Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 16, Issue 1, 2020
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Review Article
Vaccination in people with disability: a review
Jenny O’Neill, Fiona Newall, Giuliana Antolovich, Sally Lima & Margie Danchin
Pages: 7-15
Published online: 24 Jul 2019

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 16, Issue 1, 2020
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Review
The clinical and economic burden of varicella in the Middle East: a systematic literature review
Nawal Al Kaabi, Fatma Mohd Ali Sultan Al Olama, Mamoun Al Qaseer, Idris Al Ubaidani, Ener Cagri Dinleyici, Wail Ahmad Hayajneh, Abdul Rahman Bizri, Maysoon Loulou, Tidiane Ndao & Lara J. Wolfson
Pages: 21-32
Published online: 03 Sep 2019

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 16, Issue 1, 2020
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Review
An overview of VaxchoraTM, a live attenuated oral cholera vaccine
Tarun Saluja, Vijayalaxmi V. Mogasale, Jean-Louis Excler, Jerome H. Kim & Vittal Mogasale
Pages: 42-50
Published online: 20 Sep 2019

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 16, Issue 1, 2020
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Article
Knowledge, practice and attitude towards HPV vaccination among college students in Beijing, China
Yingnan Liu, Na Di & Xia Tao
Pages: 116-123
Published online: 08 Aug 2019

Journal of Medical Ethics
February 2020 – Volume 46 – 2

http://jme.bmj.com/content/current
Original research
The end of religious exemptions from immunisation requirements?
(16 September, 2019)
Gregory L Bock
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to propose a middle ground in the debate over religious exemptions from measles vaccination requirements. It attempts to strike a balance between public health concerns on the one hand and religious objections on the other that avoids two equally serious errors: (1) making religious liberty an absolute and (2) disregarding religious beliefs altogether. Some think that the issue is straightforward: science has spoken and the benefits to public health outweigh any other concerns. The safety of the community, they say, demands that everybody be vaccinated so that measles outbreaks can be prevented, but such voices often ignore the freedom of religion, which is a mistake. Using Martha Nussbaum’s work on religious liberty, this paper claims that the exemptions should be preserved if a certain level of vaccination rates can be maintained.

Journal of Travel Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 1, January 2020
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/issue/27/1

Editorials
Antimicrobial resistance: a global public health emergency further exacerbated by international travel
Marisa Holubar
J Travel Med, Volume 27, Issue 1, January 2020, taz095, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taz095

Journal of Travel Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 1, January 2020
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/issue/27/1

Perspective
The afterlife of antibiotics
Mary E Wilson, MD
J Travel Med, Volume 27, Issue 1, January 2020, taz102, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taz102
Antibiotics have an afterlife. They remain biologically active and affect microbial ecosystems in and outside the body. Antibiotics used by humans and animals are excreted and reach the environment through multiple pathways causing widespread contamination of soil and water globally. Wastewater treatment plants to not eliminate all antibiotic residues and resistance genes.

Nature
Volume 578 Issue 7793, 6 February 2020
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

Editorial | 04 February 2020
Calling all coronavirus researchers: keep sharing, stay open
As the new coronavirus continues its deadly spread, researchers must ensure that their work on this outbreak is shared rapidly and openly.

Nature
Volume 578 Issue 7793, 6 February 2020
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

Editorial | 05 February 2020
The era of massive cancer sequencing projects has reached a turning point
The future of cancer genomics lies in the clinic.

Nature
Volume 578 Issue 7793, 6 February 2020
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

Comment | 05 February 2020
Genomics: data sharing needs an international code of conduct
Efforts to protect people’s privacy in a massive international cancer project offer lessons for data sharing.
Mark Phillips, Fruzsina Molnár-Gábor[…] & Bartha M. Knoppers

Nature
Volume 578 Issue 7793, 6 February 2020
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

News & Views | 05 February 2020
Global genomics project unravels cancer’s complexity at unprecedented scale
A massive international effort has yielded multifaceted studies of more than 2,600 tumours from 38 tissues, generating a wealth of insights into the genetic basis of cancer.
Marcin Cieslik & Arul M. Chinnaiyan

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States
of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
[Accessed 8 Feb 2020]

Research Article
In situ genetic engineering of tumors for long-lasting and systemic immunotherapy

Stephany Y. Tzeng, Kisha K. Patel, David R. Wilson, Randall A. Meyer, Kelly R. Rhodes, and Jordan J. Green
Significance
There is an urgent need for improved cancer immunotherapies. The nanoparticles described here deliver genes to stimulate the immune system to specifically kill tumor cells. This synthetic, biodegradable system avoids the use of common gene delivery materials like viruses that can have safety concerns and manufacturing limitations. Local nanoparticle delivery evades adverse side effects stemming from systemic administration of immune-activating therapeutics. Importantly, this technology causes a tumor-targeting response but does not require prior knowledge of a particular patient’s gene expression profile; thus, it can serve as a platform to combat many different solid cancers. Moreover, local nanoparticle administration causes a systemic cellular immune response, which has the potential to lead to better outcomes in the context of recurrence or metastasis.
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy has been the subject of extensive research, but highly effective and broadly applicable methods remain elusive. Moreover, a general approach to engender endogenous patient-specific cellular therapy, without the need for a priori knowledge of tumor antigen, ex vivo cellular manipulation, or cellular manufacture, could dramatically reduce costs and broaden accessibility. Here, we describe a biotechnology based on synthetic, biodegradable nanoparticles that can genetically reprogram cancer cells and their microenvironment in situ so that the cancer cells can act as tumor-associated antigen-presenting cells (tAPCs) by inducing coexpression of a costimulatory molecule (4-1BBL) and immunostimulatory cytokine (IL-12). In B16-F10 melanoma and MC38 colorectal carcinoma mouse models, reprogramming nanoparticles in combination with checkpoint blockade significantly reduced tumor growth over time and, in some cases, cleared the tumor, leading to long-term survivors that were then resistant to the formation of new tumors upon rechallenge at a distant site. In vitro and in vivo analyses confirmed that locally delivered tAPC-reprogramming nanoparticles led to a significant cell-mediated cytotoxic immune response with systemic effects. The systemic tumor-specific and cell-mediated immunotherapy response was achieved without requiring a priori knowledge of tumor-expressed antigens and reflects the translational potential of this nanomedicine.

Prehospital & Disaster Medicine
Volume 35 – Issue 1 – February 2020
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/prehospital-and-disaster-medicine/latest-issue

Systematic Review
Defining and Operationalizing Disaster Preparedness in Hospitals: A Systematic Literature Review
Marlous LMI Verheul, Michel LA Dückers
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 December 2019, pp. 61-68

Science Translational Medicine
05 February 2020 Vol 12, Issue 529
https://stm.sciencemag.org/

Research Resource
Immune system development varies according to age, location, and anemia in African children
By Danika L. Hill, Edward J. Carr, Tobias Rutishauser, Gemma Moncunill, Joseph J. Campo, Silvia Innocentin, Maxmillian Mpina, Augusto Nhabomba, Anneth Tumbo, Chenjerai Jairoce, Henriëtte A. Moll, Menno C. van Zelm, Carlota Dobaño, Claudia Daubenberger, Michelle A. Linterman
Science Translational Medicine05 Feb 2020 Restricted Access
A global immune landscape
Systems biology approaches to the immune system have revealed specific phenotypes associated with disease or response to vaccination. However, these studies are concentrated in certain areas of the world, and the findings may not apply globally. Hill et al. studied longitudinal blood samples from a large malaria vaccine trial conducted in different African countries. They saw country-specific trajectories of immune development that influenced vaccine responses. Anemic children showed dampened adaptive immune responses. Follow-up experiments with B cells in vitro revealed that iron has direct effects on B cell differentiation. These results show that geographic location has an important influence on immune development.

