With the arrival of vaccines, is this the beginning of the end of the pandemic?
Dr Philippe Guibert - We're only at the very beginning of the story. If the first vaccines prove to be as effective as preliminary studies show, and if countries organise appropriate vaccination campaigns, the results will only start to show after a few months. It will take time for protection to develop at an individual level, then collectively at the level of a country, then a region, and finally at a global level.
Do you think there could be any dangers associated with these new vaccines?
P. G. - We're confident about this progress. There is nothing to suggest that shortcuts are being taken to promote business at the expense of health and safety. Those that have been adopted by the European Union and France come from laboratories that will not take any shortcuts. no ill-considered risks a priori with their products. Now that the marketing applications have been filed, the regulatory authorities will do their job.
Will vaccination help international travel to pick up again?
P. G. - The vaccines will help us get back on the road, but it's not the only thing we have at our disposal. Tests that can determine in a matter of minutes whether a person is contagious are another major help. With a series of tests positioned at the right time - For example, a PCR test 72 hours before departure, then a rapid test at the airport and another on arrival - we can ensure that a person entering a country is not a carrier of the virus and can be exempted from quarantine. Experiments are under way on certain airlines. After this pilot phase, we can imagine that, in time, protocols of this kind will be widely implemented. All this, coupled with a digital health passport who can testify to these negative tests, could allow people to resume travelling with confidence, without waiting for the vaccination to take effect.
Vaccines are going to help us get back on the road, but they're not the only thing we have at our disposal.
What form might these digital health passports take?
P. G. - Backed by technology blockchainDigital health passports will make it possible to prove to any administrative authority that its owner has been tested in an accredited laboratory. All with a inviolable informationbut without sharing any confidential medical information. International SOS is working on this issue by developing AOK Passa digital health passport to make it easier to resume international travel.
Technology is therefore essential to this system.
P. G. - I'm convinced of it. Confidence has to be rebuilt today, whether it's to board a plane, cross a border, take part in a conference or even hold a board meeting. We believe that technology will make it possible to restore the confidence needed to revive travel and professional meetings. Some of the advances made possible by the pandemic may even last. In the future, instead of the little yellow booklet we all have, which can be falsified, a tamper-proof passport will prove to the authorities that it's really you and that you have been vaccinated against yellow fever or any other disease, as required for entry into my country.
You talk about rebuilding trust. Do companies have a role to play in this?
P. G. - It's also one of their priorities. Companies have a duty to protect the physical and mental health of their employees, but also to support their commitment and productivity. In this context, the priority is the safety of the workplace, so that it is considered so safe that the risk of being contaminated there is much lower than when going shopping. But trust also means the importance given to the human dimension and support for employees. Either because they have been infected by the virus, or because they are experiencing difficulties in their daily lives. For example, during the initial containment period, some companies organised activities for their employees' children. This may sound a little paternalistic, but it's also a way of saying to them: "we know you're having difficulties, and this is one small thing we can do right now to help you".
How does International SOS fit into this development?
P. G. - Our mission of providing advice and assistance hasn't changed. There are always employees who travel and who need assistance. It's even more complex to manage these days, with the increase in administrative and regulatory constraints. While the number of trips has fallen considerably, to the point where only essential travellers are concerned, they now need five times as much advice and support for each trip. In the same way, demand for information is still very high. From the transmission of the virus and the effectiveness of masks in the early days, questions now revolve around vaccination against Covid-19 and influenza, but also around the validity of tests and the resumption of travel. Our role is to distil this 'infodemia', to decant what is appropriate so that companies can make decisions. However, companies' exposure to health and safety risks is not confined to people on the move and expatriates, but also to the general public. to all their employees. This is something that we at International SOS have learned from this crisis.
What does this mean in practice?
P. G. - This means that we are taking on a new role, that of providing support for all the employees in a company. We hardly ever diddomestic assistance We have expanded our training and support services, particularly for local employees. So we have expanded our training and support services, particularly for local employees. From now on, any manager can call us directly for team-related problems, for example. Companies are turning to us to talk to their employees and their families about the pandemic through simple information sessions giving clear, reliable and independent messages, whether about the arrival of the vaccines or the new tests. These companies believe that ensuring that their employees and their families live through this crisis as calmly as possible is part of their duty to protect.
One in three risk professionals believe that mental health issues will continue to disrupt employee engagement and productivity in 2021.
In a recent study, International SOS highlights an important but often neglected risk factor: mental health.
P. G. - In our view, this is one of the key lessons to be learned from this pandemic. This crisis has revealed the extent to which individuals can be vulnerable in a context where the organisation of work and access to healthcare and basic necessities have been disrupted. Added to this are employees' economic concerns about their jobs and their company's ability to cope with the crisis. The result today is situations of distressThis can lead to stress, sleep problems or anxiety on a personal level. Within the company, it can also have an impact on the sense of belonging and involvement, and in turn on productivity. Our study reveals that one in three risk professionals believe that mental health problems will continue to cause disruption in employee engagement and productivity in 2021.
How should companies respond to this risk?
P. G. - Companies need to find ways of controlling it. There's a lot of talk about their resilience in the face of this crisis, about their ability to get through it and emerge better armed. But at the end of the day, this notion of resilience depends first and foremost on the resilience of their employees. Companies had business continuity plans in place in the event of a major crisis, but they probably didn't focus enough on the resilience of individual employees. We expect this to continue to be a priority for businesses in 2021.
Do you think the widespread use of teleworking could have adverse effects on employee health?
P. G. - It's an appropriate solution in many situations, but it's not the only one. not optimal at 100%. It's very practical when you have a separate, quiet room with a good connection. But teleworking becomes complicated when you have children to look after or when you don't have a place of your own to concentrate. What's more, some people who are more extroverted need contact with others and are destabilised by this isolation. Companies are starting to think about this in order to find the right balance and keep their teams united and committed.
