Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Creation of the Alliance Pasteur Mérieux International
Two major French players in the fight against infectious diseases join forces to improve public health in vulnerable countries
September 24, 2019, Lyon (France)
The Institut Pasteur and the Mérieux Foundation announce the formation of an alliance to strengthen public health systems in limited resource settings and epidemic preparedness in the face of an ever-changing infectious disease threat. The agreement signed by Christian Vigouroux, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institut Pasteur, and Alain Mérieux, President of the Mérieux Foundation, accompanied by Stewart Cole, President of the Institut Pasteur and Bernard Sinou, Interim Director General of the Mérieux Foundation, brings together two major players in the fields of research and public health.

With a long experience in the field, working with the Institut Pasteur International Network and the Mérieux Foundation’s GABRIEL network, the two partners have already collaborated on close to a dozen international projects, demonstrating their complementary expertise. This agreement will strengthen synergies between their networks, bringing together over 50 centers on five continents.

As a platform recognized by public authorities and international organizations, the alliance will be poised to build projects, with public and private funding, to improve public health in the most vulnerable regions.

It will therefore help support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for global health.

The alliance, known as the Alliance Pasteur Mérieux International, will be backed by a foundation, created by the two partners and placed under the aegis of the Institut Pasteur. This will make it possible to jointly manage projects and provide a main focal point for funders from the public and private sectors, from France and abroad.

“The Institut Pasteur embodies scientific excellence and a Pasteurian tradition that has brought French medicine to all parts of the world,” said Alain Mérieux, President of the Mérieux Foundation. “The Mérieux Foundation, moreover, brings a very strong understanding of the field and the power of its network of sentinel laboratories, created in partnership with local public health authorities.”

“The Institut Pasteur’s commitment to this alliance is based on its expertise in responding to health crises in terms of research, capacity building through training, and cooperation with local stakeholders, thus contributing to the improvement of surveillance and warning systems in the concerned countries,” declared Christian Vigouroux, Chairman of the Institut Pasteur Board of Directors.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Multilateral agencies launch a joint plan to boost global health goals
Health, development and humanitarian agencies will collaborate for greater efficiency and more streamlined support to countries to deliver universal health coverage and achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals targets

New York | Joint news release | 24 September 2019 – Today at the United Nations General Assembly, 12 multilateral agencies launched a joint plan to better support countries over the next 10 years to accelerate progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Developed over 18 months, Stronger Collaboration, Better Health: Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All outlines how a dozen multilateral health, development and humanitarian agencies will collaborate to be more efficient and provide more streamlined support to countries to deliver universal health coverage and achieve the health-related SDG targets.

Healthy people are essential for sustainable development and for ending poverty, promoting peaceful and inclusive societies as well as protecting the environment. Over the last few decades, significant gains have been made in key areas of health, but the 2030 targets will not be met without redoubled efforts.

“The plan is called, ‘Stronger Collaboration, Better Health’ for a reason,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “Although collaboration is the path, impact is the destination. The release of this plan is the beginning, not the end, of that path.”

Universal health coverage is key to meeting the health-related goals and addressing health inequities. If trends continue, up to 5 billion of the world’s population will not be covered by essential health services in 2030, as highlighted in the Universal Health Coverage: Global Monitoring Report, released last week by WHO. To leave no one behind, countries need to address health inequities. Improved collaboration and coordination can help countries tackle complex health challenges and bring innovative solutions.

Together, the 12 agencies contribute nearly one-third of all development assistance to health. Under the Global Action Plan, the agencies commit to strengthening their collaboration to:
:: Engage with countries better to identify priorities, plan and implement together;

:: Accelerate progress in countries through joint actions under 7 accelerator themes, which represent common challenges for many countries and where the agencies’ mandates, expertise and resources offer solutions, namely: 1) Primary health care 2) Sustainable health financing 3) Community and civil society engagement 4) Determinants of health 5) Innovative programming in fragile and vulnerable settings and for disease outbreak responses 6) Research and development, innovation and access, and 7) Data and digital health. They will also work together to advance gender equality and support the delivery of global public goods;

:: Align by harmonizing their operational and financial strategies and policies in support of countries to increase efficiency and reduce the burden on countries; and

:: Account, by reviewing progress and learning together to enhance shared accountability.

Governments are setting priorities, developing implementation plans and intensifying efforts to achieve the health-related SDG targets. Demand from countries for the Global Action Plan is growing. “Achieving the health-related SDG goals is key for Nepal. Strengthening primary health care and enhancing data utilization for evidence-based planning and decision-making are two accelerators that will help bring us closer to achieving the SDG goals,” said Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr Upendra Yadav.

Through the Global Action Plan, the agencies will help countries deliver on international commitments in addition to the SDGs, such as those made in Astana on primary health care and at the UN General Assembly High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage this week in New York.

Coordinated by WHO, the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All, is in response to a call from Germany, Ghana and Norway, with support from the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, for more effective collaboration and coordination among global health organizations to achieve the health-related SDGs.

The 12 signatory agencies to the plan are Gavi, The GFF, the Global Fund, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNITAID, UN Women, World Bank Group, WFP and WHO.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Countries must invest at least 1% more of GDP on primary health care to eliminate glaring coverage gaps – WHO
At current rates of progress up to 5 billion people will miss out on health care in 2030
22 September 2019 News release
Countries must increase spending on primary healthcare by at least 1% of their gross domestic product (GDP) if the world is to close glaring coverage gaps and meet health targets agreed in 2015, says a new report from the World Health Organization and partners on the eve of a UN General Assembly high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage.

They must also intensify efforts to expand services countrywide.

The world will need to double health coverage between now and 2030, according to the Universal Health Coverage Monitoring Report. It warns that if current trends continue, up to 5 billion people will still be unable to access health care in 2030 – the deadline world leaders have set for achieving universal health coverage. Most of those people are poor and already disadvantaged.

Primary health care key to health for all
“If we are really serious about achieving universal health coverage and improving people’s lives, we must get serious about primary health care,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “That means providing essential health services like immunization, antenatal care, healthy lifestyle advice as close to home as possible – and making sure people do not have to pay for this care out of their own pockets.”

Investing an additional USD200 billion a year on scaling up primary health care across low and middle-income countries would potentially save 60 million lives, increase average life expectancy by 3.7 years by 2030, and contribute significantly to socio-economic development. It would represent about 3% increase on the USD7.5 trillion already spent on health globally each year….

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Using Data to Save Lives: The Rockefeller Foundation and Partners Launch $100 Million Precision Public Health Initiative
Initiative Aims to Prevent 6 Million Deaths by 2030
Brings Data Science and Machine Learning to Community Health Systems and Frontline Workers

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The Rockefeller Foundation and leading global health partners announced today a $100 million Precision Public Health initiative to empower community health systems and frontline health workers with the latest data science innovations, including more accurate and precise decision-making tools based on large, integrated datasets, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. The initiative aims to prevent 6 million deaths in 10 countries by 2030, by enabling frontline health workers with simple, inexpensive data analytic tools.

This initiative will address the reality that data science and new innovations are not reaching the people who need them most. The Precision Public Health initiative will leverage technologies that are transforming health in wealthy countries to dramatically reduce preventable maternal and child deaths. Partners and collaborators for this initiative include UNICEF; the World Health Organization; The Global Fund; the Global Financing Facility supported by The World Bank Group; and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage advances in data science and technology that have enriched the lives of society’s most privileged, and transform health for those left behind around the world,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. “Working together, we can close the health inequity gap by driving innovation and investment to save millions of lives.”

The initiative will build upon a number of similar efforts on a smaller scale that have already shown encouraging results in applying data science to better deploy life-saving health tools. These include developing real-time risk maps to direct frontline health workers to areas of greatest need, and analyzing non-health data like climate patterns or social media trends to predict and better address health emergencies weeks in advance.

The Rockefeller Foundation-UNICEF Partnership
This initiative will begin in India and Uganda and expand to eight additional countries by 2030.  The work in India and Uganda will focus on reducing maternal and child mortality through a partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation and UNICEF. The integration and analysis of disparate data will enable decentralized decision-making and near real-time monitoring across the primary and community health systems to accelerate the impact of interventions on maternal and child health outcomes. Best practices and key learnings will be applied in additional countries through the regional UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Office to accelerate progress and scale.

“Data is a powerful tool that can help us make life-saving decisions and prevent epidemics before they happen,” said Ms. Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF. “Timely, reliable, and disaggregated data, underpinned by a commitment to universal health coverage, can ensure that vulnerable women, children, and young people get the care they need at the right place and the right time.”…

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

UM School Of Medicine’s Center For Vaccine Development And Global Health Receives NIH Contract Of Up To More Than $200 Million For Influenza Research
Dr. Kathleen Neuzil to Lead Major Research Collaborative with Ultimate Goal of Protecting Millions Against Emerging Influenza Strains
BALTIMORE, Sept. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — – Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced that CVD has been awarded a contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), with total funding up to more than $200 million over seven years if all contract options are exercised.

This research contract is one of the largest ever awarded to UMSOM and includes an initial award of approximately $2.5 million to conduct clinical testing of influenza vaccines. Total funding over seven years could be as much as $201 million if all options are exercised in the NIAID contract.

CVD’s research is aimed at testing improved seasonal influenza vaccines and conducting controlled human influenza challenge studies for NIAID Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Center (CIVICs) program, which has the ultimate goal of developing a universal vaccine to protect against emerging influenza strains as well as improvements to current seasonal vaccines.

The seven-year contract will be led by CVD’s Dr. Neuzil, who is one of the world’s leading and preeminent research scientists and advocates in the area of vaccine development and policy. For more than four decades, CVD has worked domestically and internationally to develop, test and deploy vaccines to prevent and protect against a range of diseases, such as influenza, cholera, typhoid fever, malaria, shigellosis (bacillary dysentery), and other infectious diseases. CVD has also taken global leadership roles in vaccines to protect against emerging pathogens such as Zika and Ebola virus…

Emergencies

Ebola – DRC+
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Ebola Outbreak in DRC 60: 24 September 2019
Situation Update
In the past week, from 16 to 22 September, 39 new confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases, with an additional 22 deaths, have been reported from nine health zones in three affected provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Pockets of insecurity in the affected areas, along with localised security incidents, continue to hinder response activities, including safe and dignified burials (SDB), vaccination, contact tracing and case reporting. For instance, a recent major security incident in Lwemba, within Mandima health zone is still preventing response activities in this area. Overall, these incidents underscore the need for continued and proactive engagement and sensitizing of local communities, especially in the high risk areas that may not currently be affected…

…The Democratic Republic of the Congo health authorities have endorsed the use of a second investigational Ebola vaccine with at-risk populations in areas that do not have active EVD transmission. Regular vaccination activities in EVD-affected areas will continue…

Implementation of ring vaccination protocol
As of 23 September 2019, 225 719 people at risk have consented to and received the rVSV-ZEBOV-GP Ebola vaccine. Of those, 55 801 are contacts and 154 689 contacts-of-contacts. The total number of vaccines includes 47 533 HCWs/FLWs.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo health authorities have endorsed the use of a second investigational Ebola vaccine, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. This vaccine, which is administered as a two-dose course, 56 days apart, will be circulated in at-risk populations in areas that do not have active EVD transmission. Regular vaccination activities in EVD-affected areas will continue. The Merck/MSD vaccine will continue to be provided to all people at high risk of Ebola infection including those who have been in contact with a person confirmed to have Ebola, all contacts of contacts, and others determined to be at high risk of contracting Ebola…

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Second Ebola vaccine to complement “ring vaccination” given green light in DRC
23 September 2019 Statement Geneva, Switzerland
The health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have announced plans to introduce a second experimental Ebola vaccine, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, from mid- October. This vaccine, which is given as a 2-dose course, 56 days apart, will be provided under approved protocols to targeted at-risk populations in areas that do not have active Ebola transmission as an additional tool to extend protection against the virus.