Systematic Reviews
https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles
[Accessed 8 Feb 2020]

Social science research contributions to antimicrobial resistance: protocol for a scoping review
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an escalating global health issue with complex and dynamic interdependencies, high uncertainty and decision stakes, multiple drivers and stakeholders with diverse values and i…

Authors: Abou Ali Vedadhir, Carla Rodrigues and Helen Lambert
Citation: Systematic Reviews 2020 9:24
Content type: Protocol
Published on: 5 February 2020

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Discussion Open access
Cost-effectiveness analysis for rotavirus vaccine decision-making: How can we best inform evolving and complex choices in vaccine product selection?
Clint Pecenka, Frederic Debellut, Naor Bar-Zeev, Palwasha Anwari, … Andrew Clark
Pages 1277-1279

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Review article Full text access
Immunogenicity and safety of fractional dose yellow fever vaccination: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Chukwudi A. Nnaji, Muki S. Shey, Olatunji O. Adetokunboh, Charles S. Wiysonge
Pages 1291-1301

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Research article Open access
Efficacy and immunogenicity of a single dose of human papillomavirus vaccine compared to no vaccination or standard three and two-dose vaccination regimens: A systematic review of evidence from clinical trials
Hilary S. Whitworth, Katherine E. Gallagher, Natasha Howard, Sandra Mounier-Jack, … Deborah Watson-Jones
Pages 1302-1314

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Review article Full text access
Human papillomavirus vaccination coverage, policies, and practical implementation across Europe
Ngoc-Ha Nguyen-Huu, Nathalie Thilly, Tarik Derrough, Emmanouela Sdona, … Nelly Agrinier
Pages 1315-1331

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Research article Open access
Potential health impact and cost-effectiveness of bivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in Afghanistan
Palwasha Anwari, Frédéric Debellut, Elisabeth Vodicka, Andrew Clark, … Najibullah Safi
Pages 1352-1362

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Research article Open access
The potential impact of dengue vaccination with, and without, pre-vaccination screening
Laurent Coudeville, Nicolas Baurin, Donald S. Shepard
Pages 1363-1369

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Research article Full text access
Factors associated with perceptions of influenza vaccine safety and effectiveness among adults, United States, 2017–2018
Chelsea S. Lutz, Rebecca V. Fink, Ann J. Cloud, John Stevenson, … Amy Parker Fiebelkorn
Pages 1393-1401

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Research article Open access
A cost-effectiveness analysis of traditional and geographic information system-supported microplanning approaches for routine immunization program management in northern Nigeria
Disha Ali, Ann Levin, Masduq Abdulkarim, Usman Tijjani, … Leanne Dougherty
Pages 1408-1415

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Review article Full text access
Early vaccine advocacy: Medals honoring Edward Jenner issued during the 19th century
José Esparza
Pages 1450-1456

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Review article Full text access
Vaccine confidence among parents: Large scale study in eighteen European countries
Adamos Hadjipanayis, Diego van Esso, Stefano del Torso, Hans Jürgen Dornbusch, … Zachi Grossman
Pages 1505-1512
Conclusion
The majority of parents in Europe believe in the importance of childhood vaccination. However, significant lack of confidence was found in certain European countries, highlighting the need for continuous monitoring, awareness and response plans. The possible influence of different types of healthcare providers on parental decisions demonstrated for the first time in our survey, calls for further research. Monitoring and continuous medical education efforts aimed mostly at those professionals who might not be likely to recommend vaccination are suggested.

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Review article Full text access
An assessment of parental knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding influenza vaccination
Maureen D. Goss, Jonathan L. Temte, Shari Barlow, Emily Temte, … Guanhua Chen
Pages 1565-1571

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 6 Pages 1277-1578 (5 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/6

Review article Full text access
The power of anticipated regret: Predictors of HPV vaccination and seasonal influenza vaccination acceptability among young Romanians
Marcela A. Penţa, Irina Catrinel Crăciun, Adriana Băban
Pages 1572-1578

Vaccines — Open Access Journal
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines
(Accessed 8 Feb 2020)

Open Access Commentary
The Vaccine Uptake Continuum: Applying Social Science Theory to Shift Vaccine Hesitancy
by Rachael Piltch-Loeb and Ralph DiClemente
Vaccines 2020, 8(1), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8010076 (registering DOI) – 07 Feb 2020
Abstract
Vaccines are the optimal public health strategy to prevent disease, but the growing anti-vaccine movement has focused renewed attention on the need to persuade people to increase vaccine uptake. This commentary draws on social and behavioral science theory and proposes a vaccine uptake continuum comprised of five factors: (1) awareness of the health threat; (2) availability of the vaccine; (3) accessibility of the vaccine; (4) affordability of the vaccine; and (5) acceptability of the vaccine to effectively approach this rising challenge

Vaccines — Open Access Journal
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines
(Accessed 8 Feb 2020)

Open Access Review
Discrepancies between Protocols of Immunization Targeting Internationally Adopted Children in Western Countries
by Cecilia Maria Alimenti , Angela Bechini , Sara Boccalini , Paolo Bonanni , Luisa Galli and Elena Chiappini
Vaccines 2020, 8(1), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8010075 (registering DOI) – 07 Feb 2020
Abstract
The immunization status of Internationally Adopted Children (IAC) newly arrived in the adoptive country require a timely assessment and completion of necessary vaccinations. In fact, due to their frequent suboptimal immunization status, IAC are at high risk for vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). Comparative analysis of immunization protocols adopted in European countries, United States, and Canada disclosed different approaches to the immunization of these children. In order to guarantee the continuity of paediatric immunization schedules that may have been interrupted in countries of origin, a homogeneous and internationally shared standard of immunization in the management of IAC should be provided

Vaccines — Open Access Journal
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines
(Accessed 8 Feb 2020)

Open Access Article
Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Propensity towards HPV Vaccine of Young Adult Students in Italy
by Cecilia Trucchi , Daniela Amicizia , Silvio Tafuri , Laura Sticchi , Paolo Durando , Claudio Costantino , Federica Varlese , Bruno Di Silverio , Anna Maria Bagnasco , Filippo Ansaldi and Giancarlo Icardi
Vaccines 2020, 8(1), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8010074 (registering DOI) – 07 Feb 2020
Abstract
Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI), representing the main cause of genital warts and cervical cancer. This cross-sectional study evaluated knowledge and attitudes about HPV infection, related diseases, and prevention and propensity towards HPV vaccine among undergraduate students. Methods: An online and written survey about HPV and its prevention, targeted to young adults of both genders, was addressed to students attending health sciences and other schools at Universities of Genoa and Bari. Results: The overall median knowledge and attitude scores were 56.3% (25–75 p = 40–68.8%) and four out of five (25–75 p = 4–5), respectively. In the multivariate analysis, attending a health sciences university, using social networks ≤2 h a day, a history of STI, having heard about HPV and HPV vaccine previously resulted as predictors of higher knowledge scores. Having heard about HPV previously also predicted a high attitude score, together with a perceived economic status as good. Having Italian and healthcare worker parents, being employed, and following a specific diet, instead, predicted lower attitude score. Conclusions: Poor knowledge and good attitudes were found among undergraduates about HPV. In order to increase HPV vaccine compliance and the counselling skills of future healthcare workers, the improvement of training on HPV is needed.

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

No new digest content identified.

Media/Policy Watch
This watch section is intended to alert readers to substantive news, analysis and opinion from the general media and selected think tanks and similar organizations on vaccines, immunization, global public health and related themes. Media Watch is not intended to be exhaustive, but indicative of themes and issues CVEP is actively tracking. This section will grow from an initial base of newspapers, magazines and blog sources, and is segregated from Journal Watch above which scans the peer-reviewed journal ecology.
We acknowledge the Western/Northern bias in this initial selection of titles and invite suggestions for expanded coverage. We are conservative in our outlook in adding news sources which largely report on primary content we are already covering above. Many electronic media sources have tiered, fee-based subscription models for access. We will provide full-text where content is published without restriction, but most publications require registration and some subscription level.

The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
Science
The New Coronavirus Is a Truly Modern Epidemic
New diseases are mirrors that reflect how a society works—and where it fails.
Ed Yong
February 3, 2020

BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
Babbage – Viral hit—the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine
Feb 5, 2020

Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/home/uk
Coronavirus
Coronavirus shows risk of Trump cuts to health spending
Private sector may not be able to pick up the slack on drug and vaccine development
Gillian Tett
February 6, 2020

Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
Army Inches Closer To Develop Zika And Dengue Virus Vaccine
Mosquito-carried diseases such as the Zika virus and Dengue still continue to thrive in warm temperate parts of the world, but new US army research suggests we are on the cusp of figuring out a vaccine that could potentially work to fight both these infections.
Feb 8, 2020 By Dana Dovey Contributor

Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

The Guardian
http://www.guardiannews.com/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
Coronavirus outbreak
China’s ghost cities: fear of coronavirus leaves streets deserted …
8 Feb 2020
Residents say they are trapped in their own homes as the country grapples with the expanding outbreak.

