Dr Penttinen is Principal expert on coronaviruses and influenza at the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and currently a technical lead and crisis manager for the organisation’s COVID-19 response. He is a medical doctor with a specialization in public health and an epidemiologist with experience of working for the public and private sectors at local, national and supranational levels. His research interests include surveillance, pandemic preparedness, epidemic intelligence,  respiratory viruses and vaccines.

Prior to joining ECDC in 2009 Dr Penttinen worked with the national public health institutes in Finland and Sweden and with International SOS advising a large public health programme in Papua, Indonesia with components on primary health care, TB, HIV-STI and malaria control. He is active on twitter as @ppenttin.

20 Months of COVID-19: Lessons for Preparedness

Preparedness has been a critical learning for many organisations throughout COVID-19. Dr Pasi Penttinen, Principal Expert Coronavirus and Influenza at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), reflects on the impact of COVID-19 over the past 20 months, the initiatives in place to improve global pandemic preparedness and what to expect throughout the rest of 2021.