Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 221, Issue 8, 15 April 2020,
https://academic.oup.com/jid/issue/221/8

Editor’s Choice
Bivalent Vaccine Effectiveness Against Anal Human Papillomavirus Positivity Among Female Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinic Visitors in the Netherlands
Petra J Woestenberg, Audrey J King, Birgit H B Van Benthem, Suzan Leussink, Marianne A B Van der Sande …

Journal of Travel Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/issue/27/3

Perspectives
Interrupting transmission of COVID-19: lessons from containment efforts in Singapore
Vernon J Lee, PhD, Calvin J Chiew, MPH, Wei Xin Khong, PhD
Journal of Travel Medicine, Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020, taaa039, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa039
Despite multiple importations resulting in local chains of transmission, Singapore has been able to control the COVID-19 outbreak without major disruption to daily living. In this article, we describe the combination of measures taken by Singapore to contain COVID-19 and share some early lessons learnt from the experience.

Journal of Travel Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/issue/27/3

Original Article
Travel restrictions and infectious disease outbreaks
Ria Vaidya, MSc, Asha Herten-Crabb, MSc, Julia Spencer, MSc, Suerie Moon, PhD, Louis Lillywhite, MSc
Journal of Travel Medicine, Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020, taaa050, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa050

Journal of Travel Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/issue/27/3

Rapid Communications
Saudi Arabia’s drastic measures to curb the COVID-19 outbreak: temporary suspension of the Umrah pilgrimage
Shahul H Ebrahim, MD, PhD, Ziad A Memish, MD, FRCPC
Journal of Travel Medicine, Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020, taaa029, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa029
With the global spread of COVID-19, concerns arise about mass gathering events which will further facilitate disease spread. This report welcomes KSA decision to suspend uma

Journal of Travel Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/issue/27/3

Spread of Novel coronavirus by returning pilgrims from Iran to Pakistan
Syed Lal Badshah, PhD, Asad Ullah, PhD, Syed Hilal Badshah, MBBS, Irshad Ahmad, PhD
Journal of Travel Medicine, Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020, taaa044, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa044

Journal of Travel Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/issue/27/3

A single mass gathering resulted in massive transmission of COVID-19 infections in Malaysia with further international spread
Nor Fazila Che Mat, PhD, Hisham Atan Edinur, PhD, Mohammad Khairul Azhar Abdul Razab, PhD, Sabreena Safuan, PhD
Journal of Travel Medicine, Volume 27, Issue 3, April 2020, taaa059, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa059
Malaysia has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia with more than 35% of new COVID-19 cases linked to the Sri Petaling gathering, a Moslem missionary movement attended by more than 19 000 people of different nationalities, in March 2020 in Kuala Lumpur. From this cluster, 1701 samples have been tested positive out of 21 920 tests carried out. Thus, mass gathering during COVID-19 pandemic period should be banned to curb disease transmission.

The Lancet
May 23, 2020 Volume 395 Number 10237 p1587-1668, e90-e97
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorial
The plight of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Lancet

The Lancet
May 23, 2020 Volume 395 Number 10237 p1587-1668, e90-e97
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Comment
COVID-19 immunity passports and vaccination certificates: scientific, equitable, and legal challenges
Alexandra L Phelan
… When larger scale international travel recommences, countries might require travellers to provide evidence of immunity as a condition of entry. Under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), states can implement health measures that “achieve the same or greater level of health protection than WHO recommendations”; however, such measures must have a health rationale, be non-discriminatory, consider the human rights of travellers, and not be more restrictive of international traffic than reasonably available alternatives.¹¹ Given current uncertainties about the accuracy and interpretation of individual serology testing, immunity passports are unlikely to satisfy this health rationale evidentiary burden ¹² and are inconsistent with the WHO recommendations against interference with international travel that were issued when the WHO Director-General declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). ¹³ Given the discriminatory impact of immunity passports, any changes to WHO’s recommendations should be considered in the context of the IHR’s human rights protections.
Immunity passports have been compared to international certificates of vaccination, such as the “Carte Jaune” for yellow fever.¹⁴ However, there are significant differences between the two types of documents, occasioning fundamentally different burdens on individuals’ health risk and bodily integrity, the public health risk, and an individual’s capacity to consent and control. The main distinction between the two is the nature of the incentive. Vaccination certificates incentivise individuals to obtain vaccination against the virus, which is a social good. By contrast, immunity passports incentivise infection. Under the IHR, states can require travellers to provide vaccination certificates, but this is limited to specific diseases expressly listed in Annex 7, which currently only includes yellow fever, and if included in WHO recommendations, such as those issued following the declaration of a PHEIC as is the case for polio.¹¹ Once, and if, a vaccine is developed, COVID-19 vaccination certificates could be included in revised WHO recommendations for the COVID-19 PHEIC, while member states could consider requesting standing recommendations or revising the IHR’s Annex 7 for the longer term…