New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
Health
C.D.C. and W.H.O. Offers to Help China Have Been Ignored for Weeks
Privately, Chinese doctors say they need outside expertise. But Beijing, without saying why, has shown no interest so far.
Feb 7 By Donald G. McNeil Jr. and Zolan Kanno-Youngs

Business
Widespread Outcry in China Over Death of Coronavirus Doctor
The doctor, Li Wenliang, had been silenced by the police after warning about the new coronavirus that has killed hundreds in China and sickened thousands.
By Li Yuan

Health
W.H.O. Fights a Pandemic Besides Coronavirus: an ‘Infodemic’
Working with the big tech companies, the U.N. health agency has made strides in combating rumors and falsehoods on the internet about the new infection.
By Matt Richtel

Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
World Health Organization’s praise of China’s handling of coronavirus raises eyebrows
Some health experts wonder if the WHO’s deference to China helped spread the virus in the initial weeks.
By Emily Rauhala

Think Tanks et al

Brookings
http://www.brookings.edu/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
[No new relevant content]

Center for Global Development
http://www.cgdev.org/page/press-center
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
February 5, 2020
A Final MVAC Blueprint—and the Start of an R&D Revolution?
Despite decades of investment, TB remains a global crisis. Each year, TB kills 1.6 million people—making it the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. We have set out to develop a solution: what we ultimately called the Market-Driven, Value-Based Advance Commitment (MVAC), a mechanism to create and guarantee a market for better TB treatment, if and when such a treatment becomes available.
Rachel Silverman et al.

Blueprint for a Market-Driven Value-Based Advance Commitment for Tuberculosis
Publication
2/5/20
The market-driven, value-based advance commitment (MVAC) builds on the advance market commitment (AMC) mechanism previously used in global health with several important innovations and improvements. Most crucially, the MVAC is driven by MIC demand rather than donor contributions; is informed by countries’ ability to pay rather than a single, “cost-plus” price; and allows pharmaceutical companies to reap higher revenues from a more effective product. In this report, we apply our new model—the MVAC—to a target product profile (TPP), published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016 and endorsed by BMGF, for a pan-TB regimen.

CSIS
https://www.csis.org/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
[No new relevant content]

Council on Foreign Relations
http://www.cfr.org/
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
February 7, 2020
Public Health Threats and Pandemics
What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus Outbreak
A new coronavirus that originated in China has sparked fears of a potential pandemic, as health experts seek to answer questions about how it spreads.
Backgrounder by Claire Felter and Lindsay Maizland

February 6, 2020
China
Chinese Tech Responds to the Coronavirus
As the new coronavirus has spread from Wuhan to the rest of China, Chinese technology firms have played a prominent role in the battle against the epidemic. These efforts have tied tech companies clo…
Blog Post by Lauren Dudley and Adam Segal

Kaiser Family Foundation
https://www.kff.org/search/?post_type=press-release
Accessed 8 Feb 2020
[No new relevant content]

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

WHO – 146th session of the Executive Board
Geneva, 3–8 February 2020.
Main Documents [selected documents/Editor’s text bolding]]

EB146/1 Rev.1
Provisional agenda

EB146/1(annotated)
Provisional agenda (annotated)

EB146/6
Follow-up to the high-level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly on health-related issues
Universal health coverage: moving together to build a healthier world

EB146/7
Follow-up to the high-level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly on health-related issues
Political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases

EB146/8
Global vaccine action plan

EB146/9
Accelerating the elimination of cervical cancer as a global public health problem

EB146/10
Ending tuberculosis
Progress in implementing the global strategy and targets for tuberculosis prevention, care and control after 2015 (the End TB Strategy)

EB146/11
Ending tuberculosis
Draft global strategy for tuberculosis research and innovation

EB146/14 –
Neglected tropical diseases

EB146/15
Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property

EB146/16
Public health emergencies: preparedness and response
Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme

EB146/17
Public health preparedness and response
WHO’s work in health emergencies

EB146/18
Influenza preparedness

EB146/19
The public health implications of implementation of the Nagoya Protocol

EB146/20
Public health emergencies: preparedness and response
Cholera prevention and control

EB146/21
Poliomyelitis
Polio eradication

EB146/22
Poliomyelitis
Polio transition planning and polio post-certification

Featured Journal Content

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 98, Number 2, February 2020, 77-148
https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/98/2/en/
PERSPECTIVES
Addressing the persistent inequities in immunization coverage
— Mickey Chopra, Zulfiqar Bhutta, Diana Chang Blanc, Francesco Checchi, Anuradha Gupta, Ephrem T Lemango, Orin S Levine, Dafrossa Lyimo, Robin Nandy, Katherine L O’Brien, Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, Helen Rees, Jane Soepardi, Rachel Tolhurst & Cesar G Victora
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.19.241620
A key focus of the health-related sustainable development goal (SDG) 3 is universal health coverage (UHC), including access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines. However, the challenges to achieving UHC are substantial, especially with increased demands on the health sector and with most budgets being static or shrinking.¹

Immunization programmes have been successful in reaching children worldwide. For example, 86% of the world’s infants had received three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine in 2018.² The experiences from such programmes can contribute to UHC, and as these programmes strive to adapt to new global strategic frameworks, such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s strategy Gavi 5.0 and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Immunization Agenda 2030, these efforts can inform the progressive realization of UHC. Immunization programmes that can sustain regular levels of contact between health providers and beneficiaries at the community level have enabled new vaccines to be added to routine immunization schedules and other interventions to be delivered to children and their families. In addition, experiences from both polio campaigns and the child health days strategy show that incorporating additional interventions into campaigns can increase coverage of these interventions as well as of vaccinations.^3,4

Improving immunization coverage
Considering how to expand integration efforts and to better focus immunization on the most disadvantaged, including attention to addressing social determinants of health, will be critical for further progress. The Equity Reference Group for Immunization has conducted analyses based on published and unpublished literature, as well as a series of interviews with experts working at global, national and community levels to highlight several related challenges and opportunities. Here we discuss challenges and opportunities related to data quality, vertical immunization programmes, underserved children and gender.

In 2018, 19.4 million children younger than one year of age did not receive DTP3, and approximately 41% of these children live in countries that are polio-endemic, fragile or affected by conflict.² In addition, a growing share of children live in middle-income countries where vulnerability and social exclusion, particularly among the urban poor, prevents many from receiving vaccination. Children living in remote rural areas, although long identified as a target population for immunization programmes, continue to be underserved. Furthermore, immunization programmes often ignore inequities caused by bias and discrimination in response to the social constructs of ethnicity and gender.

Data quality
There is growing evidence on the reasons these inequities in immunization exist and how to address them. Acting on this evidence is the challenge to increasing coverage, particularly as it will require redistributing resources, prioritizing those who are often subject to discrimination and operating in challenging contexts. Currently, opportunities that are important considerations for immunization decision-makers and implementers exist.

The first opportunity is the improvement of data quality and use of both traditional surveys and new technologies. Approaches such as linking data sets and use of electronic health information systems can facilitate recording and reporting of real-time data. Simple analyses using existing data can also help us better understand key equity issues within countries. For example, in 2018, WHO released an equity analysis of ten countries that Gavi has identified as the highest priority for childhood immunization.⁵ Using Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the report presents disaggregated data on, and associations with, DTP3 coverage by key characteristics of children, mothers and households. This type of information can serve as a basis for more detailed explorations at both national and subnational levels, and as a baseline for future efforts to redress equity gaps. New technologies can provide a better user interface and geospatial information gathering, particularly to improve traditional survey methods and tools. Such advances would facilitate new opportunities that big data and artificial intelligence approaches are bringing to public health.

The second opportunity is innovations such as machine learning and use of satellite imagery, which are already improving estimates of how many children live in different geographic areas, and supporting better visualization of data, which health workers can act upon. Polio eradication programming, for example, has shown how the use of granular data through geographic information systems mapping, coupled with surveillance data, can identify children who are hard to reach by the health-care system. Predictive models informed by data across sectors, such as health, protection, transport and telecommunications, could identify pockets of low coverage even where surveys have not been conducted. However, as quality data are only relevant if used at local levels for planning and budgeting, capacity must be built at national and sub-national levels to better use these data to adapt and expand service delivery strategies. These transformative investments will be critical for both immunization programming and UHC, even as discussions of how best to measure UHC continue.