“The DRC authorities, in deciding to deploy the second experimental vaccine to extend protection against this deadly virus, have once again shown leadership and their determination to end this outbreak as soon as possible,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“The evaluation of the second Ebola vaccine will help ensure that we have potentially an additional tool to prevent the expansion of the outbreak and also a potential tool to protect populations before outbreaks hit areas at risk,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will complement the current vaccine (rVSV-ZEBOV-GP, manufactured by Merck), which has proven highly effective and safe, and which has helped protect thousands of lives. The Merck vaccine will continue to be provided to all people at high risk of Ebola infection including those who have been in contact with a person confirmed to have Ebola, all contacts of contacts, and others determined to be at high risk of contracting Ebola. To date over 223,000 people have received this vaccination during the current outbreak.

In May 2019, WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) reviewed use of vaccines in the ongoing Ebola outbreak and issued recommendations. These included adjusting the dose of the Merck vaccine, evaluating a second vaccine under appropriate protocols, changing strategies when insecurity makes it difficult to reach people – such as providing pop-up vaccination stations — and increasing the number of people vaccinated within communities with ongoing transmission, sometimes vaccinating whole villages.

“In everything we do, we are driven by science,” Dr Tedros said. “The advice we were given by SAGE in May has been applied, always taking into account community needs and preferences, as we know this will make the approach more effective. The changes made have saved thousands of lives in this outbreak.”

New therapeutics and better use of treatment protocols have also saved many lives. “To date, 973 people have been successfully treated and released from Ebola treatment centres, and we expect that the 1000th survivor will return to his or her community in the coming weeks,” Dr Moeti said.

Innovative vaccine strategies
The introduction of the second experimental vaccine is in line with the SAGE recommendations as are a number of other innovations.

The main vaccination strategy used with the rVSV-ZEBOV-GP vaccine is a ‘ring strategy’ where all people who have come into contact with someone with a confirmed case of Ebola are given the vaccine. Where people are stigmatized or feel under threat protected, temporary ‘pop-up’, vaccination sites are set up, often at health posts, rather than near the homes of individuals infected with Ebola. This allows people to come for vaccination at a safe, more anonymous site, but also increases protection for vaccinators in areas where there is ongoing conflict and insecurity.

Another approach being used to offer vaccination for people at high risk of contracting Ebola is ‘targeted geographic vaccination’. This strategy involves vaccinating everyone in the neighbourhood, or village, rather than vaccinating only the known contacts and contacts of contacts. Targeted geographic vaccination was used successfully when the outbreak spread to Chowe in South Kivu. Over 90 percent of people who are offered vaccination accept it. Since the start of the outbreak WHO and partners have worked to recruit and train Congolese nationals from within Ebola-affected communities as vaccinators to increase community acceptance and also transfer skills to the region. Now, the majority of ring vaccination team members are trained healthcare workers, doctors and medical students from affected communities who speak local languages and understand community concerns.

There are enough vaccine doses on the ground to meet the current needs, with WHO logisticians ensuring a minimum supply of 10,000 doses at all times, and overall supplies of the vaccine are being constantly monitored. Considering the current number of cases being reported and the doses required to vaccinate around each case, the doses available of the rVSV-ZEBOV-GP vaccine are considered sufficient. Merck has provided WHO with 245,000 doses for DRC and neighbouring countries and built a stockpile of 190,000 doses that are ready to send to DRC. Merck also aims to release 650,000 doses over the next six to 18 months under its replenishment strategy. Under the current SAGE recommendations this means that there are 390,000 doses currently and additional 1.3 million doses will be available.

“The Merck vaccine is highly efficacious, and we’ll soon have a second vaccine to increase the number of those being protected against the virus”, said Dr Tedros. “But vaccine and therapeutics are only some of the tools — the key to ending the outbreak is community ownership. With the communities fully engaged, and with all partners stepping up and rallying behind our common goal, we can and will end this outbreak.”

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Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – DRC Ebola outbreaks
Independent Ebola vaccination committee is needed to overcome lack of WHO transparency
Press Release 23 Sep 2019
:: The current Ebola outbreak has a mortality rate comparable to the West Africa outbreak, despite new treatments and vaccines being available.
:: Not enough eligible people have been vaccinated, one reason for which is WHO’s strict limits on the number of doses used in the field.
:: We call for the establishment of an international, independent committee to transparently manage Ebola vaccine stocks and their use.

…WHO tightly controlling vaccine supplies and access
MSF’s efforts to expand access to vaccination, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and according to the recommendations of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) in May 2019, have been frustrated by the tight controls on supply and eligibility criteria imposed by WHO. MSF vaccination teams have often been forced to remain on standby in North Kivu, waiting to receive a handful of doses reserved to people on a pre-defined list.

“Time is of the essence in an outbreak: medical teams should be able to rapidly provide treatments or vaccines based on what they see on the ground,” says [Dr Natalie Roberts, MSF Emergency Coordinator. “If a mother has been caring for her sick child who is then diagnosed with Ebola, not only do we want to diagnose and treat the child, but also we also want to provide the mother with post-exposure prophylaxis that could potentially prevent her from developing the disease, and vaccinate her whole community so that if she does get sick, they will have already developed immunity.”

“But our capacity to carry out real-time assessments and react accordingly is severely undermined by a rigid system which is hard to comprehend,” Dr Roberts says. “It’s like giving firefighters a bucket of water to put out a fire, but only allowing them to use one cup of water a day. Every day we see known contacts of confirmed Ebola patients who have not received their dose despite being eligible for vaccination.”

Such restrictions seem unjustified: rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine has demonstrated a good safety profile and a high level of protection against the virus in a Phase-3 clinical trial in Guinea in 2015. In the absence of regulatory approval, the Congolese Ministry of Health and WHO allowed the vaccine to be used under an ‘Expanded Access’ framework. Manufacturer Merck recently stated that in addition to the 245,000 doses already delivered to WHO, they are ready to ship another 190,000 doses if required, and that 650,000 additional doses will be available over the next six to 18 months.

Independent coordination committee needed to manage vaccines
“To allow for the best possible use of experimental tools in an outbreak context, transparency is key,” continues Dr Roberts. “How can we support the Congolese authorities in using these tools, how can we expect the Congolese people to trust a system that is not even transparent to front-line health workers like MSF?”

Médecins Sans Frontières calls for the urgent creation of an independent, international coordination committee, based on the model of the International Coordination Group created in 1997 composed of MSF, the International Federation of Red Cross, UNICEF and WHO, which proved successful in managing massive meningitis, cholera and yellow fever outbreaks with limited vaccine supplies. The committee would bring partners together to improve coordination on vaccination, increase transparency in stock management, share data, foster an open dialogue with the manufacturers and ultimately ensure that the vaccine is provided to all those most at risk of being exposed to the virus.

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POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 25 September 2019
:: The Global Polio Eradication Initiative and the Pakistan Polio Programme are looking for innovative ways to help quickly detect, control and/or respond to the spread of anti-vaccination propaganda on social media in an urban population. For more information on how to join this collective effort  please click here.
:: Look through the lives of polio vaccinators in Somaliland as they reach out to vaccinate nomadic communities.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Afghanistan — one wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1)- positive environmental sample;
:: Pakistan — four WPV1 cases and seven WPV1-positive environmental samples;
:: Nigeria — one circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2)- positive case;
:: Angola — four cVDPV2 cases;
:: Myanmar — two cVDPV1 cases.

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Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 28 Sep 2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola Outbreak in DRC 60: 24 September 2019
:: WHO and partners launch emergency vaccination campaign to help contain world’s largest measles outbreak 25 September 2019 [link not operative at inquiry]

Mozambique floods
:: Dr Joaquim da Silva Physician and post-emergency WHO operations officer in Sofala province
25 September 2019

South Sudan
:: South Sudan validates and costs its National Action Plan for Health Security 26 Sep 2019
With support from the World Health Organization (WHO), South Sudan has developed and costed a National Action Plan for Health Security, which is a comprehensive, multisectoral blueprint to strengthen the country’s core capabilities to manage health risks (as well as save lives and avoid interference to international trade and travel) during emergency situations, as required by the legally binding International Health Regulations (2005).

Syrian Arab Republic
:: WHO statement on mortality in Al Hol camp in Syrian Arab Republic 22 September 2019
:: Greater support needed to ensure accessible quality health services for a quarter of a million Syrian refugees in Iraq 22 September 2019

Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 28 Sep 2019]

Measles in Europe
:: WHO urges investments to stop measles transmission in Europe 24-09-2019
The first-ever WHO Strategic Response Plan (SRP) for a measles emergency was launched today to ensure financial commitment to stop the spread of this highly contagious and serious disease in the WHO European Region.
Over 120,000 measles cases were reported between August 2018 and July 2019, which is more than the total number for a 12-month period reported in the Region in over a decade. Of the Region’s 53 countries, 48 reported cases in this period.
As measles continues to circulate in the Region, a stronger response by the international community is needed. In May this year, WHO classified measles outbreaks across the Region as a Grade 2 emergency. The newly launched SRP provides a resource mobilization tool to accelerate tailored interventions in measles-affected and at-risk countries, where investments will have the greatest possible impact…

Sudan
:: Critical WHO supplies arrive in Sudan to manage cholera outbreak 25 September 2019
[Editor’s Note: No mention of OCV in announcement]

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified
Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Burkina Faso [in French] – No new digest announcements identified
Burundi – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
HIV in Pakistan – No new digest announcements identified
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
Malawi floods – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 28 Sep 2019]

Kenya
:: Sense of relief as families embrace malaria vaccine roll out in Kenya 24 September 2019

Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified
Mali – No new digest announcements identified
Namibia – viral hepatitis – No new digest announcements identified
Tanzania – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Syrian Arab Republic
:: Syria: Rukban Humanitarian Update (As of 25 September 2019)

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
Editor’s Note:
Ebola in the DRC has bene added as a OCHA “Corporate Emergency” this week:
CYCLONE IDAI and Kenneth – No new digest announcements identified
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DRC – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO & Regional Offices [to 28 Sep 2019]
[See major announcements in Milestones above]

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Weekly Epidemiological Record, 27 September 2019, vol. 94, 39 (pp. 441–448)
Progress towards poliovirus containment worldwide, 2018–2019

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WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region AFRO
:: Ebola, cholera and measles: Triple threats to the poorest communities in the Democr…
27 September 2019

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: World Rabies Day: Latin America and the Caribbean on the cusp of eliminating rabies deaths (09/25/2019)
:: UN Declaration on Universal Health Coverage: PAHO advocates for health system transformation (09/24/2019)
:: Health ministers to gather in Washington to set policies, priorities for health action in the Americas (09/23/2019)

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
No new digest content identified.

WHO European Region EURO
:: Community pharmacists on the frontline of health care 25-09-2019
:: WHO urges investments to stop measles transmission in Europe 24-09-2019
:: Stories of change: countries making progress towards universal health coverage 24-09-2019
:: Estonia: making medicines affordable and accessible for all 23-09-2019

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: Greater support needed to ensure quality health services for Syrian refugees in Iraq
22 September 2019

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: Parliamentarians: Climate crisis one of the most critical threats to health in the Asia-Pacific region 23 August 2019

CDC/ACIP [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html
Latest News
Survey Results Put Rwanda on Track to Achieve HIV Epidemic Control
Wednesday, September 25, 2019

CDC Receives Designation as PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Biosafety and Biosecurity Monday, September 23, 2019

MMWR News Synopsis for Thursday, September 26, 2019
Progress Toward Poliovirus Containment Implementation — Worldwide, 2018–2019
Retaining eradicated polioviruses is a risk and responsibility. Countries around the world have committed to implementing and monitoring safeguards for the long-term containment of polioviruses once wild poliovirus is eradicated. It is imperative that this work be accelerated for type 2 poliovirus, which was declared eradicated in 2015.
Containment of eradicated polioviruses is critical to sustaining a polio-free world. Following the certification of eradication of each poliovirus type, remaining poliovirus stocks must be destroyed. However, some stocks will be needed and kept for vaccine manufacture and key research in a limited number of laboratories and facilities worldwide. Ensuring the safe and secure handling and storage (containment) of these viruses is essential to minimize risk of them being released into communities, where they could once again cause paralysis and death in susceptible populations. This report provides an update on global progress for the containment of the already-eradicated type 2 wild poliovirus, containment action that will be required for type 3 wild poliovirus for which declaration of eradication is anticipated, and containment implications for the continued use of live type 2 containing polio vaccine.

