Disparities in China’s Urban and Rural Healthcare

In an interview with Drum Tower, a podcast by The Economist, Dr. Winnie Yip discusses the historical disparities between the quality of urban and rural healthcare in China—particularly for primary care—and what the Chinese administration has done in recent decades in response to these issues. One of Dr. Winnie Yip’s primary areas of expertise and research is in understanding health system reform in rural China, including the role of “barefoot…

Perspectives on China’s Changing COVID Landscape

In December 2022, China announced several changes to their COVID-19 policies. Dr. Winnie Yip, Professor of Global Health Policy and Economics, spoke with several major U.S.-based media outlets to discuss indications of the Chinese government’s changing direction in regard to its longstanding “Zero-COVID” approach, as well as critical reopening strategies the government could employ in order to safely and effectively do so. Dr. Yip, who is also Faculty Director of…

China’s COVID-19 Policy Response

At an LSE event entitled “China and the World in the Post-COVID Era,” Dr. Winnie Yip, Professor of Global Health Policy and Economics, shared her insights on China’s COVID-19 policy response. Dr. Yip highlighted the continued uncertainty that Chinese society–and the world as a whole–faces as a result of COVID and the cautious approach that the government has taken in maintaining its zero-COVID policy. She suggests that the question is not…

Wary of coronavirus vaccines, some Chinese citizens are ‘opting out’ (Prof. Winnie Yip quoted in The World)

Countries across the globe are wrestling with the complexities of rolling out vaccination programs, but as Dr. Winnie Yip, Professor of Global Health Policy and Economics, shared with The World, “The fact that China was able to control [the pandemic] allows them to have a slower schedule on the vaccine.” At the same time, China’s relative success in curbing the spread of COVID-19 may ultimately complicate its long-term vaccination efforts. Some…

Masks Against the Coronavirus (Prof. Winnie Yip interviewed by BBC News)

In an interview with Spanish-language BBC News Mundo (part of the BBC World Service’s foreign language offerings), Dr. Winnie Yip discusses the impact personal actions can have on broader social well-being and explores differences in the attitudes seen across the United States and Asia in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Dr. Yip was in Hong Kong in January when information about COVID-19 began to spread and noticed that media outlets…

How Taiwan beat the coronavirus (Prof. William Hsiao on CNBC News)

Summary CNBC.com looked at how places around the world have tackled COVID-19. Taiwan, the third subject of the series, has confirmed 451 COVID-19 cases and seven deaths in a population of 23.7 million. Taiwan had a plan in place for years, which involved quarantines, contact tracing and wide availability of masks, among other things. William Hsiao, emeritus professor of economics in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the…

After the COVID-19 epidemic, China should strengthen basic medical care (Prof. William Hsiao in China Philanthropist Magazine)

Summary The coronavirus epidemic has made public health infrastructure a focal topic in China. To this end, China Philanthropist Magazine recently interviewed Professor William Hsiao, member of the American Academy of Sciences and a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He highlighted that while China has renewed its proposal to build a strong public health system after COVID-19 is under control, it is important for experts…

The new coronavirus will not disappear like SARS, and a vaccine is the only hope (Prof. William Hsiao in China Philanthropist Magazine)

Summary Recently, Dr. William Hsiao, an academic of the American Academy of Sciences and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, pointed out in an interview with China Philanthropist Magazine (April 18, 2020) that, “The new coronavirus will not disappear like SARS. Our only hope is that a vaccine against this virus can be developed.” This epidemic was a big test for China and the United States, and…

Understanding China’s coronavirus numbers (Professor Winnie Yip on PRI’s The World)

China has reported no new locally-transmitted cases, only new infections that originated outside the country. Host Marco Werman speaks with Professor Winnie Yip, at the Harvard School of Public Health about the significance of this milestone. The World | Boston, a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRX, and WGBH Thursday, March 19, 2020 – 4:25 pm Listen here!

BBC World Service on lessons learned from China (Professor Winnie Yip on BBC Newshour)

BBC Newshour, March 12, 2020 Countries have been responding in very different ways Europe has been reacting to the global outbreak of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has taken a minimalist approach compared to other governments who are reacting very differently. We question: who is getting it right? Also on the programme: we hear from the two countries hardest hit by COVID-19. Dr. Winnie Yip speaks at 45 minutes…