Vertical programmes
The vertical nature of immunization programmes is a challenge. This organizational structure has enabled robust vaccination gains, but has been implemented without enough attention to how immunization assets can be used more broadly. Identifying the right mix of interventions to integrate with immunization services, informed by cost–benefit and cost–effectiveness analyses, is critical to ensure that integration does not overburden health workers or negatively impact coverage and quality.⁴ At the global level, additional research is needed to further develop an evidence base around new service delivery models and innovations to simplify vaccine delivery for all children, particularly those living in difficult-to-reach areas. Experts point to the success of strategies that use meticulous microplanning to identify the unreached, engage communities and improve reach through public-private partnerships. Indeed, one of the core axes of UHC is that communities own and drive the design and implementation of services. Immunization programmes are well placed to support this, building on the strengths of the WHO’s Reaching Every District approach, which includes community engagement as a cornerstone. In addition, needle-free vaccine administration and thermo-stable vaccines are promising innovations to enable the health system to simplify and expand delivery to marginalized children. Adoption of novel strategies, such as optimizing delivery strategies and doses per container, reduced dosages and adapted target age ranges within campaigns may reduce disease burden in displaced and intermittently accessible populations. Furthermore, the rollout of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in many countries presents new opportunities for reaching adolescents with other services, such as screening programmes and treatment or other vaccines, and provision of information and life skills. This increased reach can facilitate access for adolescents and can reduce costs and burdens related to delivering interventions separately.

Underserved children
Developing better approaches for children who may be accessible geographically, but who remain underserved is also a challenge. In some cases, children are underserved by commission, that is, their families deliberately avoid vaccination, while others by omission due to a variety of service delivery and social factors leading to intentional or unintentional exclusion. Incorporating the latest thinking around effective behaviour change approaches into programme and communication strategies may provide new opportunities to reach these children. Reaching these children will also require health systems strengthening, improved quality of care, intersectoral and intragovernmental collaboration, and new emphasis on social justice, non-discrimination, civil society engagement and accountability, among other efforts.⁶

Gender
A final challenge is to ensure that gender is recognized as a critical, cross-cutting, and influencing factor, and ensuring that gender analyses of immunization are not restricted to comparing coverage outcomes between boys and girls. Studies show that maternal education and maternal age are key determinants of whether a child is immunized. As well, the agency and empowerment of women, and women’s access to quality services can affect the likelihood of childhood immunization.⁷ We must identify and test ways in which immunization programmes can mitigate gender-related barriers without undermining, but rather ideally contributing to, women’s empowerment in different settings. HPV vaccination raises additional gender and equity considerations, particularly as services for adolescents can be quite limited in both availability and quality in many settings.⁸

Addressing inequities
The strategic importance, effectiveness and cost–effectiveness of focusing on the poorest and hardest-to-reach children has been emphasized before.^9,10 Equity in immunization may also contribute to building solidarity within countries for UHC, as everyone, across all socioeconomic levels and from a variety of backgrounds, will benefit from increased herd immunity. However, building solidarity for social and health programmes can be a key challenge in settings where the more advantaged people question why they should pay taxes to ensure services for the less advantaged.¹¹ Fortunately, immunization programmes are an example of a public good which, when strengthened and expanded, will benefit those same tax-payers, while also benefitting those who have been previously denied this essential intervention. The financial return on investment in vaccines has been found to be up to 44 times their cost.¹²

We must address inequities in immunization not just for the obvious health, financial and political benefits that come from herd immunity and absence of disease, but because without greater achievement in immunization among children living in urban poor, remote rural or conflict settings, it will be impossible to collectively reach our shared goals for primary health care and UHC.

We have highlighted some of the innovations in the field, as well as the existing assets that immunization programmes can bring. However, using the full potential of immunization programmes to advance UHC will require strategic changes, such as increased efforts to integrate with other services and reaching children never reached by the health system.

[References at title link above]

Featured Journal Content

G-FINDER 2019 – NEGLECTED DISEASE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: UNEVEN PROGRESS
POLICY CURES RESEARCH
January 2020 :: 143 pages
PDF: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/policy-cures-website-assets/app/uploads/2020/01/30100951/G-Finder-2019-report.pdf

The survey
Each year since 2007, the G-FINDER project has provided policy-makers, donors, researchers and industry with a comprehensive analysis of global investment into research and development (R&D) of new products to prevent, diagnose, control or cure neglected diseases in developing countries. It provides an up-to-date analysis of how R&D investments are being allocated across diseases and product types, funding trends over time, and where the potential gaps lie.

This is the twelfth annual -FINDER report, providing new data on investments made in financial
year 2018. In all, 262 organisations completed the survey for FY2018, which covered 36 neglected diseases and all relevant product types – drugs, vaccines, biologics, diagnostics, microbicides and vector control products (chemical and biological control agents, and reservoir targeted vaccines) – as well as basic research.

The 2018 survey added three new neglected diseases: hepatitis B, mycetoma and snakebite
envenoming. It also removed the genotype restriction for hepatitis C, although restrictions to ensure that R&D is targeted at LMICs remain, and added vaccine R&D for leprosy. The therapeutic vaccine product category was expanded and relabelled as ‘biologics’, this category captures funding that was previously variously included under therapeutic vaccines, drugs and preventive vaccines.

Findings
Global funding for basic research and product development for neglected diseases reached a
new record high of $4,055m in 2018, easily surpassing the previous year’s record. The headline
increase of $374m (up 10%) was partly due to improved reporting. After adjusting for changes in survey scope, participation and reporting, global funding for neglected disease R&D increased by $290m in 2018 (up 7.9%); this was both the largest real annual funding increase on record, and the first time ever that funding has grown for three consecutive years….

Discussion [p. 120, section titles]
:: Global funding for neglected disease R&D reached a new record high in 2018, on the back of
three consecutive years of growth
:: Investment by multinational pharmaceutical companies reached its highest ever level
:: The growth in industry investment contributed to a dramatic increase in funding for clinical
development & post-registration studies
:: Progress remained encouraging outside of the traditional top funders of neglected disease
R&D
:: Not everything is trending upwards: funding for NTDs has barely shifted over the last decade
:::::::
The impact of sustained investment in neglected disease R&D is clear in the growing number of
newly-approved products (the last couple of years alone have seen critically important new drugs for sleeping sickness, onchocerciasis, malaria and TB, and LMIC-targeted vaccines for typhoid, rotavirus, and pneumococcal pneumonia) and in a healthy and growing R&D pipeline.

This impact has been made possible by – and indeed has required – the many positive trends highlighted in this year’s G-FINDER report, including the record-high level of overall funding for neglected disease R&D, increased funding for clinical development & post-registration studies, and increased investment by industry. But the corollary of this success is that more investment will be needed: the R&D pipeline is larger than ever before, with more candidates in late-stage development, and there is still a significant gap between current levels of investment and the level that will be required to translate these candidates into new tools.

We also note that progress is not occurring across the board: not all areas are benefitting from increased funding and record highs, with a decade of stagnant funding for NTDs being one key example. And while funding from some countries is laudable, in others it has been going backwards. Addressing this uneven progress is the challenge ahead.

[See also IFPMA statement below in Announcements]

EMERGENCIES

Coronavirus [2019-nCoV]

National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China
Novel coronavirus cases rise to 11,791
Updated: 2020-02-01 chinadaily.com.cn
The total number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus climbed to 11,791 as of midnight of Jan 31, including 259 deaths and 243 who had recovered and been discharged from the hospital, according to the National Health Commission.
A total of 17, 988 suspected cases were reported as of Friday. At present, 136,987 close contacts of confirmed cases had been tracked, and among them, 118,478 are under medical observation while 6,509 such people were freed from observation on Friday.
Hubei province, the center of the outbreak, reported 1,347 new confirmed cases and 45 new deaths on Jan 31, bringing the two numbers up to 7,153 and 249 respectively, according to the province’s health commission.
A total of 6,738 confirmed cases, including 956 with severe symptoms and 338 in critical condition in the province, are receiving treatment in isolation at designated medical institutions.
The provincial commission said that 41,075 close contacts of the infected are being tracked and 36,838 of them are under medical observation.

::::::

Situation report – 11 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
WHO 31 January 2020
[Excerpt]
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
Globally :: 9826 confirmed
China :: 9720 confirmed
:: 15238 suspected
:: 1527 severe
:: 213 deaths
Outside of China
:: 106 confirmed
:: 19 countries

WHO RISK ASSESSMENT
China – Very High
Regional Level – High
Global Level – High

HIGHLIGHTS
:: The Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) was reconvened on 30 January. WHO declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern [see Statement below]…

:: Today, the first two confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease were reported in Italy; both had travel history to Wuhan City.

:: WHO’s Risk Communication Team has launched a new information platform called WHO Information Network for Epidemics (EPI-WIN). EPI-WIN will use a series of amplifiers to share tailored information for specific target groups. EPI-WIN began this week to establish connections to health care and travel and tourism sectors and will work with food and agriculture and business/employer sectors next week.

TECHNICAL FOCUS:
Research and innovation
As part of WHO’s response to the outbreak, the R&D Blueprint has been activated to accelerate evaluation of the diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics for this novel coronavirus
The global imperative for research is to maintain a high-level discussion platform which enables consensus on strategic directions, nurtures scientific collaborations and, supports optimal and rapid research to address crucial gaps, without duplication of efforts.