Medical Decision Making (MDM)
Volume 40 Issue 3, April 2020
http://mdm.sagepub.com/content/current

Original Articles
What Helps People Make Values-Congruent Medical Decisions? Eleven Strategies Tested across 6 Studies
Holly O. Witteman, Anne-Sophie Julien, Ruth Ndjaboue, Nicole L. Exe, Valerie C. Kahn, Angela (Angie) Fagerlin, Brian J. Zikmund-Fisher
First Published May 19, 2020; pp. 266–278

Nature
Volume 581 Issue 7808, 21 May 2020
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

Editorial | 19 May 2020
Tackle coronavirus in vulnerable communities
The pandemic has hit care homes, prisons and low-income communities hardest. Researchers are ready to help, but need data to be collected and shared.

New England Journal of Medicine
May 21, 2020 Vol. 382 No. 21
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Perspective
Developing Covid-19 Vaccines at Pandemic Speed N. Lurie, M. Saville, R. Hatchett, and J. Halton

New England Journal of Medicine
May 21, 2020 Vol. 382 No. 21
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

The Toughest Triage — Allocating Ventilators in a Pandemic R.D. Truog, C. Mitchell, and G.Q. Daley

New England Journal of Medicine
May 21, 2020 Vol. 382 No. 21
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Undocumented U.S. Immigrants and Covid-19 K.R. Page, M. Venkataramani, C. Beyrer, and S. Polk

New England Journal of Medicine
May 21, 2020 Vol. 382 No. 21
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Original Article
Remdesivir for Covid-19 — Preliminary Report
J.H. Beigel and Others
Conclusions
Remdesivir was superior to placebo in shortening the time to recovery in adults hospitalized with Covid-19 and evidence of lower respiratory tract infection. (Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and others; ACCT-1 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04280705. opens in new tab.)

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 23 May 2020]

Public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in Malaysia
Arina Anis Azlan, Mohammad Rezal Hamzah, Tham Jen Sern, Suffian Hadi Ayub, Emma Mohamad
Research Article | published 21 May 2020 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233668

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 23 May 2020]

From trivalent to quadrivalent influenza vaccines: Public health and economic burden for different immunization strategies in Spain
Pascal Crépey, Esther Redondo, Javier Díez-Domingo, Raúl Ortiz de Lejarazu, Federico Martinón-Torres, Ángel Gil de Miguel, Juan Luis López-Belmonte, Fabián P. Alvarez, Hélène Bricout, Míriam Solozabal
Research Article | published 21 May 2020 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233526

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 23 May 2020]

Global landscape analysis of no-fault compensation programmes for vaccine injuries: A review and survey of implementing countries
Randy G. Mungwira, Christine Guillard, Adiela Saldaña, Nobuhiko Okabe, Helen Petousis-Harris, Edinam Agbenu, Lance Rodewald, Patrick L. F. Zuber
Research Article | published 21 May 2020 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233334
Abstract
To update the landscape analysis of vaccine injuries no-fault compensation programmes, we conducted a scoping review and a survey of World Health Organization Member States. We describe the characteristics of existing no-fault compensation systems during 2018 based on six common programme elements. No-fault compensation systems for vaccine injuries have been developed in a few high-income countries for more than 50 years. Twenty-five jurisdictions were identified with no-fault compensation programmes, of which two were recently implemented in a low- and a lower-middle-income country. The no-fault compensation programmes in most jurisdictions are implemented at the central or federal government level and are government funded. Eligibility criteria for vaccine injury compensation vary considerably across the evaluated programmes. Notably, most programmes cover injuries arising from vaccines that are registered in the country and are recommended by authorities for routine use in children, pregnant women, adults (e.g. influenza vaccines) and for special indications. A claim process is initiated once the injured party or their legal representative files for compensation with a special administrative body in most programmes. All no-fault compensation programmes reviewed require standard of proof showing a causal association between vaccination and injury. Once a final decision has been reached, claimants are compensated with either: lump-sums; amounts calculated based on medical care costs and expenses, loss of earnings or earning capacity; or monetary compensation calculated based on pain and suffering, emotional distress, permanent impairment or loss of function; or combination of those. In most jurisdictions, vaccine injury claimants have the right to seek damages either through civil litigation or from a compensation scheme but not both simultaneously. Data from this report provide an empirical basis on which global guidance for implementing such schemes could be developed.