Africa CDC [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.africacdc.org/
News
Africa HIV Viral Load Movement Launched in Addis Ababa
25-09-2019
The Africa HIV Viral Load Movement was launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 24 September 2019, in the presence of over 200 participants in the first consultative meeting of the Africa Collaborative to Advance Diagnostics (AFCAD).    Launching the movement, the Director for Social Affairs, African Union Commission, Madam Cisse Mariama Mohamed said: “Access to antiretroviral therapy is a key strategy for HIV epidemic control, and…

China CDC
http://www.chinacdc.cn/en/
No new digest content identified.

National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China
http://en.nhc.gov.cn/
Selected Updates and Press Releases
China to promote vaccination against cervical cancer
2019-09-25
China will accelerate the examination and approval of domestic human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines and increase public access to the vaccines to protect the people against cervical cancer.

Announcements

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/frontiers-group/news-press/
News
No new digest content identified.

BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
Prime Minister Ardern and Prime Minister Sanchez to Join Bill and Melinda Gates at Goalkeepers 2019 in New York City
Third annual Goalkeepers event will focus on global inequality and the importance of designing health and education investments to prioritize the poorest

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
Pakistan and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Unveil Collaboration on Ehsaas Program to Alleviate Poverty
PM Khan said this is “the biggest anti-poverty project ever launched in the country and it has been planned with a great deal of attention to detail. I’m pleased that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will assist with a range of activities including accelerating stunting reduction programs, supporting financial inclusion initiatives and investing in public health systems to improve health and reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality.”

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards Presented in New York on September 24
Bill and Melinda Gates, co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, co-hosted the fourth annual Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards on September 24 in New York to celebrate outstanding work around the world that is directly linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals).
The Changemaker Award was presented to youth activist Payal Jangid for her fight against child labor and child marriage in India. The Progress Award was presented to Gregory Rockson, co-founder and CEO of mPharma, for his work to increase access to high-quality drugs across community pharmacies in five African countries. The Campaign Award was presented to Aya Chebbi, the first African Union Youth Envoy, for her work promoting youth empowerment, peacebuilding, and non-violent mobilization in Africa.
The Global Goalkeeper Award was presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India for the progress India is making in improving sanitation through the Swachh Bharat mission. Before the Swachh Bharat mission, over 500 million people in India did not have access to safe sanitation, and now, the majority do.

Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.gatesmri.org/
The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute is a non-profit biotech organization. Our mission is to develop products to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases—three major causes of mortality, poverty, and inequality in developing countries. The world has unprecedented scientific tools at its disposal; now is the time to use them to save the lives of the world’s poorest people
No new digest content identified.

CARB-X [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://carb-x.org/
CARB-X is a non-profit public-private partnership dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research to tackle the global rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria.
09.24.2019  |
T2 Biosystems’ T2Resistance™ Panel is First Diagnostic to Graduate from CARB-X Portfolio
T2 Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTOO), a leader in the development and commercialization of innovative medical diagnostic products for critical unmet needs in healthcare, and CARB-X, a global non-profit partnership dedicated to accelerating early development antibacterial R&D to address the rising global threat of drug-resistant bacteria, announced today that the T2Resistance™ Panel is the first diagnostic to graduate from CARB-X’s portfolio. The graduation marks an important milestone on the path toward approval for use on patients in hospitals in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere around the globe.

CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://cepi.net/
News
No new digest content identified.

Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://clintonhealthaccess.org/about/
News & Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

EDCTP [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.edctp.org/
The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as other poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on phase II and III clinical trials
Latest news
No new digest content identified.

Emory Vaccine Center [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
Website not responding at inquiry

European Medicines Agency [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News and press releases
No new digest content identified.

European Vaccine Initiative [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/news-events
Latest news
No new digest content identified.

FDA [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
September 27, 2019 – FDA approves first treatment for children with rare diseases that cause inflammation of small blood vessels

September 26, 2019 – FDA approves treatment for adults and children with all genotypes of hepatitis C and compensated cirrhosis that shortens duration of treatment to eight weeks

September 26, 2019 – Statement on new steps to advance digital health policies that encourage innovation and enable efficient and modern regulatory oversight

September 24, 2019 – FDA approves first live, non-replicating vaccine to prevent smallpox and monkeypox
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today the approval of Jynneos Smallpox and Monkeypox Vaccine, Live, Non-Replicating, for the prevention of smallpox and monkeypox disease in adults 18 years of age and older determined to be at high risk for smallpox or monkeypox infection. This is the only currently FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of monkeypox disease.

“Following the global Smallpox Eradication Program, the World Health Organization certified the eradication of naturally occurring smallpox disease in 1980. Routine vaccination of the American public was stopped in 1972 after the disease was eradicated in the U.S. and, as a result, a large proportion of the U.S., as well as the global population has no immunity,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Therefore, although naturally occurring smallpox disease is no longer a global threat, the intentional release of this highly contagious virus could have a devastating effect. Today’s approval reflects the U.S. government’s commitment to preparedness through support for the development of safe and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and other medical countermeasures.”

Jynneos will be available for those determined to be at high risk of either smallpox or monkeypox infection. This vaccine is also part of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the nation’s largest supply of potentially life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency that is severe enough to cause local supplies to be depleted. The availability of this vaccine in the SNS will help ensure that the vaccine is accessible in the U.S. if needed…

Fondation Merieux [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
News
National Health Laboratory Project launched in Myanmar
September 27, 2019, Myanmar
French Development Agency (AFD), European Union (EU) and Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) to collaborate on improving Myanmar’s ability …

Launch of Phase III of a collaborative project to prevent and control tuberculosis in China
September 25, 2019, China
The Mérieux Foundation has launched Phase III of a project to improve the prevention and control of tuberculosis (TB) in …

Partnership
Creation of the Alliance Pasteur Mérieux International
Two major French players in the fight against infectious diseases join forces to improve public health in vulnerable countries
September 24, 2019, Lyon (France)
[See Milestones above for more detail]

Gavi [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.gavi.org/
Latest news
24 September 2019
Multilateral agencies launch a joint plan to boost global health goals
Health, development and humanitarian agencies will collaborate for greater efficiency and more streamlined support to countries to deliver universal health coverage and achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals targets.
[See Milestones above for more detail]

24 September 2019
Prime Minister of Bangladesh receives 2019 Vaccine Hero Award
Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina recognised for championing immunisation both nationally and globally.

GHIT Fund [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
GHIT was set up in 2012 with the aim of developing new tools to tackle infectious diseases that devastate the world’s poorest people. Other funders include six Japanese pharmaceutical
No new digest content identified.

Global Fund [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News & Stories
News
Tribute to Jacques Chirac, Determined Opponent of AIDS and Global Fund Partnership Trailblazer
26 September 2019

News
Global Fund Applauds Spain’s €100 Million Pledge
25 September 2019
NEW YORK – The Global Fund applauds the announcement by the government of Spain that it will contribute €100 million to the Global Fund over the next three years.
The pledge marks the return of Spain as a donor and demonstrates the country’s strong commitment to end the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and build stronger and more sustainable health systems around the world…

News
Multilateral Agencies Launch Joint Plan to Boost Global Health Goals
24 September 2019

Updates
Data Explorer: Country Documents
24 September 2019

News
Global Fund Applauds World Leaders’ Commitment to Universal Health Coverage
23 September 2019

News
Annie Lennox, Diane Kruger, Natalie Portman and Penélope Cruz Call on the World to End Epidemics
23 September 2019

Updates
Technical Evaluation Reference Group Thematic Review: Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health
23 September 2019

Updates
Technical Evaluation Reference Group Thematic Review: Partnerships
23 September 2019

Hilleman Laboratories [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
No new digest content identified.

Human Vaccines Project [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

IAVI [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
No new digest content identified.

International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA)
http://www.icmra.info/drupal/en/news
Statements and Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

IFFIm
http://www.iffim.org/library/news/press-releases/
No new digest content identified.

IFRC [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
Dengue spreads across Central America, Red Cross scales up response
Panama/Geneva, 27 September 2019 –-As dengue spreads rapidly across Central America, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is scaling up emergency assistance to help countries contain the mosquito borne viral disea …
27 September 2019

Global
New “game-changing” financing mechanism to end cholera launched at UN General Assembly
New York, 26 September 2019 – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) today unveiled a major new initiative to combat cholera and other diarrheal diseases in 29 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Announced at the UNGA Financing for Development Dialogues by H.E. The Honorable Minister of Economy, Malaysia, Mohamed Azmin, the One WASH Fund will attempt to cut cholera deaths by 90 per cent and improve the lives of 5 million people in 29 cholera affected OIC member countries.
The One WASH Fund is a scalable outcome fund model that uses an innovative financing mechanism designed to attract new philanthropic and private investor capital by combining Islamic social finance contributions with traditional humanitarian donor financing. This Fund structure will then be pre-funded through the issuance of an Islamic bond (Sukuk) enabling it to operate at multi-million-dollar scale…

IVAC [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
Updates
No new digest content identified.

IVI [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.ivi.int/
Selected IVI News & Announcements
IVI-led Consortium Awarded Fleming Fund Regional Grant to Improve Data Sharing in Fight against Antimicrobial Resistance
September 24, 2019, SEOUL, Korea – The Chief Medical Officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, announced today during the 74th UN General Assembly that a consortium led by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) has been awarded a £2.7m Fleming Fund Regional Grant to improve data sharing and bolster global policy against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). If unchecked, by 2050, an estimated 10 million people will die annually of infections by drug resistant bacteria at a cost of $100 trillion…
“Achieving our common goal of universal health coverage will require global action on a multitude of fronts, including tackling the escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance and investing in research,” Dame Sally Davies said. “I am delighted to announce this funding, which will catalyse regional collaboration to help strengthen AMR surveillance systems across Africa and Asia.”…

The CNBG and IVI exchange MOU to provide high-quality vaccines to developing countries
September 23, 2019, SEOUL, Korea — On September 9, 2019, the China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) held a meeting at the Hongqiao Office of Shanghai Institute of Biological Products (SIBP) and signed a memorandum of understanding.
CNBG’s Vice President, Dr. Yuntao Zhang, and Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, both delivered opening speeches, expressing their wishes and expectations for the forthcoming cooperation between the two parties. During the meeting, the two parties identified specific areas of collaboration: typhoid conjugate vaccine, rotavirus vaccine and monoclonal antibody. The parties will combine forces on R&D and clinical activities on these subjects and jointly fulfill the mission of providing high-quality vaccines to developing countries. In addition, the two sides exchanged information and formulated the main objectives and work plan for the next phase…

JEE Alliance [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.msf.org/
Latest [Selected Announcements]
Access to medicines
6 things Big Pharma doesn’t want you to know!
Project Update 26 Sep 2019

DRC Ebola outbreaks
Crisis update – September 2019
Crisis Update 23 Sep 2019

DRC Ebola outbreaks
Independent Ebola vaccination committee is needed to overcome lack of WHO transparency
Press Release 23 Sep 2019
[See DRC Ebola above for more detail]

NIH [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
Selected News Releases
NIH awards contracts to advance tuberculosis immunology research
September 26, 2019 — Research will help advance TB vaccine development.

New NIH program provides comprehensive treatment for inherited blood and immune diseases
September 26, 2019 — Streamlined process integrates expertise from many medical specialties and related basic science disciplines.

NIH funds centers for advancing the reference sequence of the human genome
September 24, 2019 — Funding is necessary for making advances in DNA sequencing technology and computational methods possible.