Understanding the disease, its reservoirs, its transmission, its clinical severity and developing effective counter measures including therapeutics and vaccines is critical for the control of the outbreak, the reduction of related mortality and minimization of economic impact.

Recent reports regarding expert research consultations can be found here https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/key-action/novel-coronavirus/en/.

::::::

Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
30 January 2020 Statement
[Excerpts]
Proceedings of the meeting
…The Chair then reviewed the agenda for the meeting and introduced the presenters.

Representatives of the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China reported on the current situation and the public health measures being taken. There are now 7711 confirmed and 12167 suspected cases throughout the country. Of the confirmed cases, 1370 are severe and 170 people have died. 124 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

The WHO Secretariat provided an overview of the situation in other countries. There are now 83 cases in 18 countries. Of these, only 7 had no history of travel in China. There has been human-to-human transmission in 3 countries outside China. One of these cases is severe and there have been no deaths…

Conclusions and advice
…The Committee also acknowledged that there are still many unknowns, cases have now been reported in five WHO regions in one month, and human-to-human transmission has occurred outside Wuhan and outside China.

The Committee believes that it is still possible to interrupt virus spread, provided that countries put in place strong measures to detect disease early, isolate and treat cases, trace contacts, and promote social distancing measures commensurate with the risk. It is important to note that as the situation continues to evolve, so will the strategic goals and measures to prevent and reduce spread of the infection. The Committee agreed that the outbreak now meets the criteria for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and proposed the following advice to be issued as Temporary Recommendations. 

The Committee emphasized that the declaration of a PHEIC should be seen in the spirit of support and appreciation for China, its people, and the actions China has taken on the frontlines of this outbreak, with transparency, and, it is to be hoped, with success. In line with the need for global solidarity, the Committee felt that a global coordinated effort is needed to enhance preparedness in other regions of the world that may need additional support for that.

Advice to WHO
The Committee welcomed a forthcoming WHO multidisciplinary technical mission to China, including national and local experts. The mission should review and support efforts to investigate the animal source of the outbreak, the clinical spectrum of the disease and its severity, the extent of human-to-human transmission in the community and in healthcare facilities, and efforts to control the outbreak. This mission will provide information to the international community to aid in understanding the situation and its impact and enable sharing of experience and successful measures…

Measures to ensure rapid development and access to potential vaccines, diagnostics, antiviral medicines and other therapeutics for low- and middle-income countries should be developed…

WHO should continue to explore the advisability of creating an intermediate level of alert between the binary possibilities of PHEIC or no PHEIC, in a way that does not require reopening negotiations on the text of the IHR (2005).

WHO should timely review the situation with transparency and update its evidence-based recommendations.

The Committee does not recommend any travel or trade restriction based on the current information available.

The Director-General declared that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV constitutes a PHEIC and accepted the Committee’s advice and issued this advice as Temporary Recommendations under the IHR. 

[See additional announcement text here for]:
…To the People’s Republic of China
…To all countries

…To the global community
As this is a new coronavirus, and it has been previously shown that similar coronaviruses required substantial efforts to enable regular information sharing and research, the global community should continue to demonstrate solidarity and cooperation, in compliance with Article 44 of the IHR (2005), in supporting each other on the identification of the source of this new virus, its full potential for human-to-human transmission, preparedness for potential importation of cases, and research for developing necessary treatment.

Provide support to low- and middle-income countries to enable their response to this event, as well as to facilitate access to diagnostics, potential vaccines and therapeutics.

Under Article 43 of the IHR, States Parties implementing additional health measures that significantly interfere with international traffic (refusal of entry or departure of international travellers, baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods, and the like, or their delay, for more than 24 hours) are obliged to send to WHO the public health rationale and justification within 48 hours of their implementation. WHO will review the justification and may request countries to reconsider their measures. WHO is required to share with other States Parties the information about measures and the justification received.

The Emergency Committee will be reconvened within three months or earlier, at the discretion of the Director-General.

::::::

CDC [U.S.]

CDC Confirms Seventh Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus
Friday, January 31, 2020

Transcript for CDC Media Telebriefing: Update on 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
Friday, January 31, 2020

CDC Issues Federal Quarantine Order to Repatriated U.S. Citizens at March Air Reserve Base
Friday, January 31, 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), under statutory authority of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, has issued federal quarantine orders to all 195 United States citizens who repatriated to the U.S. on January 29, 2020. The quarantine will last 14 days from when the plane left Wuhan, China.  This action is a precautionary and preventive step to maximize the containment of the virus in the interest of the health of the American public.
This legal order will protect the health of the repatriated citizens, their families, and their communities. These individuals will continue to be housed at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California. Medical staff will continue to monitor the health of each traveler, including temperature checks and observation for respiratory symptoms.  If an individual presents symptoms, medical care will be readily available. Even if a screening test comes back negative from CDC’s laboratory results, it does not conclusively mean an individual is at no risk of developing the disease over the likely 14-day incubation period…

[See also Africa CDC announcements below]

WHO – R&D Blueprint
Novel Coronavirus R&D
Latest reports
Vaccines
WHO R & D Blueprint – Novel Coronavirus pdf, 375kb
Outline of designs for experimental vaccines and therapeutics – draft 17 January 2020
WHO R & D Blueprint – Novel Coronavirus
WHO Consultation on Cross-Reactivity with other coronaviruses – 24 January 2020
WHO R & D Blueprint – Novel Coronavirus pdf, 526kb
WHO Consultation on Cross-Reactivity with other coronaviruses – 27 January 2020
Prospects for evaluating cross-reactivity of nCoV with SARS-CoV

Therapeutics
Informal consultation on prioritization of candidate therapeutic agents for use in novel coronavirus 2019 infection
Overview of the types/classes of candidate therapeutics pdf, 223kb
Informal consultation on trial design for treatment evaluation pdf, 506kb
Outline of designs for experimental vaccines and therapeutics – 21 January 2020
Outline of designs for experimental vaccines and therapeutics – 27 January 2020
::::::

FDA Announces Key Actions to Advance Development of Novel Coronavirus Medical Countermeasures
January 27, 2020
(Silver Spring, MD) – Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced critical actions to advance development of novel coronavirus medical countermeasures.
As with any emerging public health threat, the FDA will collaborate with interagency partners, product developers, international partners and global regulators to expedite the development and availability of medical products needed to diagnose, treat, mitigate and prevent such outbreaks.

“We have a vital mission to protect and promote public health and the FDA is closely collaborating with our domestic and international public health partners to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. “We are actively leveraging the vast breadth of the FDA’s expertise and have begun employing the full range of our public health authorities to facilitate the development and availability of investigational medical products to help address this urgent public health situation.”

As part of FDA’s ongoing commitment to prepare and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, the agency is sharing updates on processes in place to help developers understand the pathways, including Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), that may be available to more rapidly advance and make medical countermeasures available for this virus, including diagnostic tests.
The FDA is also issuing key information for the public to help support the timely development of medical products to respond to the current outbreak. In order to support efficient medical product development for novel coronavirus medical countermeasures, today the FDA is launching a landing page that provides key information for the public, including product developers, on the FDA’s efforts in response to this outbreak.

“We are committed to keeping the American people informed as we prepare and respond to emerging public health threats, including the novel coronavirus,” said FDA Deputy Commissioner of Policy, Legislation and International Affairs Anna Abram. “The agency is committed to ensuring safe and effective medical countermeasures are available as quickly as possible to protect public health.”

Being able to quickly and accurately diagnose patients infected with the novel coronavirus is an essential step in helping patients identify the need for care and mitigate the spread of the virus to additional individuals. Currently, there are no commercially available products that are authorized to detect novel coronavirus; however, the FDA is actively working to facilitate the development and availability of diagnostics that can detect this virus. The agency is working with public health partners to advance and share the reference materials necessary to facilitate diagnostic development.

The FDA is also requesting that diagnostic test sponsors interested in potential EUA for tests to detect 2019-nCoV contact CDRH-EUA-Templates@fda.hhs.gov for further information and templates.

Sponsors wishing to develop therapeutics for 2019-nCoV are encouraged to submit information and questions via the FDA’s Pre-IND Consultation program…

::::::

CureVac and CEPI extend their Cooperation to Develop a Vaccine against Coronavirus nCoV-2019
31 Jan 2020
CEPI funds CureVac’s development of a vaccine against coronavirus nCoV-2019. The aim of the partnering agreement is to rapidly advance a vaccine candidate into clinical testing.