PLoS Pathogens
http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/
[Accessed 23 May 2020]

The hallmarks of COVID-19 disease
Daolin Tang, Paul Comish, Rui Kang
Review | published 22 May 2020 PLOS Pathogens
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008536

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
[Accessed 23 May 2020]

NIH funding and the pursuit of edge science
Mikko Packalen and Jay Bhattacharya
PNAS first published May 19, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910160117
Significance
Innovative research is critical to the advancement of biomedicine. The NIH plays a crucial role in fostering innovation. An empirical assessment of the success of the NIH in this role is an essential step in identifying ways to encourage novel research. This research introduces a measure of the age of the ideas used in published biomedical research papers and comprehensively evaluates the performance of NIH-supported research relative to non-NIH-supported research, using this measure.
Abstract
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) plays a critical role in funding scientific endeavors in biomedicine. Funding innovative science is an essential element of the NIH’s mission, but many have questioned the NIH’s ability to fulfill this aim. Based on an analysis of a comprehensive corpus of published biomedical research articles, we measure whether the NIH succeeds in funding work with novel ideas, which we term edge science. We find that edge science is more often NIH funded than less novel science, but with a delay. Papers that build on very recent ideas are NIH funded less often than are papers that build on ideas that have had a chance to mature for at least 7 y. We have three further findings. First, the tendency to fund edge science is mostly limited to basic science. Papers that build on novel clinical ideas are not more often NIH funded than are papers that build on well-established clinical knowledge. Second, novel papers tend to be NIH funded more often because there are more NIH-funded papers in innovative areas of investigation, rather than because the NIH funds innovative papers within research areas. Third, the NIH’s tendency to have funded papers that build on the most recent advances has declined over time. In this regard, NIH funding has become more conservative despite initiatives to increase funding for innovative projects. Given our focus on published papers, the results reflect both the funding preferences of the NIH and the composition of the applications it receives.

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
[Accessed 23 May 2020]

Lessons from Hurricane Katrina for predicting the indirect health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic
Ethan J. Raker, Meghan Zacher, and Sarah R. Lowe
PNAS first published May 18, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006706117

Public Health Reports
Volume 135 Issue 3, May/June 2020
https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/phrg/135/3

Public Health Evaluation
Evaluation of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination After Pharmacist-Led Intervention: A Pilot Project in an Ambulatory Clinic at a Large Academic Urban Medical Center
Julianna Cebollero, PharmD, Suzanne M. Walton, PharmD, Laurie Cavendish, PharmD, Kristi Quairoli, PharmD, Carrie Cwiak, MD, MPH, Melissa J. Kottke, MD, MPH, MBA
First Published March 30, 2020; pp. 313–321

Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health (RPSP/PAJPH)
https://www.paho.org/journal/en

Latest articles
22 May 2020
Tuberculosis and HIV coinfection and related collaborative activities in Latin America and the Caribbean
Original research

Science
22 May 2020 Vol 368, Issue 6493
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

