How to vaccinate the world’s most vulnerable? Build global partnerships.
Pfizer's partnerships strengthen their ability to deliver vaccines in developing countries.
Pfizer Corporate Responsibility develops programs that help expand global access to medicines by providing direct assistance to underserved populations. Our initiatives include providing product donations and steep discounts that help patients access the medicine they need. We also collaborate with Pfizer business teams and nonprofit organizations to help shape sustainable business models that address affordability and the vast differences in economies around the world.
- Community healthcare workers face many challenges in their work, including often traveling far distances to see their clients
- Pfizer is helping to drive the UN's sustainable development goals through partnerships.
- Pfizer partnered with AMP and the World Health Organization to develop a training program for healthcare workers.
Community healthcare workers are often the only point of contact with the health system in many underserved areas in the developing world. These noble public servants work within the community to bring health coverage closer to people who need it. Millions of babies around the world are at risk every day from vaccine preventable diseases and many of them live in very remote communities. This means that health care workers must sometimes travel long distances over mountains, across desserts and through rivers while carrying vaccine coolers.
These are some of the reasons why Pfizer is proud to partner with organizations that share a vision of increasing the health and well-being of children around the world. Susan Silbermann, Global President of Pfizer Vaccines, recently sat down with Big Think to discuss how the company is helping to improve vaccine access in developing countries.
Pfizer is helping to improve vaccine access
The constraints people face in other countries requires companies to develop more novel and innovative approaches to help improve vaccine access.
So the question for Pfizer was: Tell us what innovating a vaccine means to you?
Silbermann brought a vial to show Big Think what innovation looks like.
"This tiny vial is an incredible testament to scientific innovation. Until 2017, it provided one dose to vaccinate one child. But now it provides four doses and can vaccinate four children. By combining multiple doses into one vial we have reduced the storage space and the shipping requirements."
Innovations like this multi-dose vial are just the beginning of making it easier to get vaccines to children. Here are a few facts that Pfizer wants to help change.
- Sub-saharan Africa bears nearly 25% of the disease burden in the world.
- It only has 3% of the global health workers.
The critical role of health care workers in the developing world
A health care worker administers a vaccine in Malawi.
Photo: Courtesy of Pfizer.
When Pfizer's new multi-dose vial (MDV) became available in 2017 in Gavi countries, it was a priority to ensure health care workers were properly trained. For this, Pfizer partnered up with the AMP and the World Health Organization to develop a pneumococcal conjugate refresher course and new training program for the multi-dose vial.
As part of the partnership program, Pfizer developed a "train the trainer" model that is a tiered system of training. For example, "master trainers" will go on to train the next round of health care workers.
Last year, Pfizer trained over 27,000 health care workers across 15 different countries. And this year, it's extended the program to an additional nine countries with the goal of reaching an additional 17,000 new health care workers by the end of the year.A future dedicated to vaccine development
The overall impact vaccines are having on global public health are astounding. It's been estimated that vaccinations have prevented 26 million cases of childhood infections in the last decade alone.
Right behind clean water, immunizations are the most important health investment we have. Pfizer employees are passionate about vaccine development because they know it will translate into a tremendous public health impact.
Once logistical barriers and other obstacles are overcome, Pfizer believes that we will be working toward building a better future in communities around the world. One the best ways to remove barriers is through working with and supporting partners.
Why partnerships matter
Pfizer supports many projects that work to empower and equip community health workers. It recognizes that supporting health care workers is a critical part of achieving universal health coverage.
Silbermann talked with Big Think about making sure vaccines get to where they are needed.
"We have to make sure that vaccines get to those who need it. I have often said that our job doesn't end when we make a vaccine and ship it to a distribution center. What good is a vaccine if it isn't reaching the people who need it the most?"
Pfizer is a strategic partner of AMP Health (Aspen Management Partnership for Health), a cross sector, public private partnership to strengthen healthcare systems. AMP Health partners with Ministries of Health to help grow community health and immunization programs by providing leadership and management training and has worked in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.
National governments in Sub-Saharan Africa are committed to deploying thousands of community health workers, but often don't have the strategic, managerial, or financial skills to run a large-scale program.
Pfizer believes that professional, supported community health workers play a critical role in reaching underserved populations and that partnering with organizations like AMP Health advances this objective.
The unsung heroes
Vaccines must stay refrigerated as they travel and be stored at very specific temperatures until they are used. Health care workers often worry about the vaccine refrigerators which can be old and if they were to break down the quality of the vaccines could be at risk.
Silbermann told us a story about how a healthcare worker in Ghana ensured vaccines were available in her clinic.