::::::

Wellcome pledges £10 million to tackle novel coronavirus epidemic
News | 31 January 2020
Wellcome is making a pledge of up to £10 million to accelerate research and support global efforts to tackle the ongoing novel coronavirus epidemic.

::::::

UNICEF ships 6 metric tons of supplies to support China’s response to Novel Coronavirus outbreak
Shipment includes masks and protective suits to help contain virus
NEW YORK, 29 January 2020 – A UNICEF shipment of respiratory masks and protective suits for health workers landed in Shanghai, China, today to support China’s response to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.
Weighing 6 metric tons, the supplies were sent from UNICEF’s global supply hub in Copenhagen and will be dispatched to Wuhan. UNICEF will be sending more items in the coming days and weeks.
“This coronavirus is spreading at a breakneck speed and it is important to put all the necessary resources into halting it,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “We may not know enough about the virus’s impact on children or how many may be affected – but we do know that close monitoring and prevention are key. Time is not on our side.”
Nearly 6,000 people have been infected so far, and the numbers are rising rapidly. Most cases are in China and there have been reports of infections among children.
UNICEF is in close contact with the Chinese authorities, including the Ministry of Commerce and the National Health Commission, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other UN agencies to monitor developments and needs as the situation further unfolds.
UNICEF is also working with WHO and partners for a coordinated multi-sectoral response in China and other affected countries…

::::::

Johnson & Johnson Launches Multi-Pronged Response to Coronavirus Global Public Health Threat
Initiating Vaccine Development and Providing Supplies of Antiviral Medicines to China for Investigational Use
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Jan. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) today announced that it is mobilizing resources at its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies to launch a multi-pronged response to the novel coronavirus (also known as 2019-nCoV or Wuhan coronavirus) outbreak. As part of this work, the Company has initiated efforts to develop a vaccine candidate against 2019-nCoV and broadly collaborate with others to screen a library of antiviral therapies. Identifying compounds with antiviral activity against 2019-nCoV may contribute to providing immediate relief to the current outbreak.

“J&J has a long-standing commitment to fight established and emerging epidemics and is supporting global efforts where we can make the greatest impact. We are collaborating with regulators, healthcare organizations, institutions and communities worldwide to help ensure our research platforms, existing science and outbreak expertise can be maximized to stem this public health threat,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson. “This latest outbreak of a novel pathogen once again reinforces the importance of investing in preparedness, surveillance and response to ensure the world remains ahead of potential pandemic threats.”

The vaccine program will leverage Janssen’s AdVac® and PER.C6® technologies that provide the ability to rapidly upscale production of the optimal vaccine candidate. These are the same technologies that were used in the development and manufacturing of Janssen’s investigational Ebola vaccine, which is currently deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. They were also used to construct the Company’s Zika, RSV and HIV vaccine candidates.

Johnson & Johnson’s multi-pronged approach also includes a review of known pathways in coronavirus pathophysiology to determine whether previously tested medicines can be used to help patients survive a 2019-nCoV infection and reduce the severity of disease in non-lethal cases. In addition, Janssen has donated 300 boxes of its HIV medication PREZCOBIX® (darunavir/cobicistat) to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University for use in research to support efforts in finding a solution against the 2019-nCoV. Furthermore, another 50 boxes have been provided to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for laboratory-based investigations (drug-screening for antiviral properties against 2019-nCoV). All shipments have been delivered and, if further donations are required, the Company is open to cooperating with all healthcare institutions and agencies to support efforts in finding a solution against 2019-nCoV.

The requests from the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University follow a recommendation from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences for investigation of 30 potentially effective compounds, including darunavir – the protease inhibitor component of PREZCOBIX – against 2019-nCoV. Based on anecdotal findings, a protease inhibitor has previously shown a potential favorable clinical response against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) associated coronavirus.1 …

::::::

The Lancet
Feb 01, 2020 Volume 395Number 10221p311-388, e16-e18
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current
Editorial
Emerging understandings of 2019-nCoV
The Lancet
[See Journal Watch before for full text]

Emergencies

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

No new Situation Update identified

::::::

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
http://polioeradication.org/polio-today/polio-now/this-week/

Polio this week as of 29 January 2020
:: Want to know more about the new cVDPV2 strategy and nOPV2? have a look at the newly released fact-sheet which provides a summary of the current situation and the new tool under development.
:: With the evolving public health emergency associated with the increase in new emergences of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, a draft decision has been made available for consideration by the Executive board. Read more

Summary of new viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Afghanistan: three WPV1 positive environmental samples
:: Pakistan: six WPV1 cases, ten WPV1 positive environmental samples, four cVDPV2 cases and one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample
:: Nigeria: two cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
:: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo):  two cVDPV2 cases
:: Somalia: three cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
:: Angola: 15 cVDPV2 cases
:: Ethiopia: one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample
:: Philippines: one cVDPV1 case

::::::
::::::

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 1 Feb 2020]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Winning community trust in Ebola control 22 January 2020

Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 1 Feb 2020]
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
Measles in Europe – 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
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 1 Feb 2020]

Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified
Kenya – 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

::::::
::::::

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
:: Syrian Arab Republic: Recent Developments in Northwestern Syria Situation Report No. 7 – As of 29 January 2020

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

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.
CYCLONE IDAI and Kenneth –
:: 27 Jan 2020 East Africa’s locust crisis in numbers
:: 28 January 2020 Southern Africa Humanitarian Snapshot (January 2020)

EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DRC – No new digest announcements identified

::::::
::::::

WHO & Regional Offices [to 1 Feb 2020]

Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
30 January 2020 Statement
[See 2019-n-CoV above for detail]

::::::

Weekly Epidemiological Record, 31 January 2020, vol. 95, 05 (pp. 37–48)
:: WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Hazards (STAG-IH) report of the 4th face-to-face meeting, 3–4 December 2019, Geneva, Switzerland
:: WHO African Region Immunization Technical Advisory Group: Call for nominations
:: Monthly report on dracunculiasis cases, January-November 2019

::::::

WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region AFRO
:: WHO ramps up preparedness for novel coronavirus in the African region
31 January 2020
The World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up novel coronavirus preparedness efforts in the African region and supporting countries to implement recommendations outlined by the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, which met in Geneva, Switzerland on 30 January. On the advice of the Emergency Committee, the WHO Director-General, declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: WHO declares Public Health Emergency on novel coronavirus (01/30/2020)
:: Measles outbreak in Venezuela is under control (01/30/2020)

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: 27 January 2020 News release
Readiness is the key to detect, combat spread of the new coronavirus
The World Health Organization South-East Asia has urged countries in the Region to remain vigilant and strengthen readiness to rapidly detect any case of importation of the new cor …

WHO European Region EURO
:: Turkey earthquake: health infrastructure intact, WHO supporting emergency response 28-01-2020

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: WHO confirms first cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Cairo, Egypt, 29 January 2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed the first cases of 2019-nCoV in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in the United Arab Emirates. This follows earlier confirmation by the Ministry of Health and Prevention of the United Arab Emirates on 29 January…

WHO Western Pacific Region
No new digest content identified.

CDC/ACIP [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html
ACIP Meetings
Next ACIP Meeting: February 26-27, 2020
Agenda (Draft) pdf icon[2 pages]

Latest News Releases
CDC Confirms Seventh Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus
Friday, January 31, 2020

Transcript for CDC Media Telebriefing: Update on 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
Friday, January 31, 2020

CDC Issues Federal Quarantine Order to Repatriated U.S. Citizens at March Air Reserve Base
Friday, January 31, 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), under statutory authority of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, has issued federal quarantine orders to all 195 United States citizens who repatriated to the U.S. on January 29, 2020. The quarantine will last 14 days from when the plane left Wuhan, China.  This action is a precautionary and preventive step to maximize the containment of the virus in the interest of the health of the American public.
This legal order will protect the health of the repatriated citizens, their families, and their communities. These individuals will continue to be housed at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California. Medical staff will continue to monitor the health of each traveler, including temperature checks and observation for respiratory symptoms.  If an individual presents symptoms, medical care will be readily available. Even if a screening test comes back negative from CDC’s laboratory results, it does not conclusively mean an individual is at no risk of developing the disease over the likely 14-day incubation period…

MMWR News Synopsis Friday, January 31, 2020
HIV Testing Outcomes Among Blacks or African Americans — 50 Local U.S. Jurisdictions Accounting for the Majority of New HIV Diagnoses and Seven States with Disproportionate Occurrences of HIV in Rural Areas, 2017
Locally-tailored, evidence-based HIV prevention programs, especially those for African Americans in Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) jurisdictions, are critical for reducing HIV-related disparities and achieving the goals of EHE. HIV prevention programs focused on implementing locally-tailored, evidence-based testing, linkage, and treatment strategies for African Americans would help to achieve the goal to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. African Americans represent 13% of the U.S. population, yet in 2017, accounted for 43% of new HIV diagnoses. Identifying people who are unaware of their HIV status and linking them to care are important steps for achieving viral suppression and reducing the risk of transmitting HIV. CDC analyzed 2017 HIV testing, partner services and linkage to care data from Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) jurisdictions and found that these jurisdictions accounted for more than 6 in 10 of all CDC-funded tests conducted and new HIV diagnoses identified. Of these, African Americans accounted for nearly half of those tested and newly diagnosed. Additionally, African Americans also accounted for more than half of previously diagnosed persons not known to be in care. Though 79% of African Americans newly diagnosed with HIV in these areas were linked to HIV medical care within 90 days, it is below the goal of 85% linked within 90 days of diagnosis. This analysis shows that prevention programs in EHE jurisdictions are critical to eliminating HIV-related disparities and achieving the goals of EHE.