Policy Forum
Ethics of controlled human infection to address COVID-19
By Seema K. Shah, Franklin G. Miller, Thomas C. Darton, Devan Duenas, Claudia Emerson, Holly Fernandez Lynch, Euzebiusz Jamrozik, Nancy S. Jecker, Dorcas Kamuya, Melissa Kapulu, Jonathan Kimmelman, Douglas MacKay, Matthew J. Memoli, Sean C. Murphy, Ricardo Palacios, Thomas L. Richie, Meta Roestenberg, Abha Saxena, Katherine Saylor, Michael J. Selgelid, Vina Vaswani, Annette Rid
Science22 May 2020 : 832-834 Full Access
High social value is fundamental to justifying these studies
Summary
Development of an effective vaccine is the clearest path to controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To accelerate vaccine development, some researchers are pursuing, and thousands of people have expressed interest in participating in, controlled human infection studies (CHIs) with severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (1, 2). In CHIs, a small number of participants are deliberately exposed to a pathogen to study infection and gather preliminary efficacy data on experimental vaccines or treatments. We have been developing a comprehensive, state-of-the-art ethical framework for CHIs that emphasizes their social value as fundamental to justifying these studies. The ethics of CHIs in general are underexplored (3, 4), and ethical examinations of SARS-CoV-2 CHIs have largely focused on whether the risks are acceptable and participants could give valid informed consent (1). The high social value of such CHIs has generally been assumed. Based on our framework, we agree on the ethical conditions for conducting SARS-CoV-2 CHIs (see the table). We differ on whether the social value of such CHIs is sufficient to justify the risks at present, given uncertainty about both in a rapidly evolving situation; yet we see none of our disagreements as insurmountable. We provide ethical guidance for research sponsors, communities, participants, and the essential independent reviewers considering SARS-CoV-2 CHIs.

Science
22 May 2020 Vol 368, Issue 6493
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

Review
Social determinants of health and survival in humans and other animals
By Noah Snyder-Mackler, Joseph Robert Burger, Lauren Gaydosh, Daniel W. Belsky, Grace A. Noppert, Fernando A. Campos, Alessandro Bartolomucci, Yang Claire Yang, Allison E. Aiello, Angela O’Rand, Kathleen Mullan Harris, Carol A. Shively, Susan C. Alberts, Jenny Tung
Science22 May 2020
Social animals need connection
Much research over the past decade or so has revealed that health and lifespan in humans, highly social animals, are reduced with social adversity. We humans are not the only animals that are social, however, and similar research has shown that other social mammals are similarly influenced by isolation and adversity. Snyder-Mackler et al. reviewed the relationships between social environment and many aspects of health and well-being across nonhuman mammals and investigated the similarities between these and patterns in humans. They found many of the same threats and responses across social mammals.
Abstract
The social environment, both in early life and adulthood, is one of the strongest predictors of morbidity and mortality risk in humans. Evidence from long-term studies of other social mammals indicates that this relationship is similar across many species. In addition, experimental studies show that social interactions can causally alter animal physiology, disease risk, and life span itself. These findings highlight the importance of the social environment to health and mortality as well as Darwinian fitness—outcomes of interest to social scientists and biologists alike. They thus emphasize the utility of cross-species analysis for understanding the predictors of, and mechanisms underlying, social gradients in health.

Science Translational Medicine
20 May 2020 Vol 12, Issue 544
https://stm.sciencemag.org/

Research Articles
An open-label phase 1/2a trial of a genetically modified rodent malaria parasite for immunization against Plasmodium falciparum malaria
By Isaie J. Reuling, António M. Mendes, Gerdie M. de Jong, Amanda Fabra-García, Helena Nunes-Cabaço, Geert-Jan van Gemert, Wouter Graumans, Luc E. Coffeng, Sake J. de Vlas, Annie S. P. Yang, Cynthia Lee, Yimin Wu, Ashley J. Birkett, Christian F. Ockenhouse, Rob Koelewijn, Jaap J. van Hellemond, Perry J. J. van Genderen, Robert W. Sauerwein, Miguel Prudêncio
Science Translational Medicine20 May 2020 Full Access
Clinical evaluation of genetically modified rodent malaria parasites for whole-sporozoite immunization against P. falciparum in healthy volunteers.

Science Translational Medicine
20 May 2020 Vol 12, Issue 544
https://stm.sciencemag.org/

A double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 1/2a trial of the genetically attenuated malaria vaccine PfSPZ-GA1
By Meta Roestenberg, Jona Walk, Saskia C. van der Boor, Marijke C. C. Langenberg, Marie-Astrid Hoogerwerf, Jacqueline J. Janse, Mikhael Manurung, X. Zen Yap, Amanda Fabra García, Jan Pieter R. Koopman, Pauline Meij, Els Wessels, Karina Teelen, Youri M. van Waardenburg, Marga van de Vegte-Bolmer, Geert Jan van Gemert, Leo G. Visser, André J. A. M. van der Ven, Quirijn de Mast, K. C. Natasha, Yonas Abebe, Tooba Murshedkar, Peter F. Billingsley, Tom L. Richie, B. Kim Lee Sim, Chris J. Janse, Stephen L. Hoffman, Shahid M. Khan, Robert W. Sauerwein

Science Translational Medicine20 May 2020 Full Access
The genetically attenuated malaria vaccine PfSPZ-GA1 is safe, immunogenic, and has suboptimal protective efficacy in people.