PATH [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
Selected Announcements
Memorandum of Understanding between PATH and MURC
A collaborative effort toward creating Digital Health Ecosystems in LMICs
Seattle, Washington, USA, September 27, 2019 – We are pleased to announce that Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Japan, President: Satoshi Murabayashi, “MURC”) and PATH (Seattle USA, President and CEO: Steve Davis) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to collaborate in the creation of digital health ecosystems in low and middle income countries (LMICs) and innovative projects using advanced technologies, building on the capabilities, knowledge and network of both parties. Through these collaborative activities, both parties will contribute to the promotion of global health and greater health equity…

ProMED [Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases] [to 28 Sep 2019]
International Society for Infectious Diseases
https://www.promedmail.org/announcements/
Selected Announcements/Posts
No new digest content identified.

Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
No new digest content identified.

UNAIDS [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
27 September 2019
HIV in small island developing states

27 September 2019
The pros and cons of being small

26 September 2019
Without sustainable financing the AIDS response will fail

26 September 2019
Communities of faith―helping to find the missing men and seeking justice for children

25 September 2019
Young people taking action, inspiring change

24 September 2019
Botswana extends free HIV treatment to non-citizens
The Government of Botswana has decided to extend free HIV treatment to foreign residents in a major policy shift that closes a significant gap in the country’s response to the epidemic.
There are an estimated 30 000 foreign residents living with HIV in Botswana, but less than a quarter of them currently have access to treatment. Many foreign residents are simply unable to afford medicines or return home to seek medical help.
Botswana has the third highest HIV prevalence in the world, with more than one in five of the adult population aged 15–49 years living with the virus. In 2016, the country decided to adopt a treat all strategy by extending free treatment to all citizens living with HIV, a step that has been yielding significant results. Since 2010, AIDS-related deaths have decreased by a third, with new HIV infections down by 36% over the same period.
“I commend Botswana for extending free treatment to foreign residents living with HIV,” said Gunilla Carlsson, UNAIDS Executive Director, a.i. “This measure will save lives and help the entire country progress towards ending the AIDS epidemic―it is another example of Botswana’s leadership and its determination to leave no one behind in the response to HIV.”…

24 September 2019
Making a difference in Ethiopia one district at a time

UNICEF [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Selected Statements, Press Releases, Reports
News note
Geneva Palais briefing note: 123,000 children affected by flooding in Niger
This is a summary of what was said by Marixie Mercado, UNICEF spokesperson in Geneva – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
27/09/2019

Press release
Sulawesi earthquake one year on: Over 1 million children and parents reached
27/09/2019

Statement
UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore CRC @ 30 Commemoration Event
25/09/2019

Statement
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore remarks on young people and climate change
23/09/2019

Vaccination Acceptance Research Network (VARN) [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://vaccineacceptance.org/news.html#header1-2r
No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Confidence Project [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
22 Sep, 2019
Article of the week: The World Knows an Apocalyptic Pandemic Is Coming
Another important wake-up call from Laurie Garrett — a wake-up call to wake-up. There are some issues where evidence is not the issue, where  “more research” is not needed.  The issue instead is that we  are not paying enough attention to the evidence we do have, and it is putting human lives and societies at risk. -HL
 The World Knows an Apocalyptic Pandemic Is Coming: But nobody is interested in doing anything about it. 
BY LAURIE GARRETT | Foreign Policy, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
Webinar archive
The archived recording of the September 2019 webinar, Current Issues in Vaccines, presented by Dr. Paul Offit, is available for viewing on the Vaccine Update website.
Topics discussed include:
:: HPV vaccine for 27- to 45-year-olds: Routine recommendation?
:: PCV13 vaccine for older adults: Is it making a difference?
:: Influenza vaccine: A rough year
:: Meningococcal B vaccine: When do you need a booster dose?
Information related to obtaining free continuing education credits (CME, CEU or CPE) is included at the end of the recording. 

Wellcome Trust [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
Opinion | 25 September 2019
This can be a pivotal moment for global health by Alex Harris
What the global action plan being launched at the UN General Assembly means for research and innovation.

Opinion | 23 September 2019
Researchers pay the cost of research
Ben Bleasdale, Policy Adviser Wellcome
Excellence in research shouldn’t come at the expense of those who make it happen.

Why We Vaccinate [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.whywevax.org/
News
Why We Vaccinate Announces Coalition Formation and Board Members
New Coalition to Advocate for Vaccine Adherence and Improved Health Outcomes
September 23, 2019
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Why We Vaccinate, a new not-for-profit, pro-vaccine coalition, announced its formation and founding board members. Why We Vaccinate is on a mission to advocate for pro-health legislation, improve immunization conversations between doctors and patients and respond to anti-vaccine misinformation…

“Vaccines are one of the safest, most widely-adopted health care practices in the world,” said Dr. William Hearl, board president and experienced vaccinologist. “Why We Vaccinate will spread the message that vaccines are rigorously tested and provide the best defense against diseases, like the measles, that can have a lasting impact on your child’s immune system.”
Why We Vaccinate is supported by the scientific community, academia, health organizations and pro-vaccine advocates.

The coalition is governed by a Board of Directors that includes:
Dr. William Hearl, board president, founder, Immunomic Therapeutics
Athanasia Anagnostou, board secretary, Senior Director of Corporate Development, Immunomic Therapeutics
Phyllis Arthur, board member, Vice President of Infectious Diseases & Diagnostics Policy, BIO
Dr. Michael Olin, board member, Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota …

The Wistar Institute [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Release Sep. 26, 2019
Integral Molecular Announced as First Industry Partner in The Wistar Institute’s Biomedical Research Technician Apprenticeship
PHILADELPHIA – Sept. 25, 2019 – The Wistar Institute, a global leader in cancer, immunology and infectious disease research, has selected Integral Molecular, Inc. as the first industry partner for its Biomedical Research Technician (BRT) Apprenticeship. This industry-academia relationship continues Integral Molecular’s dedication to community partnership, economic development, and job creation in the city of Philadelphia.

Press Release Sep. 24, 2019
Wistar Receives More than $12 Million to Fund Innovative Clinical Research on the Impact of Opioid Use on Response to Therapy in People Living with HIV
PHILADELPHIA — (September 24, 2019) — The Wistar Institute was awarded two major grants totaling more than $12 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, to fund an international multidisciplinary clinical research consortium spearheaded by Wistar’s HIV Research Program. The consortium, including several partner institutions in the U.S.

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2019/
27/09/19
‘United Against Rabies’ collaboration celebrates one year of progress towards zero human rabies deaths by 2030
Since the launch of ‘Zero by 30’ in 2018, the United Against Rabies collaboration has made progress to empower, engage and enable countries to reach the rabies elimination goal by 2030. Released today on World Rabies Day, the first annual progress report describes the incremental, collaborative impact of the four partners[1] in promoting the One Health approach[2] and achieving the three objectives of the Global Strategic Plan.

Facilitating access to vaccines, medicines and education
:: In addressing the first objective of the Plan: Eliminate rabies by effective use of vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies, the UAR collaboration enabled the implementation of concrete actions in countries aimed at tackling rabies at its source: infected dogs. In 2018, these efforts included:
:: Increasing access to high-quality dog rabies vaccines, by delivering more than 2 million doses to 13 countries in Asia and Africa, through the OIE Rabies Vaccine Bank;
:: Improving care for dog bite cases with potential human rabies exposure, by convening training for more than 450 health professionals in 70 of the 89 countries in which human rabies occurs, delivered by WHO and other UAR partners.
:: Enhancing rabies education and awareness through World Rabies Day webinars organized by FAO and other UAR partners, as well as almost 200 events on World Rabies Day registered on the GARC website from 62 countries, attracting significant exposure through printed, digital and social media channels. Capacity-building workshops in communications were also delivered by the OIE…

::::::

ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine] [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://alliancerm.org/press-releases/
September 24, 2019
ARM and NAMCP Publish Recommendations to Increase Patient Access in Joint Study, “Roadmap for Navigating Cell and Gene Therapy Value Demonstration and Reimbursement in U.S. Managed Care”
The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) and the National Association of Managed Care Physicians (NAMCP) Medical Directors Institute announced today the joint release of their recent study of medical director and manufacturer perspectives on value demonstration and reimbursement for cell- and gene-based regenerative and advanced therapies.
The study results are available to download here.

BIO [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.bio.org/insights/press-release
No new digest content identified.

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
Events
DCVMN 20th Annual General Meeting
21 October 2019 to 23 October 2019
Rio de Janeiro / Brazil

IFPMA [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications
IFPMA statement on UHC Political Declaration at UNGA74
New York, 23 September 2019: IFPMA congratulates the United Nations General Assembly in holding the first-ever high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and welcomes the adoption of the Political Declaration on UHC at its 74th session.

IFPMA and its members welcome the declaration’s call to address healthcare in a holistic way and the elevation of health discussions beyond the ministries of health. We support the emphasis on “the importance of national ownership and the primary role and responsibility of governments at all levels to determine their own path towards achieving universal health coverage, in accordance with national contexts and priorities, and underscore the importance of political leadership for universal health coverage beyond the health sector in order to pursue whole-of government and whole-of-society approaches, as well as health-in-all-policies approaches, equity- based approaches and life-course approaches.”(Para 6)

UHC is a journey unique to each country’s needs and priorities, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each country must deploy necessary resources to achieve them and must prioritize which health services to cover, what beneficiary population groups to cover, how to pay for those services, and how to ensure effective and efficient delivery in consultation with stakeholders.  Regardless of a country’s unique needs, no single organization or sector can achieve UHC on its own and in recognition of the need to move together towards achieving UHC, we are committed to playing our part.

As a partner of the UHC 2030 global movement, IFPMA and its members reinforce the private sector’s commitments to achieving universal health coverage and fully support the Key Asks and the Global Compact, which outlines five key principles to guide collective action towards UHC. IFPMA and its members strongly believe that an enabling environment is fundamental to UHC – one that works towards strengthening quality primary health care, investing more and better in health and improving access to affordable and quality-assured essential health products.

IFPMA firmly believes that collaborative and innovative action on UHC is needed to meet our shared goals of expanding patient access to medicines and achieving the long-term sustainability of the health sector.  Together, UHC and life sciences innovation promotes continued global health progress and well-being for all.  We remain committed to playing our part to help Member States achieve UHC and look forward to constructive and inclusive dialogue to ensure implementation.

IFPMA Response to the WHO Fair Pricing Forum survey
16 September 2019

PhRMA [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.phrma.org/
Selected Press Releases, Statements
Press Release
PhRMA Statement on Speaker Pelosi’s Radical Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 19, 2019) – Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) president and CEO Stephen J. Ubl issued the following statement:
“Speaker Pelosi’s radical plan would end the current market-based system that has made the United States the global leader in developing innovative, lifesaving treatments and cures. It would fundamentally restructure how patients access medicines by giving the federal government unprecedented, sweeping authority to set medicine prices in public and private markets while importing price controls from other countries that restrict access to innovative medicines. It would upend the successful Medicare Part D program that 40 million seniors rely on without any guarantee that savings would be used to lower costs at the pharmacy counter. We do not need to blow up the current system to make medicines more affordable. Instead, policymakers should pursue practical policy solutions such as sharing negotiated savings with patients at the pharmacy counter, lowering coinsurance in Medicare Part D, increasing transparency on patients’ costs, promoting value-based contracts, among other improvements to the system. These solutions are better alternatives to the far-reaching proposals in Speaker Pelosi’s plan.”

Industry Watch [to 28 Sep 2019]
Selected Announcements
:: Boehringer Ingelheim donates vaccines to help fight rabies
– The company will donate 60,000 vaccine doses over three years to fight rabies in Puerto Rico
– It is part of a global campaign against a disease that claims an estimated 160 lives a day, half of whom are children(1)
– Rabies is present in more than 150 countries or regions(1)
PRNewswire/ Sep 26, 2019, — Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in veterinary rabies vaccines, plans to donate 60,000 doses of its IMRAB® rabies vaccine for dogs over the next three years to fight rabies in Puerto Rico.
The company announced the donations to coincide with World Rabies Day as part of its Shots for Good initiative to help eliminate rabies around the world by vaccinating dogs…

Announcements

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/frontiers-group/news-press/
News
No new digest content identified.

BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
Prime Minister Ardern and Prime Minister Sanchez to Join Bill and Melinda Gates at Goalkeepers 2019 in New York City
Third annual Goalkeepers event will focus on global inequality and the importance of designing health and education investments to prioritize the poorest

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
Pakistan and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Unveil Collaboration on Ehsaas Program to Alleviate Poverty
PM Khan said this is “the biggest anti-poverty project ever launched in the country and it has been planned with a great deal of attention to detail. I’m pleased that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will assist with a range of activities including accelerating stunting reduction programs, supporting financial inclusion initiatives and investing in public health systems to improve health and reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality.”

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards Presented in New York on September 24
Bill and Melinda Gates, co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, co-hosted the fourth annual Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards on September 24 in New York to celebrate outstanding work around the world that is directly linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals).
The Changemaker Award was presented to youth activist Payal Jangid for her fight against child labor and child marriage in India. The Progress Award was presented to Gregory Rockson, co-founder and CEO of mPharma, for his work to increase access to high-quality drugs across community pharmacies in five African countries. The Campaign Award was presented to Aya Chebbi, the first African Union Youth Envoy, for her work promoting youth empowerment, peacebuilding, and non-violent mobilization in Africa.
The Global Goalkeeper Award was presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India for the progress India is making in improving sanitation through the Swachh Bharat mission. Before the Swachh Bharat mission, over 500 million people in India did not have access to safe sanitation, and now, the majority do.

Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.gatesmri.org/
The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute is a non-profit biotech organization. Our mission is to develop products to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases—three major causes of mortality, poverty, and inequality in developing countries. The world has unprecedented scientific tools at its disposal; now is the time to use them to save the lives of the world’s poorest people
No new digest content identified.

CARB-X [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://carb-x.org/
CARB-X is a non-profit public-private partnership dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research to tackle the global rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria.
09.24.2019  |
T2 Biosystems’ T2Resistance™ Panel is First Diagnostic to Graduate from CARB-X Portfolio
T2 Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTOO), a leader in the development and commercialization of innovative medical diagnostic products for critical unmet needs in healthcare, and CARB-X, a global non-profit partnership dedicated to accelerating early development antibacterial R&D to address the rising global threat of drug-resistant bacteria, announced today that the T2Resistance™ Panel is the first diagnostic to graduate from CARB-X’s portfolio. The graduation marks an important milestone on the path toward approval for use on patients in hospitals in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere around the globe.

CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://cepi.net/
News
No new digest content identified.

Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://clintonhealthaccess.org/about/
News & Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

EDCTP [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.edctp.org/
The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as other poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on phase II and III clinical trials
Latest news
No new digest content identified.

Emory Vaccine Center [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
Website not responding at inquiry

European Medicines Agency [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News and press releases
No new digest content identified.

European Vaccine Initiative [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/news-events
Latest news
No new digest content identified.

FDA [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
September 27, 2019 – FDA approves first treatment for children with rare diseases that cause inflammation of small blood vessels

September 26, 2019 – FDA approves treatment for adults and children with all genotypes of hepatitis C and compensated cirrhosis that shortens duration of treatment to eight weeks

September 26, 2019 – Statement on new steps to advance digital health policies that encourage innovation and enable efficient and modern regulatory oversight

September 24, 2019 – FDA approves first live, non-replicating vaccine to prevent smallpox and monkeypox
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today the approval of Jynneos Smallpox and Monkeypox Vaccine, Live, Non-Replicating, for the prevention of smallpox and monkeypox disease in adults 18 years of age and older determined to be at high risk for smallpox or monkeypox infection. This is the only currently FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of monkeypox disease.

“Following the global Smallpox Eradication Program, the World Health Organization certified the eradication of naturally occurring smallpox disease in 1980. Routine vaccination of the American public was stopped in 1972 after the disease was eradicated in the U.S. and, as a result, a large proportion of the U.S., as well as the global population has no immunity,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Therefore, although naturally occurring smallpox disease is no longer a global threat, the intentional release of this highly contagious virus could have a devastating effect. Today’s approval reflects the U.S. government’s commitment to preparedness through support for the development of safe and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and other medical countermeasures.”

Jynneos will be available for those determined to be at high risk of either smallpox or monkeypox infection. This vaccine is also part of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the nation’s largest supply of potentially life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency that is severe enough to cause local supplies to be depleted. The availability of this vaccine in the SNS will help ensure that the vaccine is accessible in the U.S. if needed…

Fondation Merieux [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
News
National Health Laboratory Project launched in Myanmar
September 27, 2019, Myanmar
French Development Agency (AFD), European Union (EU) and Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) to collaborate on improving Myanmar’s ability …

Launch of Phase III of a collaborative project to prevent and control tuberculosis in China
September 25, 2019, China
The Mérieux Foundation has launched Phase III of a project to improve the prevention and control of tuberculosis (TB) in …

Partnership
Creation of the Alliance Pasteur Mérieux International
Two major French players in the fight against infectious diseases join forces to improve public health in vulnerable countries
September 24, 2019, Lyon (France)
[See Milestones above for more detail]

Gavi [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.gavi.org/
Latest news
24 September 2019
Multilateral agencies launch a joint plan to boost global health goals
Health, development and humanitarian agencies will collaborate for greater efficiency and more streamlined support to countries to deliver universal health coverage and achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals targets.
[See Milestones above for more detail]

24 September 2019
Prime Minister of Bangladesh receives 2019 Vaccine Hero Award
Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina recognised for championing immunisation both nationally and globally.

GHIT Fund [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
GHIT was set up in 2012 with the aim of developing new tools to tackle infectious diseases that devastate the world’s poorest people. Other funders include six Japanese pharmaceutical
No new digest content identified.

Global Fund [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News & Stories
News
Tribute to Jacques Chirac, Determined Opponent of AIDS and Global Fund Partnership Trailblazer
26 September 2019

News
Global Fund Applauds Spain’s €100 Million Pledge
25 September 2019
NEW YORK – The Global Fund applauds the announcement by the government of Spain that it will contribute €100 million to the Global Fund over the next three years.
The pledge marks the return of Spain as a donor and demonstrates the country’s strong commitment to end the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and build stronger and more sustainable health systems around the world…

News
Multilateral Agencies Launch Joint Plan to Boost Global Health Goals
24 September 2019

Updates
Data Explorer: Country Documents
24 September 2019

News
Global Fund Applauds World Leaders’ Commitment to Universal Health Coverage
23 September 2019

News
Annie Lennox, Diane Kruger, Natalie Portman and Penélope Cruz Call on the World to End Epidemics
23 September 2019

Updates
Technical Evaluation Reference Group Thematic Review: Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health
23 September 2019

Updates
Technical Evaluation Reference Group Thematic Review: Partnerships
23 September 2019

Hilleman Laboratories [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
No new digest content identified.

Human Vaccines Project [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

IAVI [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
No new digest content identified.

International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA)
http://www.icmra.info/drupal/en/news
Statements and Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

IFFIm
http://www.iffim.org/library/news/press-releases/
No new digest content identified.

IFRC [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
Dengue spreads across Central America, Red Cross scales up response
Panama/Geneva, 27 September 2019 –-As dengue spreads rapidly across Central America, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is scaling up emergency assistance to help countries contain the mosquito borne viral disea …
27 September 2019

Global
New “game-changing” financing mechanism to end cholera launched at UN General Assembly
New York, 26 September 2019 – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) today unveiled a major new initiative to combat cholera and other diarrheal diseases in 29 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Announced at the UNGA Financing for Development Dialogues by H.E. The Honorable Minister of Economy, Malaysia, Mohamed Azmin, the One WASH Fund will attempt to cut cholera deaths by 90 per cent and improve the lives of 5 million people in 29 cholera affected OIC member countries.
The One WASH Fund is a scalable outcome fund model that uses an innovative financing mechanism designed to attract new philanthropic and private investor capital by combining Islamic social finance contributions with traditional humanitarian donor financing. This Fund structure will then be pre-funded through the issuance of an Islamic bond (Sukuk) enabling it to operate at multi-million-dollar scale…

IVAC [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
Updates
No new digest content identified.

IVI [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.ivi.int/
Selected IVI News & Announcements
IVI-led Consortium Awarded Fleming Fund Regional Grant to Improve Data Sharing in Fight against Antimicrobial Resistance
September 24, 2019, SEOUL, Korea – The Chief Medical Officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, announced today during the 74th UN General Assembly that a consortium led by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) has been awarded a £2.7m Fleming Fund Regional Grant to improve data sharing and bolster global policy against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). If unchecked, by 2050, an estimated 10 million people will die annually of infections by drug resistant bacteria at a cost of $100 trillion…
“Achieving our common goal of universal health coverage will require global action on a multitude of fronts, including tackling the escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance and investing in research,” Dame Sally Davies said. “I am delighted to announce this funding, which will catalyse regional collaboration to help strengthen AMR surveillance systems across Africa and Asia.”…

The CNBG and IVI exchange MOU to provide high-quality vaccines to developing countries
September 23, 2019, SEOUL, Korea — On September 9, 2019, the China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) held a meeting at the Hongqiao Office of Shanghai Institute of Biological Products (SIBP) and signed a memorandum of understanding.
CNBG’s Vice President, Dr. Yuntao Zhang, and Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, both delivered opening speeches, expressing their wishes and expectations for the forthcoming cooperation between the two parties. During the meeting, the two parties identified specific areas of collaboration: typhoid conjugate vaccine, rotavirus vaccine and monoclonal antibody. The parties will combine forces on R&D and clinical activities on these subjects and jointly fulfill the mission of providing high-quality vaccines to developing countries. In addition, the two sides exchanged information and formulated the main objectives and work plan for the next phase…

JEE Alliance [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.msf.org/
Latest [Selected Announcements]
Access to medicines
6 things Big Pharma doesn’t want you to know!
Project Update 26 Sep 2019

DRC Ebola outbreaks
Crisis update – September 2019
Crisis Update 23 Sep 2019

DRC Ebola outbreaks
Independent Ebola vaccination committee is needed to overcome lack of WHO transparency
Press Release 23 Sep 2019
[See DRC Ebola above for more detail]

NIH [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
Selected News Releases
NIH awards contracts to advance tuberculosis immunology research
September 26, 2019 — Research will help advance TB vaccine development.

New NIH program provides comprehensive treatment for inherited blood and immune diseases
September 26, 2019 — Streamlined process integrates expertise from many medical specialties and related basic science disciplines.

NIH funds centers for advancing the reference sequence of the human genome
September 24, 2019 — Funding is necessary for making advances in DNA sequencing technology and computational methods possible.

PATH [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
Selected Announcements
Memorandum of Understanding between PATH and MURC
A collaborative effort toward creating Digital Health Ecosystems in LMICs
Seattle, Washington, USA, September 27, 2019 – We are pleased to announce that Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Japan, President: Satoshi Murabayashi, “MURC”) and PATH (Seattle USA, President and CEO: Steve Davis) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to collaborate in the creation of digital health ecosystems in low and middle income countries (LMICs) and innovative projects using advanced technologies, building on the capabilities, knowledge and network of both parties. Through these collaborative activities, both parties will contribute to the promotion of global health and greater health equity…

ProMED [Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases] [to 28 Sep 2019]
International Society for Infectious Diseases
https://www.promedmail.org/announcements/
Selected Announcements/Posts
No new digest content identified.

Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
No new digest content identified.