Africa CDC [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.africacdc.org/
News
Outbreak: Press Briefing on the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Outbreak
“This thing is big. I’ve not seen a rapidly evolving outbreak like the one we are dealing with,” said Dr. John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC…

Africa CDC Response:
[1] Africa CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center for the 2019-nCoV outbreak on 27 January 2020.
[2] Africa CDC is obtaining test kits for and working with laboratories in Member States to identify facilities that are able to receive and test specimens for novel coronavirus infection.
[3] Africa CDC is holding weekly updates with national public health institutes in Member States.
[4] Africa CDC will be working with Member States to support infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities and with the airline sector to support screening of travelers.
[5] Africa CDC will continue to provide updated and relevant information to Member States as the outbreak evolves.

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/
News
Novel coronavirus cases rise to 11,791
Updated: 2020-02-01 chinadaily.com.cn
[See Milestones above for coronavirus updates]

WHO working closely with China, countries to curb virus
Updated: 2020-01-27 chinadaily.com.cn
The World Health Organization is working closely with China and various countries to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus that caused an outbreak in central Chinese city Wuhan.

Minister: China ‘confident’ in ability to end outbreak
Updated: 2020-01-26 chinadaily.com.cn
China is confident in its ability to end the novel coronavirus outbreak at a lower cost and a faster speed, health minister Ma Xiaowei said on Jan 26, after being asked whether it would be more serious than the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in 2003.

Announcements

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/frontiers-group/news-press/
News
No new digest content identified.

BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
JANUARY 27, 2020
The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute obtains license for continued development of M72/AS01E tuberculosis vaccine candidate from GSK
SEATTLE, January, 27, 2020 – Today, the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (Gates MRI) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Gates Foundation) announced that GSK has licensed its M72/AS01E(3) tuberculosis disease (TB) vaccine candidate to the Gates MRI, paving the way for continued development and potential use of the vaccine candidate in countries with high TB burdens.

Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 1 Feb 2020]
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
News Release
Gates Medical Research Institute obtains license for continued development of M72/AS01E tuberculosis vaccine candidate from GSK
The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute obtains license for continued development of M72/AS01E tuberculosis vaccine candidate from GSK
:: The M72/AS01E tuberculosis vaccine candidate demonstrated in a phase IIb trial the potential to reduce active pulmonary TB by half in adults with latent TB infection
:: Developing a new vaccine against TB is a global health priority to accelerate progress toward ending the TB epidemic and one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
:: The licensing agreement is a significant step forward to continue the development of the vaccine candidate for countries with high TB burdens.
27 January 2020 – Today, the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (Gates MRI) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Gates Foundation) announced that GSK has licensed its M72/AS01E tuberculosis disease (TB) vaccine candidate to the Gates MRI, paving the way for continued development and potential use of the vaccine candidate in countries with high TB burdens. “Clinical trial results to date suggest that the M72/AS01E vaccine candidate could play a significant role in protecting vulnerable populations around the world from developing active TB. If that proves true, it could transform the fight against humanity’s deadliest infectious disease,” said Penny M. Heaton, M.D., CEO of Gates MRI. TB is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, with 10 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths in 2018 alone. The burden of disease is concentrated with over 97% of reported TB cases occurring in low- and middle-income countries…

CARB-X [to 1 Feb 2020]
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.
No new digest content identified.

CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://cepi.net/
Latest news
CureVac and CEPI extend their Cooperation to Develop a Vaccine against Coronavirus nCoV-2019
CEPI funds CureVac’s development of a vaccine against coronavirus nCoV-2019. The aim of the partnering agreement is to rapidly advance a vaccine candidate into clinical testing.
31 Jan 2020

Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://clintonhealthaccess.org/
News & Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

EDCTP [to 1 Feb 2020]
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
30 January 2020
World NTD Day: the fight to end Neglected Tropical Diseases
EDCTP is a proud partner and supporter of this first World NTD Day, a call to action to end the burden of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Pivotal in the renewed global focus on NTDs was the London Declaration of…

Emory Vaccine Center [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
No new digest content identified.

European Medicines Agency [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News & Press Releases
News: Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 27-30 January 2020
CHMP, Last updated: 31/01/2020
…The Committee recommended granting a marketing authorisation for Vaxchora (Cholera vaccine (recombinant, live, oral)) for prophylaxis against cholera, a very serious disease caused by Vibrio cholerae, in adults and children….

European Vaccine Initiative [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/news-events
No new digest content identified.

FDA [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
Press Announcements
January 29, 2020 – FDA launches mobile-friendly database with information on life-saving HIV drugs as part of ongoing mission to empower the public through increased access to information and data

January 28, 2020 – FDA Continues Strong Support of Innovation in Development of Gene Therapy Products

January 27, 2020 – FDA Announces Key Actions to Advance Development of Novel Coronavirus Medical Countermeasures

Fondation Merieux [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
News, Events
Announcement
The Mérieux Foundation’s Emerging Pathogens Laboratory obtains accreditation according to European standard NF EN ISO/IEC 17025
January 23, 2020, Lyon (France)
This accreditation standard lays down the general requirements for competence, impartiality and consistency of laboratory activities. It promotes efficient and …

Project
The Haiti Ministry of Public Health and Population of Haiti launches its first National Health Research Policy
January 22, 2020, Port-au-Prince (Haiti)
Aware of the importance of research as an essential tool for improving people’s health, the Ministry of Public Health and …

Gavi [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.gavi.org/
News
Indonesia to protect four million children a year against pneumonia
Indonesia set to introduce pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) into routine immunisation programme
Barcelona, 29 January 2020

GHIT Fund [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
GHIT was set up in 2012 with the aim of developing new tools to tackle infectious diseases that No new digest content identified.

Global Fund [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News & Stories
Updates
Technical Evaluation Reference Group: Thematic Review on Sustainability, Transition and Co-Financing Policy
31 January 2020

Funding Model
Funding Request Tracker for the 2020-2022 Funding Cycle
28 January 2020

Hilleman Laboratories [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
PRESS RELEASE
Hilleman Board announces leadership changes
27th January 2020
The Board of Directors of Hilleman Laboratories today announced that Dr Davinder Gill will leave his current role as CEO of Hilleman Laboratories on 31 January 2020, after more than eight years at the company. Dr Gill is relocating to the United States where his family is based.
He will be replaced by Dr Raman Rao, who will assume the role as CEO on 1 February. Dr Rao has more than 22 years’ experience in research and development, manufacturing and commercialisation of vaccines for infectious diseases, and is joining from Takeda Vaccines where he was Vice President of Global Product Operations.
Dr Gill joined Hilleman in 2012 after two decades in the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector….

Human Vaccines Project [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

IAVI [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
January 29, 2020
IAVI Mourns the Passing of Maharaj Kishan Bhan, Respected Scientist, Leader, and Humanitarian
NEW YORK – January 29, 2020 – IAVI was deeply saddened to learn of the death of eminent scientist Maharaj Kishan Bhan, M.D., a longtime friend of IAVI. Dr. Bhan died on January 26, 2020, in New Delhi, India, at age 72…
… IAVI president and CEO Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., said, “Dr. Bhan was a friend, mentor, and trusted advisor who had an indelible effect on many lives. His contributions to public health reach far beyond the beneficial effects of his rotavirus vaccine. He was uniquely effective at getting things done, navigating complicated circumstances, and inspiring people to work together. Everyone who knew Dr. Bhan never doubted that he was focused solely on doing the right thing for people. The quality of his thinking and his quiet, humble demeanor made him a force for good in the world.”…

International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities [ICMRA]
http://www.icmra.info/drupal/en/news
Selected Statements, Press Releases, Research
No new digest content identified.