"Let me tell you a story about a healthcare worker in Ghana that we recently met. She works in a clinic in a small village in the Ho region of Ghana which is approximately three hours north of the capital. In her clinic, there is no electricity or running water. These two elements are critical to ensure safe and effective use of medicines. For example, vaccines need to be stored at a specific temperature to maintain their effectiveness and therefore are stored in fridges which are powered by electricity.
"Instead of storing the vaccines in her clinic, the healthcare worker travels one hour each way on the bus to get fresh vaccines and transport them in a cooler. She then works all day at the clinic administering these vaccines and seeing mothers, children and babies. Without the dedication of healthcare workers like this one in Ghana it is very likely that communities of children would not have the opportunity to be vaccinated."
Why is Pfizer so committed to vaccines?
Pfizer colleagues are passionate about vaccine development and innovation because they know it can translate into a tremendous public health impact. Immunization not only saves lives and improves health, it also unlocks the potential of a community—a vaccinated community is not only healthier, research has shown it is stronger and more productive.
Silbermann left us with this thought:
"When I think about the future, I know we can make a significant difference by ensuring that no logistical issue is an obstacle to a child getting vaccinated. But we can't do it alone. We need to work together to build on our experiences and capabilities to make the world a healthier place to live."
Here's what it takes to get vaccines from the lab to the field

Put on a happy face? “Deep acting” associated with improved work life
New research suggests you can't fake your emotional state to improve your work life — you have to feel it.
What is deep acting?
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTQ1NDk2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTY5MzA0Nn0._s7aP25Es1CInq51pbzGrUj3GtOIRWBHZxCBFnbyXY8/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=333%2C-1%2C333%2C-1&height=700" id="ddf09" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9dc42c4d6a8e372ad7b72907b46ecd3f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />Arlie Russell Hochschild (pictured) laid out the concept of emotional labor in her 1983 book, "The Managed Heart."
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
<p>Deep and surface acting are the principal components of emotional labor, a buzz phrase you have likely seen flitting about the Twittersphere. Today, "<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/5ea9f140-f722-4214-bb57-8b84f9418a7e" target="_blank">emotional labor</a>" has been adopted by groups as diverse as family counselors, academic feminists, and corporate CEOs, and each has redefined it with a patented spin. But while the phrase has splintered into a smorgasbord of pop-psychological arguments, its initial usage was more specific.</p><p>First coined by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild in her 1983 book, "<a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520272941/the-managed-heart" target="_blank">The Managed Heart</a>," emotional labor describes the work we do to regulate our emotions on the job. Hochschild's go-to example is the flight attendant, who is tasked with being "nicer than natural" to enhance the customer experience. While at work, flight attendants are expected to smile and be exceedingly helpful even if they are wrestling with personal issues, the passengers are rude, and that one kid just upchucked down the center aisle. Hochschild's counterpart to the flight attendant is the bill collector, who must instead be "nastier than natural."</p><p>Such personas may serve an organization's mission or commercial interests, but if they cause emotional dissonance, they can potentially lead to high emotional costs for the employee—bringing us back to deep and surface acting.</p><p>Deep acting is the process by which people modify their emotions to match their expected role. Deep actors still encounter the negative emotions, but they devise ways to <a href="http://www.selfinjury.bctr.cornell.edu/perch/resources/what-is-emotion-regulationsinfo-brief.pdf" target="_blank">regulate those emotions</a> and return to the desired state. Flight attendants may modify their internal state by talking through harsh emotions (say, with a coworker), focusing on life's benefits (next stop Paris!), physically expressing their desired emotion (smiling and deep breaths), or recontextualizing an inauspicious situation (not the kid's fault he got sick).</p><p>Conversely, surface acting occurs when employees display ersatz emotions to match those expected by their role. These actors are the waiters who smile despite being crushed by the stress of a dinner rush. They are the CEOs who wear a confident swagger despite feelings of inauthenticity. And they are the bouncers who must maintain a steely edge despite humming show tunes in their heart of hearts.</p><p>As we'll see in the research, surface acting can degrade our mental well-being. This deterioration can be especially true of people who must contend with negative emotions or situations inside while displaying an elated mood outside. Hochschild argues such emotional labor can lead to exhaustion and self-estrangement—that is, surface actors erect a bulwark against anger, fear, and stress, but that disconnect estranges them from the emotions that allow them to connect with others and live fulfilling lives.</p>Don't fake it till you make it