UNAIDS [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
27 September 2019
HIV in small island developing states

27 September 2019
The pros and cons of being small

26 September 2019
Without sustainable financing the AIDS response will fail

26 September 2019
Communities of faith―helping to find the missing men and seeking justice for children

25 September 2019
Young people taking action, inspiring change

24 September 2019
Botswana extends free HIV treatment to non-citizens
The Government of Botswana has decided to extend free HIV treatment to foreign residents in a major policy shift that closes a significant gap in the country’s response to the epidemic.
There are an estimated 30 000 foreign residents living with HIV in Botswana, but less than a quarter of them currently have access to treatment. Many foreign residents are simply unable to afford medicines or return home to seek medical help.
Botswana has the third highest HIV prevalence in the world, with more than one in five of the adult population aged 15–49 years living with the virus. In 2016, the country decided to adopt a treat all strategy by extending free treatment to all citizens living with HIV, a step that has been yielding significant results. Since 2010, AIDS-related deaths have decreased by a third, with new HIV infections down by 36% over the same period.
“I commend Botswana for extending free treatment to foreign residents living with HIV,” said Gunilla Carlsson, UNAIDS Executive Director, a.i. “This measure will save lives and help the entire country progress towards ending the AIDS epidemic―it is another example of Botswana’s leadership and its determination to leave no one behind in the response to HIV.”…

24 September 2019
Making a difference in Ethiopia one district at a time

UNICEF [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Selected Statements, Press Releases, Reports
News note
Geneva Palais briefing note: 123,000 children affected by flooding in Niger
This is a summary of what was said by Marixie Mercado, UNICEF spokesperson in Geneva – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
27/09/2019

Press release
Sulawesi earthquake one year on: Over 1 million children and parents reached
27/09/2019

Statement
UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore CRC @ 30 Commemoration Event
25/09/2019

Statement
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore remarks on young people and climate change
23/09/2019

Vaccination Acceptance Research Network (VARN) [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://vaccineacceptance.org/news.html#header1-2r
No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Confidence Project [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
22 Sep, 2019
Article of the week: The World Knows an Apocalyptic Pandemic Is Coming
Another important wake-up call from Laurie Garrett — a wake-up call to wake-up. There are some issues where evidence is not the issue, where  “more research” is not needed.  The issue instead is that we  are not paying enough attention to the evidence we do have, and it is putting human lives and societies at risk. -HL
 The World Knows an Apocalyptic Pandemic Is Coming: But nobody is interested in doing anything about it. 
BY LAURIE GARRETT | Foreign Policy, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
Webinar archive
The archived recording of the September 2019 webinar, Current Issues in Vaccines, presented by Dr. Paul Offit, is available for viewing on the Vaccine Update website.
Topics discussed include:
:: HPV vaccine for 27- to 45-year-olds: Routine recommendation?
:: PCV13 vaccine for older adults: Is it making a difference?
:: Influenza vaccine: A rough year
:: Meningococcal B vaccine: When do you need a booster dose?
Information related to obtaining free continuing education credits (CME, CEU or CPE) is included at the end of the recording. 

Wellcome Trust [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
Opinion | 25 September 2019
This can be a pivotal moment for global health by Alex Harris
What the global action plan being launched at the UN General Assembly means for research and innovation.

Opinion | 23 September 2019
Researchers pay the cost of research
Ben Bleasdale, Policy Adviser Wellcome
Excellence in research shouldn’t come at the expense of those who make it happen.

Why We Vaccinate [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.whywevax.org/
News
Why We Vaccinate Announces Coalition Formation and Board Members
New Coalition to Advocate for Vaccine Adherence and Improved Health Outcomes
September 23, 2019
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Why We Vaccinate, a new not-for-profit, pro-vaccine coalition, announced its formation and founding board members. Why We Vaccinate is on a mission to advocate for pro-health legislation, improve immunization conversations between doctors and patients and respond to anti-vaccine misinformation…

“Vaccines are one of the safest, most widely-adopted health care practices in the world,” said Dr. William Hearl, board president and experienced vaccinologist. “Why We Vaccinate will spread the message that vaccines are rigorously tested and provide the best defense against diseases, like the measles, that can have a lasting impact on your child’s immune system.”
Why We Vaccinate is supported by the scientific community, academia, health organizations and pro-vaccine advocates.

The coalition is governed by a Board of Directors that includes:
Dr. William Hearl, board president, founder, Immunomic Therapeutics
Athanasia Anagnostou, board secretary, Senior Director of Corporate Development, Immunomic Therapeutics
Phyllis Arthur, board member, Vice President of Infectious Diseases & Diagnostics Policy, BIO
Dr. Michael Olin, board member, Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota …

The Wistar Institute [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Release Sep. 26, 2019
Integral Molecular Announced as First Industry Partner in The Wistar Institute’s Biomedical Research Technician Apprenticeship
PHILADELPHIA – Sept. 25, 2019 – The Wistar Institute, a global leader in cancer, immunology and infectious disease research, has selected Integral Molecular, Inc. as the first industry partner for its Biomedical Research Technician (BRT) Apprenticeship. This industry-academia relationship continues Integral Molecular’s dedication to community partnership, economic development, and job creation in the city of Philadelphia.

Press Release Sep. 24, 2019
Wistar Receives More than $12 Million to Fund Innovative Clinical Research on the Impact of Opioid Use on Response to Therapy in People Living with HIV
PHILADELPHIA — (September 24, 2019) — The Wistar Institute was awarded two major grants totaling more than $12 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, to fund an international multidisciplinary clinical research consortium spearheaded by Wistar’s HIV Research Program. The consortium, including several partner institutions in the U.S.

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2019/
27/09/19
‘United Against Rabies’ collaboration celebrates one year of progress towards zero human rabies deaths by 2030
Since the launch of ‘Zero by 30’ in 2018, the United Against Rabies collaboration has made progress to empower, engage and enable countries to reach the rabies elimination goal by 2030. Released today on World Rabies Day, the first annual progress report describes the incremental, collaborative impact of the four partners[1] in promoting the One Health approach[2] and achieving the three objectives of the Global Strategic Plan.

Facilitating access to vaccines, medicines and education
:: In addressing the first objective of the Plan: Eliminate rabies by effective use of vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies, the UAR collaboration enabled the implementation of concrete actions in countries aimed at tackling rabies at its source: infected dogs. In 2018, these efforts included:
:: Increasing access to high-quality dog rabies vaccines, by delivering more than 2 million doses to 13 countries in Asia and Africa, through the OIE Rabies Vaccine Bank;
:: Improving care for dog bite cases with potential human rabies exposure, by convening training for more than 450 health professionals in 70 of the 89 countries in which human rabies occurs, delivered by WHO and other UAR partners.
:: Enhancing rabies education and awareness through World Rabies Day webinars organized by FAO and other UAR partners, as well as almost 200 events on World Rabies Day registered on the GARC website from 62 countries, attracting significant exposure through printed, digital and social media channels. Capacity-building workshops in communications were also delivered by the OIE…

::::::

ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine] [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://alliancerm.org/press-releases/
September 24, 2019
ARM and NAMCP Publish Recommendations to Increase Patient Access in Joint Study, “Roadmap for Navigating Cell and Gene Therapy Value Demonstration and Reimbursement in U.S. Managed Care”
The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) and the National Association of Managed Care Physicians (NAMCP) Medical Directors Institute announced today the joint release of their recent study of medical director and manufacturer perspectives on value demonstration and reimbursement for cell- and gene-based regenerative and advanced therapies.
The study results are available to download here.

BIO [to 28 Sep 2019]
https://www.bio.org/insights/press-release
No new digest content identified.

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
Events
DCVMN 20th Annual General Meeting
21 October 2019 to 23 October 2019
Rio de Janeiro / Brazil

IFPMA [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications
IFPMA statement on UHC Political Declaration at UNGA74
New York, 23 September 2019: IFPMA congratulates the United Nations General Assembly in holding the first-ever high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and welcomes the adoption of the Political Declaration on UHC at its 74th session.

IFPMA and its members welcome the declaration’s call to address healthcare in a holistic way and the elevation of health discussions beyond the ministries of health. We support the emphasis on “the importance of national ownership and the primary role and responsibility of governments at all levels to determine their own path towards achieving universal health coverage, in accordance with national contexts and priorities, and underscore the importance of political leadership for universal health coverage beyond the health sector in order to pursue whole-of government and whole-of-society approaches, as well as health-in-all-policies approaches, equity- based approaches and life-course approaches.”(Para 6)

UHC is a journey unique to each country’s needs and priorities, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each country must deploy necessary resources to achieve them and must prioritize which health services to cover, what beneficiary population groups to cover, how to pay for those services, and how to ensure effective and efficient delivery in consultation with stakeholders.  Regardless of a country’s unique needs, no single organization or sector can achieve UHC on its own and in recognition of the need to move together towards achieving UHC, we are committed to playing our part.

As a partner of the UHC 2030 global movement, IFPMA and its members reinforce the private sector’s commitments to achieving universal health coverage and fully support the Key Asks and the Global Compact, which outlines five key principles to guide collective action towards UHC. IFPMA and its members strongly believe that an enabling environment is fundamental to UHC – one that works towards strengthening quality primary health care, investing more and better in health and improving access to affordable and quality-assured essential health products.

IFPMA firmly believes that collaborative and innovative action on UHC is needed to meet our shared goals of expanding patient access to medicines and achieving the long-term sustainability of the health sector.  Together, UHC and life sciences innovation promotes continued global health progress and well-being for all.  We remain committed to playing our part to help Member States achieve UHC and look forward to constructive and inclusive dialogue to ensure implementation.

IFPMA Response to the WHO Fair Pricing Forum survey
16 September 2019

PhRMA [to 28 Sep 2019]
http://www.phrma.org/
Selected Press Releases, Statements
Press Release
PhRMA Statement on Speaker Pelosi’s Radical Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 19, 2019) – Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) president and CEO Stephen J. Ubl issued the following statement:
“Speaker Pelosi’s radical plan would end the current market-based system that has made the United States the global leader in developing innovative, lifesaving treatments and cures. It would fundamentally restructure how patients access medicines by giving the federal government unprecedented, sweeping authority to set medicine prices in public and private markets while importing price controls from other countries that restrict access to innovative medicines. It would upend the successful Medicare Part D program that 40 million seniors rely on without any guarantee that savings would be used to lower costs at the pharmacy counter. We do not need to blow up the current system to make medicines more affordable. Instead, policymakers should pursue practical policy solutions such as sharing negotiated savings with patients at the pharmacy counter, lowering coinsurance in Medicare Part D, increasing transparency on patients’ costs, promoting value-based contracts, among other improvements to the system. These solutions are better alternatives to the far-reaching proposals in Speaker Pelosi’s plan.”

Industry Watch [to 28 Sep 2019]
Selected Announcements
:: Boehringer Ingelheim donates vaccines to help fight rabies
– The company will donate 60,000 vaccine doses over three years to fight rabies in Puerto Rico
– It is part of a global campaign against a disease that claims an estimated 160 lives a day, half of whom are children(1)
– Rabies is present in more than 150 countries or regions(1)
PRNewswire/ Sep 26, 2019, — Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in veterinary rabies vaccines, plans to donate 60,000 doses of its IMRAB® rabies vaccine for dogs over the next three years to fight rabies in Puerto Rico.
The company announced the donations to coincide with World Rabies Day as part of its Shots for Good initiative to help eliminate rabies around the world by vaccinating dogs…

Journal Watch
Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review continues its weekly scanning of key peer-reviewed journals to identify and cite articles, commentary and editorials, books reviews and other content supporting our focu-s on vaccine ethics and policy. Journal Watch is not intended to be exhaustive, but indicative of themes and issues the Center is actively tracking. We selectively provide full text of some editorial and comment articles that are specifically relevant to our work. Successful access to some of the links provided may require subscription or other access arrangement unique to the publisher.
If you would like to suggest other journal titles to include in this service, please contact David Curry at: david.r.curry@centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.org

Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP)
Vol. 7, No. 3 September 01, 2019
http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/current

ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Operationalizing Integrated Immunization and Family Planning Services in Rural Liberia: Lessons Learned From Evaluating Service Quality and Utilization
Allyson R. Nelson, Chelsea M. Cooper, Swaliho Kamara, Nyapu D. Taylor, Topian Zikeh, Cefanee Kanneh-Kesselly, Rebecca Fields, Iqbal Hossain, Lolade Oseni, Birhanu S. Getahun, Anne Fiedler, Anne Schuster and Hannah Tappis
Global Health: Science and Practice September 2019, 7(3):418-434; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-19-00012
Providers, managers, and clients valued the integrated service delivery model. Trends indicated slightly higher family planning uptake in intervention facilities, but that difference was not statistically significant. Intrafacility referrals by postpartum women did not negatively affect immunization utilization rates.

Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP)
Vol. 7, No. 3 September 01, 2019
http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/current

ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Three Waves of Data Use Among Health Workers: The Experience of the Better Immunization Data Initiative in Tanzania and Zambia
Laurie Werner, Dawn Seymour, Chilunga Puta and Skye Gilbert
Global Health: Science and Practice September 2019, 7(3):447-456; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-19-00024
Data quality and use rollout in Tanzania’s and Zambia’s immunization programs progressed along 3 phases—from strengthening data collection, to improving data quality, to increasing data use for programmatic decision making cultivating a culture of data use.

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 15, Issue 9, 2019
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Introduction
2018 ISV Congress: advances in the 100 years since the world’s deadliest pandemic
Denise L. Doolan & Ted M. Ross
Pages: 2006-2008
Published online: 26 Sep 2019

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 15, Issue 9, 2019
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Article
Do previously held vaccine attitudes dictate the extent and influence of vaccine information-seeking behavior during pregnancy?
Richard M. Clarke, Miroslav Sirota & Pauline Paterson
Pages: 2081-2089
Published online: 23 Aug 2019

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 15, Issue 9, 2019
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Article commentary
Influenza vaccination for all pregnant women? So far the less biased evidence does not favour it
Alberto Donzelli
Pages: 2159-2164
Published online: 20 Feb 2019

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 15, Issue 9, 2019
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Article
Influenza immunization during pregnancy: toward a balanced assessment of safety evidence
Deshayne B. Fell, Saad B. Omer & Kathryn M. Edwards
Pages: 2165-2167
Published online: 22 Apr 2019

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 15, Issue 9, 2019
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Review
Concomitant administration of meningococcal vaccines with other vaccines in adolescents and adults: a review of available evidence
Justine Alderfer PharmD, Amit Srivastava PhD, Raul Isturiz MD, Cynthia Burman PharmD, Judith Absalon MD, MPH, Johannes Beeslaar MD & John Perez MD, MA
Pages: 2205-2216
Published online: 19 Apr 2019

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 85, Supplement, S1-S38
https://www.ijidonline.com/issue/S1201-9712(19)X0015-6

Efficacy, Immunogenicity, and Safety Evaluation of an MF59 Adjuvanted Trivalent Influenza Virus Vaccine Compared to Non-adjuvanted Influenza: A Comprehensive Review in Older Adults and Children: Publication of this supplement was supported by Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc., and Seqirus, Inc.
Open Access

The Lancet
Sep 21, 2019 Volume 394 Number 10203 p979-1112
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorial
Prescribing off-label drugs for children: when will it change?
The Lancet
A study in Pediatrics, published on Sept 16, paints a familiar picture. Using data from the US National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys 2006–15, Divya Hoon and colleagues show that in 44·5% of visits to office-based physicians who prescribed systemic drugs to children, these drugs were prescribed off label. Off-label prescription can be outside the approved age, weight, dose, formulation, route of administration, or indication. In this study, 74·6% of all off-label prescriptions were for an unapproved disorder for the specific drug and 17·6% were off-label by age. Over the study period, there was a rise in off-label orders by indication and the reasons varied by age group. There were more off-label prescriptions for gastrointestinal disorders in the youngest age groups and for psychiatric disorders in the older age groups. Studies of inpatient care have shown even higher percentages, especially for off-label drug use in the neonatal and paediatric intensive-care setting.

Progress to address this issue has been slow. The first paediatric drug development incentive legislation was introduced as part of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Modernization Act more than 20 years ago. This law was followed by the Best Pharmaceutical for Children Act in 2002 and the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA) in 2003. Under PREA, the FDA is allowed to require paediatric studies of any drug likely to be used in a substantial number of children or when there are no good alternatives for children. Yet a study published last year showed that at the time of approval only 18 of 114 new drugs or new indications for drugs that would fall under the PREA requirement had any information on efficacy, safety, or dosing in children. Furthermore, after a median follow-up of 6·8 years, only 47 of 114 had any paediatric information.

Children are not small adults and evidence-based treatment is arguably even more important in children. Both the potential of adverse events with lifelong consequences and the danger of ineffective drugs with poor outcomes have far-reaching consequences. The current efforts are woefully inadequate.

The Lancet
Sep 21, 2019 Volume 394 Number 10203 p979-1112
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Comment
Orphan drug development in China: progress and challenges
Shuyang Zhang, Limeng Chen, Zongjiu Zhang, Yupei Zhao

The Lancet
Sep 21, 2019 Volume 394 Number 10203 p979-1112
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Review
10 years of health-care reform in China: progress and gaps in Universal Health Coverage
Winnie Yip,et al

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Oct 2019 Volume 3 Number 10 p663-748
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/issue/current

Comment
A template for EV-A71 vaccine evaluation in the real world
Dingmei Zhang

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Oct 2019 Volume 3 Number 10 p663-748
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/issue/current

Pneumococcal vaccination in Australian children: divergent outcomes
Sandra Eades

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Oct 2019 Volume 3 Number 10 p663-748
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/issue/current

Articles
Effectiveness of EV-A71 vaccination in prevention of paediatric hand, foot, and mouth disease associated with EV-A71 virus infection requiring hospitalisation in Henan, China, 2017–18: a test-negative case-control study
Yu Li, et al

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Oct 2019 Volume 3 Number 10 p663-748
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/issue/current

Effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against hospital admissions for pneumonia in Australian children: a retrospective, population-based, record-linked cohort study
Parveen Fathima, et al

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Oct 2019 Volume 3 Number 10 p663-748
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/issue/current

Review
Dengue infection and advances in dengue vaccines for children
Scott B Halstead, Leonila F Dans
Summary
Dengue viruses are endemic in most tropical and subtropical countries where they produce disease ranging from a mild fever to a severe, potentially fatal vascular permeability syndrome. We reviewed the status of development and testing in children of three vaccines designed to protect against the four dengue viruses. The first dengue virus vaccine, Dengvaxia, now licensed in 20 endemic countries, the EU and the USA, provides protection against severe dengue in seropositive individuals but increases the risk for naive recipients to develop severe dengue and to be hospitalised. We discuss mechanisms and implications of shortcomings of the licensed vaccine and describe the structure and attributes of two other dengue virus vaccines. Based upon human dengue challenge studies, one of these vaccines promises to deliver solid, long-lasting immunity after a single dose. Because dengue virus infections are ubiquitous in residents and visitors to tropical countries, in the absence of a protective vaccine paediatricians should recognise the early signs and clinical presentation of severe dengue, understand its pathophysiology and appropriate management.

Lancet Infectious Diseases
Oct 2019 Volume 19 Number 10 p1035-1148, e337-e369
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/issue/current

Editorial
Moving towards equitable access to vaccination
The Lancet Infectious Diseases
Progress in childhood immunisations has stalled for almost a decade. According to new data from UNICEF and WHO, only 86% of children worldwide received life-saving vaccinations for diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis, and measles in 2018, with little change from 84% in 2010. The Global Vaccine Action Plan, which aims to ensure equitable access to vaccines by 2020, is not on track to meet its targets.

This stagnation hampers global health and development and is a key issue for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to address in its third replenishment round from 2021–25. The Gavi investment case was launched at a meeting in Japan at the end of August, ahead of a conference in London next year where funds will be pledged by governments and other donors. The next Gavi 5-year plan calls for investment of at least US$7·4 billion (slightly down from $7·5 billion in the period 2016–20), with the objective of immunising 300 million children against 18 diseases and saving up to 8 million lives. At the same time, the governments of low-income countries that partner with Gavi will be asked to put $3·6 billion into their vaccine programmes, up from $1·6 billion in the previous period.

The Gavi plan puts a focus on immunising children who are not currently receiving adequate vaccine coverage. Almost half of under-vaccinated children live in just 16 countries, where lack of access, conflict, and displacement are important barriers to vaccination. To tackle these issues, Gavi proposes to invest $3·3 billion in strengthening immunisation systems through infrastructure development, an objective that Seth Berkley, the Chief Executive Office of Gavi, says amounts to “building out the primary health-care system”.

Another potential impediment to equitable vaccine access is the sustainability of programmes in countries that, as they become wealthier, are no longer eligible for Gavi support or low vaccine prices. Berkley has indicated that ways should be found to support countries with pricing and procurement in this post-transition period. Because of the cost of vaccines, children in middle-income countries that have never been eligible for Gavi support are now those least likely to have access to recommended vaccines—70% of the least vaccinated children will be in these countries by 2030. To help tackle this crucial coverage gap, up to 3% of Gavi’s budget will go towards vaccination programmes in transitioning and middle-income countries.

However, none of the laudable objectives of Gavi can be achieved without adequate funding. When it was last replenished in 2015, Gavi received more than the $7·5 billion it asked for. But the world of 2015 feels a long way away. The UK, Gavi’s biggest funder, was then led by Prime Minister David Cameron in a pre-Brexit era. How will Boris Johnson, freshly installed as UK prime minister, approach funding for Gavi? Johnson has questioned the budget and priorities of the Department for International Development and has mooted support for ending its existence as a cabinet-level department. The UK will host Gavi’s 2020 replenishment pledging conference—when on home soil, anything but the strongest commitment would surely be an embarrassment to the host government.

The USA provided the second largest national contribution in 2015, doubling its financial commitments, which was one of the key reasons that expectations were exceeded. President Trump’s continued commitment to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has been counterbalanced by a decrease in money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to the USA’s lowest contribution in a decade. And then there is China, the world’s second largest economy. It committed a paltry $5 million in 2015. What prospect is there that China will embrace a more multilateral approach to global health when Gavi calls for support?

Potential donors should consider building on the great progress that has already been achieved and exploiting new opportunities. More children than ever before (116·3 million) received three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine in 2018. Global immunisation with a second dose of measles vaccine has climbed, from 39% in 2010 to 67% today. Switching to Pneumosil, a new, cheaper pneumonia vaccine could free-up $1 billion.

Achieving global equitable vaccination will boost economies, improve global health security, and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: not just those related to health, but also poverty, inequalities, education, and more. A well funded and strategically astute Gavi is essential to reaching this goal. It needs strong support now more than ever before.

Lancet Infectious Diseases
Oct 2019 Volume 19 Number 10 p1035-1148, e337-e369
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/issue/current

Comment
Complex task to estimate immune responses to various poliovirus vaccines and vaccination schedules
Khalequ Zaman, Abhijeet Anand

Lancet Infectious Diseases
Oct 2019 Volume 19 Number 10 p1035-1148, e337-e369
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/issue/current

Articles
Safety and immunogenicity of the chlamydia vaccine candidate CTH522 adjuvanted with CAF01 liposomes or aluminium hydroxide: a first-in-human, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 trial
Sonya Abraham, et l

Lancet Infectious Diseases
Oct 2019 Volume 19 Number 10 p1035-1148, e337-e369
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/issue/current

Vaccine schedules and the effect on humoral and intestinal immunity against poliovirus: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Grace R Macklin, et al

Nature
Volume 573 Issue 7775, 26 September 2019
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

Editorial | 25 September 2019
A stem-cell race that no one wins
Japan helped to bring stem-cell technology to the world. Its regulatory policies threaten its hard-won reputation.

New England Journal of Medicine
September 26, 2019 Vol. 381 No. 13
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Editorials
Emerging Use of CRISPR Technology — Chasing the Elusive HIV Cure
C. H. June
This article has no abstract; the first 100 words appear below.
A new form of gene therapy termed genetic editing or gene targeting has become possible owing to advances in genetic engineering technology.1 The intent of genetic editing is to alter the DNA code in cells with single base-pair specificity, and thus it can be considered to be an ultimate form of precision therapy. For the past two decades, genome editing has been a powerful tool for basic science research. The importance of genome editing as a research tool was recognized in 2007 by the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Smithies, Capecchi, and Evans. Until recently, . .

