President's Message: 2021, A Challenging Year for Everyone
2021 was a challenging year for everyone, and PDA was not an exception. Last year at this time I shared the impact that the pandemic had on PDA in 2020. We were looking forward to a brighter 2021, and in some ways it was better. Vaccines for COVID were developed, proven, and released in record speed, and our community had a significant role in making that possible.
We also brought together industry, suppliers and regulators in a joint effort to address these challenges. Nonetheless, the pandemic continued throughout 2021 and into the present year. We have had positive signs, followed by resurgence of infections and the resulting societal and human impact. For PDA, it had the effect of making us postpone our return to in-person gatherings, and shift (again) to all-virtual. Of more importance has been the staggering human cost, that as of January 27, 2022, has resulted in over 5.5 million deaths, and more than 364 million cases worldwide. In addition to the terrible health impacts, the control measures that are continuing to be implemented have affected many more people’s livelihood and social activity.
Through it all, we have striven to maintain the support for you, our members. Through your efforts, we continued to bring valuable information and content to members and non-members worldwide.
In 2021 we have had more than 3,500 people participate in virtual conferences and workshops worldwide, and we have provided training to almost 5,000 people, in both virtual and F2F sessions. Our science and regulatory efforts yielded two new ANSI standards, 11 other technical publications, and 13 regulatory comments.
As we look forward to 2022, we are still dealing with the pandemic, but we are beginning to see hopeful signs. We are planning to return to in person events this year. We hear from our members that are they anxious for this interaction, and “zoom fatigue” is a real and growing issue. Our technical pipeline is full, with more than ten technical documents on track to be completed in 2022. We will continue Connecting People, Science and Regulation® with your help and support. Remember, this is your association. I look forward to hearing from you in the coming year. Happy New Year.
Be safe, be positive and be proud of your contributions. Thank you for all you do!
Best Regards, Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Meilleures salutations, Distinti saluti, Saludos cordials, よろし,
Richard Johnson, President & CEO