Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 9 Pages 2115-2272 (24 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/9

Review article Open access
Finding equipoise: CEPI revises its equitable access policy
Brenda Huneycutt, Nicole Lurie, Sara Rotenberg, Richard Wilder, Richard Hatchett
Pages 2144-2148
Abstract
Launched at Davos in January 2017 with funding from sovereign investors and philanthropic institutions, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations whose mission is to stimulate, finance and co-ordinate vaccine development against diseases with epidemic potential in cases where market incentives fail. As of December 2019, CEPI has committed to investing up to $706 million in vaccine development. This includes 19 vaccine candidates against its priority pathogens (Lassa fever virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, Chikungunya, Rift Valley fever) and three vaccine platforms to develop vaccines against Disease X, a novel or unanticipated pathogen.
As an entity largely supported by public funds, ensuring equitable access to vaccines whose development it supports in low- and middle-income countries is CEPI’s primary focus. CEPI developed an initial equitable access policy shortly after its formation, with key stakeholders expressing strong views about its content and prescriptive nature. The CEPI board instructed that it be revisited after a year. This paper describes the process of revising the policy, and how key issues were resolved. CEPI will continue to take an iterative, rather than prescriptive, approach to its policy—one that reflects the needs of multiple stakeholders and ensures it can meet its equitable access goals.

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 9 Pages 2115-2272 (24 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/9

Research article Abstract only
Men having sex with men and the HPV vaccine in France: A low vaccine coverage that may be due to its infrequent proposal by physicians
Benoit Petit, Olivier Epaulard
Pages 2160-2165

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 9 Pages 2115-2272 (24 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/9

Research article Abstract only
Vaccine hesitancy towards childhood immunisation amongst urban pregnant mothers in Malaysia
Aida Kalok, Sweet Yi Esther Loh, Kah Teik Chew, Nor Haslinda Abdul Aziz, … Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy
Pages 2183-2189

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 9 Pages 2115-2272 (24 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/9

Research article Abstract only
Survey of influenza vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs among pregnant women in the 2016–17 season
Jennifer P. King, Kayla E. Hanson, James G. Donahue, Jason M. Glanz, … Edward A. Belongia
Pages 2202-2208

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 9 Pages 2115-2272 (24 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/9

Research article Abstract only
The effect of performance-based financing on child vaccinations in northern Nigeria
Ryoko Sato, Abdullahi Belel
Pages 2209-2215

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 9 Pages 2115-2272 (24 February 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/9

Research article Abstract only
An investment case for maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination
Sarah K. Laing, Ulla Griffiths, Azhar Abid Raza, Flint Zulu, … Sachiko Ozawa
Pages 2241-2249

Vaccines — Open Access Journal
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines
(Accessed 29 Feb 2020)

Open Access Article
Will We Have a Cohort of Healthcare Workers Full Vaccinated against Measles, Mumps, and Rubella?
by Andrea Trevisan , Chiara Bertoncello , Elisa Artuso , Clara Frasson , Laura Lago , Davide De Nuzzo , Annamaria Nicolli and Stefano Maso
Vaccines 2020, 8(1), 104; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8010104 – 27 Feb 2020
Abstract
Healthcare workers are a population exposed to several infectious diseases, and an immunization programme is essential for the maintenance of good vaccination coverage to protect workers and patients. A population of 10,653 students attending degree courses at Padua Medical School (medicine and surgery, dentistry and health professions) was screened for vaccination coverage and antibody titres against rubella, mumps, and measles. The students were subdivided into five age classes according to their date of birth: those born before 1980, between 1980 and 1985, between 1986 and 1990, between 1991 and 1995, and after 1995. Vaccination coverage was very low in students born before 1980, but the rate of positive antibody titre was high due to infection in infancy. Increasing date of birth showed increased vaccination coverage. In contrast, immune coverage was high for rubella (more than 90%) but not for mumps and measles (approximately 80%). An “anomaly” was observed for mumps and measles in the cohort born between 1991 and 1995, probably due to the trivalent vaccine formulation. Students born after 1990 showed vaccination coverage that exceeded 90%. It is therefore very likely that we will have a future generation of healthcare workers with optimal vaccination coverage.

Value in Health
February 2020 Volume 23, Issue 2, p139-276
https://www.valueinhealthjournal.com/issue/S1098-3015(20)X0003-9

Commentary
Value-Based Pharmaceutical Contracts: Value for Whom?
Joseph T. Kannarkat, Chester B. Good, Natasha Parekh
p154–156
Published online: December 5, 2019
Highlights
:: The nature of who benefits from value-based pharmaceutical contracts (VBPCs) is unclear.
:: VBPCs are reimbursement agreements between healthcare payers and pharmaceutical manufacturers that tie price, amount, or nature of drug reimbursements to value-based outcomes.
:: We discuss how VBPCs compare with value-based payer–provider arrangements in terms of performance-based reimbursements and alignment of incentives.
:: We examine how VBPCs can affect costs, clinical outcomes, and access to medications.
:: We recommend a patient-outcome centered approach for developing VBPCs and tying VBPCs to overarching drug cost reduction strategies.
Abstract
Value-based pharmaceutical contracts (VBPCs) are performance-based reimbursement agreements between healthcare payers and pharmaceutical manufacturers in which the price, amount, or nature of reimbursement is tied to value-based outcomes. VBPCs are often complex, and the nature of who benefits and in what ways can be unclear. We discuss how VBPCs compare with value-based payer–provider arrangements in terms of performance-based reimbursements and alignment of incentives. In addition, we examine how VBPCs can affect costs, clinical outcomes, and access to medications. Because these contracts are unlikely to reduce costs in isolation, we recommend taking a patient-centered approach when developing VBPCs and tying VBPCs to more overarching payer drug cost reduction strategies.