PLoS Medicine
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
(Accessed 28 Sep 2019)

Evaluation of approaches to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics systems: A systematic review and synthesis of policies in 25 countries
Amitabh Bipin Suthar, Aleya Khalifa, Sherry Yin, Kristen Wenz, Doris Ma Fat, Samuel Lantei Mills, Erin Nichols, Carla AbouZahr, Srdjan Mrkic
Research Article | published 27 Sep 2019 PLOS Medicine
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002929

Social resistance drives persistent transmission of Ebola virus disease in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: A mixed-methods study
Kasereka Masumbuko Claude, Jack Underschultz, Michael T. Hawkes

Research Article | published 26 Sep 2019 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223104
Abstract
Background
The second largest Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in history is currently raging in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Stubbornly persistent EVD transmission has been associated with social resistance, ranging from passive non-compliance to overt acts of aggression toward EVD reponse teams.
Methods
We explored community resistance using focus group discussions and assessed the prevalence of resistant views using standardized questionnaires.
Results
Despite being generally cooperative and appreciative of the EVD response (led by the government of DRC with support from the international community), focus group participants provided eyewitness accounts of aggressive resistance to control efforts, consistent with recent media reports. Mistrust of EVD response teams was fueled by perceived inadequacies of the response effort (“herd medicine”), suspicion of mercenary motives, and violation of cultural burial mores (“makeshift plastic morgue”). Survey questionnaires found that the majority of respondents had compliant attitudes with respect to EVD control. Nonetheless, 78/630 (12%) respondents believed that EVD was fabricated and did not exist in the area, 482/630 (72%) were dissatisfied with or mistrustful of the EVD response, and 60/630 (9%) sympathized with perpetrators of overt hostility. Furthermore, 102/630 (15%) expressed non-compliant intentions in the case of EVD illness or death in a family member, including hiding from the health authorities, touching the body, or refusing to welcome an official burial team. Denial of the biomedical discourse and dissatisfaction/mistrust of the EVD response were statistically significantly associated with indicators of social resistance.
Conclusions
We concluded that social resistance to EVD control efforts was prevalent among focus group and survey participants. Mistrust, with deep political and historical roots in this area besieged by chronic violence and neglected by the outside world, may fuel social resistance. Resistant attitudes may be refractory to short-lived community engagement efforts targeting the epidemic but not the broader humanitarian crisis in Eastern DRC

PLoS Pathogens
http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/
[Accessed 28 Sep 2019]

Pearls
Tuberculosis drug discovery in the CRISPR era
Jeremy Rock
| published 19 Sep 2019 PLOS Pathogens
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007975
Abstract
Stewart Cole and colleagues determined the complete genome sequence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the etiological agent of tuberculosis (TB), in 1998 [¹]. This was a landmark achievement that heralded a new age in TB drug discovery. With the genome sequence in hand, drug discoverers suddenly had thousands of new potential targets to explore. But the excitement has since faded [²]. It is unquestioned that genomics has transformed our understanding of the biology of this pathogen. However, the expectation that the Mtb genome sequence would rapidly lead to new therapeutic interventions remains unfulfilled [³]. One of the (many) reasons for this unrealized potential is that our tools to systematically interrogate the Mtb genome and its drug targets—so-called functional genomics—have been limited. In this Pearl, I argue that the recent development of robust CRISPR-based genetics in Mtb [⁴] overcomes many prior limitations and holds the potential to close the gap between genomics and TB drug discovery.

Qualitative Health Research
Volume 29 Issue 13, November 2019
http://qhr.sagepub.com/content/current

Research Articles
Biobanks and the Moral Concerns of Donors: A Democratic Deliberation
Raymond G. De Vries, Kerry A. Ryan, Linda Gordon, Chris D. Krenz, Tom Tomlinson, Scott Jewell, Scott Y. H. Kim
First Published August 10, 2018; pp. 1942–1953
Preview
Do members of the public believe that biobanks should accommodate the moral concerns of donors about the types of research done with their biospecimens? The answer to this question is critical to the future of genomic and precision medicine, endeavors that rely on a public willing to share their biospecimens and medical data. To explore public attitudes regarding the requirements of consent for biobank donations, we organized three democratic deliberations involving 180 participants. The deliberative sessions involved small group discussions informed by presentations given by experts in both biobank research and ethics. We found that participants had a sophisticated understanding of the ethical problems of biobank consent and the complexity of balancing donor concerns while promoting research important to the future of health care. Our research shows how deliberative methods can offer policy makers creative ideas for accommodating the moral concerns of donors in the biobank consent process.

Risk Management and Healthcare Policy
https://www.dovepress.com/risk-management-and-healthcare-policy-archive56
[Accessed 28 Sep 2019]

Review
Total quality management in the health-care context: integrating the literature and directing future research
Alzoubi MM, Hayati KS, Rosliza AM, Ahmad AA, Al-Hamdan ZM
Published Date: 23 September 2019

Science
27 September 2019 Vol 365, Issue 6460
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

Special Issue: Genotype to Phenotype
Introduction to special issue
The manifestation of the genome
By Laura M. Zahn, Beverly A. Purne
The DNA within a human cell, known as the genotype, provides a blueprint to direct a host of processes for building an embodied organism. Although we often treat the human genome as if it is fixed, there is a lot of variation between individuals. The observable human phenotype consists of multiple traits resulting from many genetic variants within any single genome. Hair, eye and skin color, height, build, and behavior all represent such polygenic traits. Many of these traits can be modulated by our environment—for instance, through exposure to stress, sunlight, or microbes—resulting in a range of outcomes. This special issue expands our view of genotype and phenotype and explores recent advances in understanding the factors that influence the development of the human phenotype. We examine cases in which various cells and traits are specified by DNA mutation or epigenetic changes, but we also highlight cases in which phenotype is affected by suites of genes and gene products from commensal bacteria. This special issue illustrates the diverse approaches that together are increasing our understanding of the complex relationship between genotype and phenotype, with the potential to drive discoveries that promote human health.

Science
27 September 2019 Vol 365, Issue 6460
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

Special Issue: Genotype to Phenotype
Introduction to special issue
The manifestation of the genome
By Laura M. Zahn, Beverly A. Purne
The DNA within a human cell, known as the genotype, provides a blueprint to direct a host of processes for building an embodied organism. Although we often treat the human genome as if it is fixed, there is a lot of variation between individuals. The observable human phenotype consists of multiple traits resulting from many genetic variants within any single genome. Hair, eye and skin color, height, build, and behavior all represent such polygenic traits. Many of these traits can be modulated by our environment—for instance, through exposure to stress, sunlight, or microbes—resulting in a range of outcomes. This special issue expands our view of genotype and phenotype and explores recent advances in understanding the factors that influence the development of the human phenotype. We examine cases in which various cells and traits are specified by DNA mutation or epigenetic changes, but we also highlight cases in which phenotype is affected by suites of genes and gene products from commensal bacteria. This special issue illustrates the diverse approaches that together are increasing our understanding of the complex relationship between genotype and phenotype, with the potential to drive discoveries that promote human health.

Science
27 September 2019 Vol 365, Issue 6460
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

Review
Translational genomics and precision medicine: Moving from the lab to the clinic
By Eleftheria Zeggini, Anna L. Gloyn, Anne C. Barton, Louise V. Wain
Science27 Sep 2019 : 1409-1413
Abstract
Translational genomics aims to improve human health by building on discoveries made through genetics research and applying them in the clinical setting. This progress has been made possible by technological advances in genomics and analytics and by the digital revolution. Such advances should enable the development of prognostic markers, tailored interventions, and the design of prophylactic preventive approaches. We are at the cusp of predicting disease risk for some disorders by means of polygenic risk scores integrated with classical epidemiological risk factors. This should lead to better risk stratification and clinical decision-making. A deeper understanding of the link between genome-wide sequence and association with well-characterized phenotypes will empower the development of biomarkers to aid diagnosis, inform disease progression trajectories, and allow better targeting of treatments to those patients most likely to respond

Technology Feature | Beyond CRISPR: What’s current and upcoming in genome editing
By Chris Tachibana

Science27 Sep 2019 : 1484
Summary
Gene editing gets an upgrade with new versions of CRISPR and CRISPR alternatives (zinc-finger nucleases, TALENs, and meganucleases).

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 42 Pages 6133-6240 (30 September 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/42

Review article Abstract only
Clinical trials with GMO-containing vaccines in Europe: Status and regulatory framework
Florence Kauffmann, Pierre Van Damme, Geert Leroux-Roels, Corinne Vandermeulen, … Stéphanie Mali
Pages 6144-6153

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 42 Pages 6133-6240 (30 September 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/42

Review article Abstract only
Analysis of the profitability of adult vaccination in 13 private provider practices in the United States
Benjamin Yarnoff, Olga Khavjou, Grant King, Laurel Bates, … Angela K. Shen
Pages 6180-6185

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 42 Pages 6133-6240 (30 September 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/42

Review article Abstract only
Text message reminders to improve infant immunization in Guatemala: A randomized clinical trial
Gretchen J. Domek, Ingrid L. Contreras-Roldan, Sheana Bull, Sean T. O’Leary, … Edwin J. Asturias
Pages 6192-6200

Vaccines — Open Access Journal
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines
(Accessed 28 Sep 2019)

Open Accesss Article
Human Papillomavirus Infection and Vaccination: Knowledge, Attitude and Perception among Undergraduate Men and Women Healthcare University Students in Switzerland
by Emilien Jeannot, Manuela Viviano, Marie-Christine Follonier, Christelle Kaech, Nadine Oberhauser, Emmanuel Kabengele Mpinga, Pierre Vassilakos, Barbara Kaiser and Patrick Petignat
Vaccines 2019, 7(4), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines7040130 – 26 Sep 2019
Abstract
Background: Human Papillomavirus is a common sexually transmitted infection, representing the main cause of genital warts and cervical cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate basic knowledge and beliefs regarding HPV infection and HPV vaccine among undergraduate healthcare men and women students, as well as their attitudes towards HPV vaccine. Methods: Undergraduate women and men (nursing and midwifery curses) attending three Schools of Health Sciences located in Switzerland. A total of 427 women and 223 men have completed the web questionnaire, which included questions on their socio-demographic background and about basic knowledge and attitudes toward the HPV infection and vaccination. Results: Women undergraduate students have a better knowledge of HPV infection than their men counterparts, although there was a significant gap in knowledge of the disease’s mode of transmission and prevention. Among women, 72.6% of respondents reported having received at least one dose of HPV vaccines versus 31.4% for men respondents. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed a poor understanding among undergraduate healthcare men and women students about the HPV infection, its mode of transmission and its prevention. Our findings highlight the need to improve education on HPV for undergraduate healthcare students in order to increase the awareness of the disease.

From Google Scholar & other sources: Selected Journal Articles, Newsletters, Dissertations, Theses, Commentary

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine
Published in Advance – September 23, 2019, doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a036947
Challenges and Promise of a Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine
AL Cox
Abstract
An estimated 1.5–2 million new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections occur globally each year. Critical to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) HCV elimination strategy is an 80% reduction in incidence of HCV infections by 2030. However, even among high-income countries, few are on target to achieve the WHO’s incident infection-reduction goal. A preventative vaccine could have a major impact in achieving incidence-reduction targets globally. However, barriers to HCV vaccine development are significant and include at-risk populations that are often marginalized: viral diversity, limited options for testing HCV vaccines, and an incomplete understanding of protective immune responses. In part because of those factors, testing of only one vaccine strategy has been completed in at-risk individuals as of 2019. Despite challenges, immunity against HCV protects against chronic infection in some repeated HCV exposures and an effective HCV vaccine could prevent transmission regardless of risk factors. Ultimately, prophylactic vaccines will likely be necessary to achieve global HCV elimination.