International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association [IGBA]
https://www.igbamedicines.org/
News
No new digest content identified.

IFFIm
http://www.iffim.org/
No new digest content identified.

IFRC [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Asia Pacific, Global
Red Cross scales up preparedness for global response as novel coronavirus declared an international health emergency
Geneva/Kuala Lumpur, 31 January 2020 – As the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) continues spreading beyond China, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is scaling up preparedness efforts to support people who are most vulnerable to the outbreak in Asia Pacific and beyond.
1 February 2020

IVAC [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
Updates
No new digest content identified.

IVI [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.ivi.int/
Selected IVI News & Announcements
How IVI is confronting schistosomiasis in Madagascar
[Undated]
…IVI is approaching schistosomiasis control in Madagascar through treatment, education, and prevention, including mass PZQ administration and “water, sanitation & hygiene” (WASH) activities, as well as accelerating a promising vaccine candidate, SchistoShield®, soon in a Phase I clinical study…

JEE Alliance [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.msf.org/
Latest [Selected Announcements]
Syria
Advancing frontlines, mass exodus and reduced access to hospitals in Idlib
Project Update 31 Jan 2020

Measles
Tackling a massive measles outbreak in DRC’s Kongo Central province
Project Update 31 Jan 2020

DRC Ebola outbreaks
Crisis update – January 2020
Crisis Update 31 Jan 2020

Central American Migration
Despite kidnapping and continued risks, migrants continue journey north through Mexico
Project Update 30 Jan 2020

Epidemics and pandemics
MSF update on 2019-nCoV coronavirus outbreak
Project Update 30 Jan 2020

Central American Migration
The devastating toll of ‘Remain in Mexico’ asylum policy one year later
Press Release 29 Jan 2020

National Vaccine Program Office – U.S. HHS [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.hhs.gov/vaccines/about/index.html
NVAC 2020 Meetings
February 13-14, 2020 NVAC Meeting
June 9-10, 2020 NVAC Meeting
September 23-24, 2020 Meeting (Virtual)

NIH [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
Selected News Releases
First human trial of monoclonal antibody to prevent malaria opens
January 27, 2020 — NIH trial will test NIAID-developed antibody

PATH [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
Selected Announcements
No new digest content identified.

Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
Statements and Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

UNAIDS [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
29 January 2020
#InSpiteOf campaign reached more than a million people [Eastern Europe/Central Asia]

27 January 2020
Key population-led organizations delivering health services in Bangkok

27 January 2020
Violence faced by key populations
Gains have been made against HIV-related stigma and discrimination, but discriminatory attitudes remain extremely high in far too many countries. Discrimination can manifest in criminal laws that give license to discrimination, aggressive law enforcement, harassment and violence, pushing key populations to the margins of society and denying them access to basic health and social services, including HIV services.
Surveys and studies across regions show that large percentages of key populations are victims of physical and sexual violence: among 36 countries with recently available data, more than half of sex workers in eight countries reported experiencing physical violence…

UNICEF [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Selected Statements, Press Releases, Reports
Statement
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore’s remarks at Fighting for Breath: The Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia
As Delivered
29/01/2020

Press release
UNICEF ships 6 metric tons of supplies to support China’s response to Novel Coronavirus outbreak
Shipment includes masks and protective suits to help contain virus
29/01/2020

Press release
9 million children could die in a decade unless world acts on pneumonia, leading agencies warn
Malnutrition, air pollution and lack of access to vaccines and antibiotics among the drivers of preventable deaths from pneumonia—which last year killed a child every 39 seconds
28/01/2020

Press release
Nearly 5 million children will need humanitarian assistance in central Sahel this year as violence surges
Number is projected to rise as attacks against children increase in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger
27/01/2020

Press release
European Investment Bank and UNICEF partner to help improve access to quality education and protect children from climate change
27/01/2020

Vaccination Acceptance Research Network (VARN) [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://vaccineacceptance.org/news.html#header1-2r
No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Confidence Project [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
No new digest content identified.

Wellcome Trust [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
News | 31 January 2020
Wellcome pledges £10 million to tackle novel coronavirus epidemic
Wellcome is making a pledge of up to £10 million to accelerate research and support global efforts to tackle the ongoing novel coronavirus epidemic.

Opinion | 29 January 2020
What can funders do to encourage inclusive research leadership?
by Jack Harrington

Opinion | 28 January 2020
Race for new antibiotics: future success is hanging by a thread
by Tim Jinks

The Wistar Institute [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2020/
No new digest content identified.

::::::

ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine] [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://alliancerm.org/press-releases/
Press Releases
The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine Outlines Recommendations on Enabling Cross-border and Regional Access to Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) in Europe
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – January 27, 2020

BIO [to 1 Feb 2020]
https://www.bio.org/press-releases
Press Releases
Survey shows only 15% of executives and 14% of biotech board members are people of color.
WASHINGTON DC., January 30, 2020 – The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today released “Measuring Diversity in the Biotech Industry: Building an Inclusive Workforce,” the most comprehensive report on diversity and inclusion in the…

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
News
Advanced Pharmacovigilance workshop and WG meeting
16 March 2020 to 19 March 2020, Shanghai / China

IFPMA [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications
IFPMA Statement on the G-FINDER report 2019
Published on: 30 January 2020
G-FINDER report: Investment in neglected disease R&D by multinational pharmaceutical companies grew by more than a quarter in 2018, reaching its highest-ever level

Geneva, 30 January 2020: IFPMA, the global R&D biopharmaceutical industry association, welcomes the 2019 G-FINDER report, which tracks public, private and philanthropic investment into product R&D for neglected diseases. The report shows the biopharmaceutical industry is now the second largest funder, after the USA’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) and before the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Private sector funding for neglected diseases, which predominantly affect the developing countries, rose sharply in 2018. The multinational pharmaceutical companies invested a total of $598m in neglected disease R&D in 2018 (up $132m, or a 28% increase). As products progressed through the pipeline, companies invested heavily in clinical development and post registration studies ($422m, 71%), with 20% ($118) of the funding dedicated to early-stage research.

It is also encouraging that the 2018 increase was distributed more evenly that in the past. Nearly half (43%) of the growth in multinational pharmaceutical companies investment went to diseases outside the “big three” (HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB).

While overall funding for the WHO neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)[1] has remained fairly flat over the last decade, industry investment has actually been one of the few positive stories in this area, with a steady growth over the course of the last twelve years, increasing five-fold since 2007…

PhRMA [to 1 Feb 2020]
http://www.phrma.org/
Selected Press Releases, Statements
No new digest content identified.

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

BMC Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation
http://resource-allocation.biomedcentral.com/
(Accessed 1 Feb 2020)

Articles
Technical efficiency of provincial public healthcare in South Africa
Authors: Victor Ngobeni, Marthinus C. Breitenbach and Goodness C. Aye
Content type: Research
28 January 2020
Forty-nine million people or 83 per cent of the entire population of 59 million rely on the public healthcare system in South Africa. Coupled with a shortage of medical professionals, high migration, inequality and unemployment; healthcare provision is under extreme pressure. Due to negligence by the health professionals, provincial health departments had medical-legal claims estimated at R80 billion in 2017/18. In the same period, provincial health spending accounted for 33 per cent of total provincial expenditure of R570.3 billion or 6 per cent of South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product. Despite this, healthcare outcomes are poor and provinces are inefficient in the use of the allocated funds. This warrants a scientific investigation into the technical efficiency of the public health system.

BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
(Accessed 1 Feb 2020)

Debate
Why genomics researchers are sometimes morally required to hunt for secondary findings
Genomic research can reveal ‘unsolicited’ or ‘incidental’ findings that are of potential health or reproductive significance to participants. It is widely thought that researchers have a moral obligation, grou…
Authors: Julian J. Koplin, Julian Savulescu and Danya F. Vears
Citation: BMC Medical Ethics 2020 21:11
Content type: Debate
Published on: 31 January 2020

BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
(Accessed 1 Feb 2020)

Ethical values supporting the disclosure of incidental and secondary findings in clinical genomic testing: a qualitative study
Incidental findings (IFs) and secondary findings (SFs), being results that are unrelated to the diagnostic question, are the subject of an important debate in the practice of clinical genomic medicine. Argumen…
Authors: Marlies Saelaert, Heidi Mertes, Tania Moerenhout, Elfride De Baere and Ignaas Devisch
Citation: BMC Medical Ethics 2020 21:9
Content type: Research article
Published on: 30 January 2020