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 29 Feb 2020
Ideas
Democracies Are Better at Fighting Outbreaks
China’s harsh response to the coronavirus has influential admirers, but Western nations recognize that public health fundamentally depends on public trust.
February 24, 2020
Ariana A. Berengaut
Penn Biden Center’s director of programs, partnerships, and strategic planning

Health
You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus
Most cases are not life-threatening, which is also what makes the virus a historic challenge to contain.
James Hamblin
February 24, 2020

BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
Health
Coronavirus: Where are we with a vaccine?
By James Gallagher Health and science correspondent
27 February 2020

The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/home/uk
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
Lunch with the FT
Ebola co-discoverer Peter Piot on how to respond to the coronavirus
February 28 2020

Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
Feb 28, 2020
Bill Gates: Governments Should Invest Billions To Battle ‘Once-In-A-Century’ Pathogen
“That’s the scale of investment required to solve the problem.”
By Lisette Voytko Forbes Staff

Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
How Hackers and Spies Could Sabotage the Coronavirus Fight
Intelligence services have a long history of manipulating information on health issues, and an epidemic is especially tempting for interference. Why aren’t we better prepared?
Argument | Bruce Schneier, Margaret Bourdeaux

The West Is About to Fail the Coronavirus Test
China made huge mistakes managing the outbreak. The rest of the world may not do any better.
Argument | Melissa Chan, Ethan Guillén

Virus Travel Bans Are Inevitable But Ineffective
Experts can’t stop restrictions, but they can mitigate them.
Argument | Mara Pillinger

The Guardian
http://www.guardiannews.com/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
Health
Who’s on the U.S. Coronavirus Task Force
Several of the nation’s top health officials are among those sitting on an advisory panel formed by President Trump.
29 Feb 2020

Sunday Review
We’ve Ignored the Warnings About Global Pandemics
Now, after many fire drills, the world may be facing a real fire.
By The Editorial Board

Business
Japan’s Leader Announces $2.5B Package to Help Fight Virus
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday announced a 270 billion yen ($2.5 billion) emergency economic package to help fight the coronavirus as he sought the public’s support for his government’s fight against the outbreak.
By The Associated Press

Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
Azar Says U.S.-Funded Drug, Vaccine Must Be Accessible (Feb 29, 202012:30 p.m. NY)
Any drug or vaccine developed by companies with help from the government must be financially accessible for people, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told Congress Thursday.
“I have directed my teams that if we do any joint venture with a private enterprise that we’re cofunding the research and development program that we would ensure there’s access to the fruits of that, whether vaccine or therapeutics,” Azar said at a congressional hearing. The U.S. government is collaborating with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms to develop vaccines and drugs for the coronavirus.
Azar’s comments are a shift from remarks Wednesday, when he said, “we would want to ensure that we work to make it affordable, but we can’t control that price, because we need the private sector to invest. Price controls won’t get us there.”…

Think Tanks et al

Brookings
http://www.brookings.edu/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
[No new relevant content]

Center for Global Development [to 29 Feb 2020]
http://www.cgdev.org/page/press-center
Selected Publications, News and Events
February 28, 2020
The Impact of Coronavirus on China’s SMEs: Findings from the Enterprise Survey for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China
Since the coronavirus outbreak began in January, Chinese business activity has been severely slowed, affecting China’s position in the global industrial supply chain. The Enterprise Survey for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China (ESIEC) launched a survey on the “condition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) amidst the coronavirus outbreak.”
Rouchen Dai , Junpeng Hu and Xiaobo Zhang

February 28, 2020
Reconciling SME Production in China with Coronavirus Control
With the steady decline in new confirmed cases of coronavirus in China beyond Hubei Province, public scrutiny has increasingly shifted to the economy affected by the outbreak, particularly the impact on the plethora of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). An earlier CGD note explored the impact of coronavirus on SMEs using data from the Enterprise Survey for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in China (ESIEC) and follow-up interviews. In this accompanying note, we consider how SMEs can resume production without compromising epidemic control.
Xiaobo Zhang and Ruixin Wang

February 26, 2020
China’s “Counterpart Assistance” Approach to Coronavirus: Lessons from the Wenchuan Earthquake Response
In early 2020, a new type of coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) emerged suddenly and spread steadily from China’s Wuhan City, Hubei Province, disrupting China’s social order. The epicenter of the epidemic, Hubei Province lacked medical personnel and epidemic prevention supplies; assistance was urgently needed. This note identifies the Chinese government’s “counterpart aid” strategy in response to the epidemic and explores the strategy’s utility, drawing on earlier experiences with disaster response.
Xiaobo Zhang and Lihe Xu

CSIS
https://www.csis.org/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
Podcast Episode
COVID-19: New Reality
February 26, 2020 | H. Andrew Schwartz, J. Stephen Morrison, Jude Blanchette, Stephanie Segal
In this episode, Andrew invites CSIS’s Steve Morrison, Jude Blanchette, and Stephanie Segal to discuss how the coronavirus outbreak, also known as COVID-19, is directly affecting the global…

Transcript
COVID-19: New Reality
February 27, 2020

Report
Sustaining U.S. Support for Gavi: A Critical Global Health Security and Development Partner
February 24, 2020 | Katherine Bliss As Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, seeks funding to support its ambitious new 2021-2025 work plan, the United States should take steps to reinforce its longstanding support of the Alliance and help ensure continued progress on critical health security and development goals.

Council on Foreign Relations
http://www.cfr.org/
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
February 27, 2020
Coronavirus
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

Kaiser Family Foundation
https://www.kff.org/search/?post_type=press-release
Accessed 29 Feb 2020
[No new relevant content]