trilla García

6.        Tomàs Pumarola Suñé

7.        Oriol Mitjà Villar

8.        Miquel Pujol Rojo

9.        Clara Prats Soler

10.      Àlex Arenas Moreno

11.      Yoseba Cánovas Zaldua

12.      Anna Suy Franch

13.      Anna Forcada Arcarons

14.      Jaume Sellarès Sallàs

15.      Salvador Macip Maresma

16.      Juan Pablo Horcajada Gallego

17.      Joaquin Lopez-Contreras González

18.      Robert Güerri Fernández

19.      Josep M Jansà López del Vallado

20.      Alba Vilajeliu Balagué

21.      Begoña Roman Maestre

22.      Guillem López Casasnovas

23.      Antoni Soriano Arandes

24.      Albert Bosch Navarro

25.      Joaquim Sagalès Coma

26.      Coral Fernandez Solana

27.      Antoni Sisò Almirall

28.      Josep Corbella Domenech

29.      Francesc Fina Avilès

30.      Jordi Casabona i Barbarà

31.      Benito Almirante Gragera

32.      Roger Paredes Derios