<p>Most studies on emotional labor have focused on customer service for the obvious reason that such jobs prescribe emotional states—service with a smile or, if you're in the bouncing business, a scowl. But <a href="https://eller.arizona.edu/people/allison-s-gabriel" target="_blank">Allison Gabriel</a>, associate professor of management and organizations at the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management, wanted to explore how employees used emotional labor strategies in their intra-office interactions and which strategies proved most beneficial.</p><p>"What we wanted to know is whether people choose to engage in emotion regulation when interacting with their co-workers, why they choose to regulate their emotions if there is no formal rule requiring them to do so, and what benefits, if any, they get out of this effort," Gabriel said in <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200117162703.htm" target="_blank">a press release</a>.</p><p>Across three studies, she and her colleagues surveyed more than 2,500 full-time employees on their emotional regulation with coworkers. The survey asked participants to agree or disagree with statements such as "I try to experience the emotions that I show to my coworkers" or "I fake a good mood when interacting with my coworkers." Other statements gauged the outcomes of such strategies—for example, "I feel emotionally drained at work." Participants were drawn from industries as varied as education, engineering, and financial services.</p><p>The results, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fapl0000473" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">published in the Journal of Applied Psychology</a>, revealed four different emotional strategies. "Deep actors" engaged in high levels of deep acting; "low actors" leaned more heavily on surface acting. Meanwhile, "non-actors" engaged in negligible amounts of emotional labor, while "regulators" switched between both. The survey also revealed two drivers for such strategies: prosocial and impression management motives. The former aimed to cultivate positive relationships, the latter to present a positive front.</p><p>The researchers found deep actors were driven by prosocial motives and enjoyed advantages from their strategy of choice. These actors reported lower levels of fatigue, fewer feelings of inauthenticity, improved coworker trust, and advanced progress toward career goals. </p><p>As Gabriel told <a href="https://www.psypost.org/2021/01/new-psychology-research-suggests-deep-acting-can-reduce-fatigue-and-improve-your-work-life-59081" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PsyPost in an interview</a>: "So, it's a win-win-win in terms of feeling good, performing well, and having positive coworker interactions."</p><p>Non-actors did not report the emotional exhaustion of their low-actor peers, but they also didn't enjoy the social gains of the deep actors. Finally, the regulators showed that the flip-flopping between surface and deep acting drained emotional reserves and strained office relationships.</p><p>"I think the 'fake it until you make it' idea suggests a survival tactic at work," Gabriel noted. "Maybe plastering on a smile to simply get out of an interaction is easier in the short run, but long term, it will undermine efforts to improve your health and the relationships you have at work. </p><p>"It all boils down to, 'Let's be nice to each other.' Not only will people feel better, but people's performance and social relationships can also improve."</p>You'll be glad ya' decided to smile
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="88a0a6a8d1c1abfcf7b1aca8e71247c6"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QOSgpq9EGSw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>But as with any research that relies on self-reported data, there are confounders here to untangle. Even during anonymous studies, participants may select socially acceptable answers over honest ones. They may further interpret their goal progress and coworker interactions more favorably than is accurate. And certain work conditions may not produce the same effects, such as toxic work environments or those that require employees to project negative emotions.</p><p>There also remains the question of the causal mechanism. If surface acting—or switching between surface and deep acting—is more mentally taxing than genuinely feeling an emotion, then what physiological process causes this fatigue? <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00151/full" target="_blank">One study published in the <em>Frontiers in Human Neuroscience</em></a><em> </em>measured hemoglobin density in participants' brains using an fNIRS while they expressed emotions facially. The researchers found no significant difference in energy consumed in the prefrontal cortex by those asked to deep act or surface act (though, this study too is limited by a lack of real-life task).<br></p><p>With that said, Gabriel's studies reinforce much of the current research on emotional labor. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2041386611417746" target="_blank">A 2011 meta-analysis</a> found that "discordant emotional labor states" (read: surface acting) were associated with harmful effects on well-being and performance. The analysis found no such consequences for deep acting. <a href="https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0022876" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Another meta-analysis</a> found an association between surface acting and impaired well-being, job attitudes, and performance outcomes. Conversely, deep acting was associated with improved emotional performance.</p><p>So, although there's still much to learn on the emotional labor front, it seems Van Dyke's advice to a Leigh was half correct. We should put on a happy face, but it will <a href="https://bigthink.com/design-for-good/everything-you-should-know-about-happiness-in-one-infographic" target="_self">only help if we can feel it</a>.</p>World's oldest work of art found in a hidden Indonesian valley
Archaeologists discover a cave painting of a wild pig that is now the world's oldest dated work of representational art.
- Archaeologists find a cave painting of a wild pig that is at least 45,500 years old.
- The painting is the earliest known work of representational art.
- The discovery was made in a remote valley on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
Oldest Cave Art Found in Sulawesi
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a9734e306f0914bfdcbe79a1e317a7f0"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b-wAYtBxn7E?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>What can Avicenna teach us about the mind-body problem?
The Persian polymath and philosopher of the Islamic Golden Age teaches us about self-awareness.



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