Tropical Medicine & International Health
Volume 25, Issue 5 Pages: i-iv, 507-643 May 2020
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/13653156/current

Reviews
Commercially approved vaccines for canine leishmaniosis: a review of available data on their safety and efficacy
Rita Velez, Montserrat Gállego
Pages: 540-557
First Published: 08 February 2020

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 23 Pages 3919-3986 (13 May 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/23

Discussion No access
Recommendation of HPV vaccination to boys in France – An unhappy coïncidence with the WHO call to pause the implementation of this vaccination in boys
Fadia Dib, François Vie le Sage, Robert Cohen, Odile Launay
Pages 39
19-3921

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 23 Pages 3919-3986 (13 May 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/23

Research article Abstract only
Characterization of pneumococcal meningitis before and after introduction of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Niger, 2010–2018
Sani Ousmane, Miwako Kobayashi, Issaka Seidou, Bassira Issaka, … Mahamoudou Ouattara
Pages 3922-3929

Vaccines — Open Access Journal
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines
(Accessed 23 May 2020)

Open Access Letter
Measures to Improve Influenza Vaccination Coverage in Spanish Medical Students
by Ignacio Hernández-García and Carlos Aibar-Remón
Vaccines 2020, 8(2), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8020238 – 20 May 2020
Viewed by 158
Abstract
Objective: To find out what measures medical students believe could help improve their influenza vaccination coverage. Method: On 5 November, 2019, the Dean of the Zaragoza Medical School sent an e-mail to the students asking them to fill out a questionnaire…

Vaccines — Open Access Journal
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines
(Accessed 23 May 2020)

Open Access Review
Dynamics of Population Immunity Due to the Herd Effect in the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez , Alberto Hormeño-Holgado , Manuel Jiménez , Juan Camilo Benitez-Agudelo , Eduardo Navarro-Jiménez , Natalia Perez-Palencia , Ronald Maestre-Serrano , Carmen Cecilia Laborde-Cárdenas and Jose Francisco Tornero-Aguilera
Vaccines 2020, 8(2), 236; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8020236 – 19 May 2020
Viewed by 682
Abstract
The novel Coronavirus 2 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-Cov-2) has led to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has surprised health authorities around the world, quickly producing a global health crisis. Different actions to cope with this situation are being developed, including confinement, different treatments to improve symptoms, and the creation of the first vaccines. In epidemiology, herd immunity is presented as an area that could also solve this new global threat. In this review, we present the basis of herd immunology, the dynamics of infection transmission that induces specific immunity, and how the application of immunoepidemiology and herd immunology could be used to control the actual COVID-19 pandemic, along with a discussion of its effectiveness, limitations, and applications.

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 23 May 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Accessed 23 May 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
Accessed 23 May 2020
Big pharma is having a good crisis
Drug innovation is back in fashion
Big pharma is no longer the villain
Leaders May 23rd 2020 edition

Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/home/uk
Accessed 23 May 2020
Analysis The Big Read
Scientists vs politicians: the reality check for ‘warp speed’ vaccine research
…When Donald Trump launched Operation Warp Speed last week, he borrowed language from Star Trek to describe the drive for a Covid-19 vaccine. “That means big and it means fast,” the US president said…
May 22, 2020

Special Report FT Wealth: May 2020
Why vaccine development relies on philanthropy
…With long time horizons, complex science and high failure rates, vaccine development is not for the faint-hearted philanthropist. But in a world gripped by coronavirus, many donors have put aside such…
May 22, 2020

Bottom of Form

Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
Accessed 23 May 2020
May 20, 2020
More Than Stimulus Checks: How Covid-19 Relief Might Include Mandated Vaccines
Should a coronavirus vaccine be developed, students may hesitate to return to campus if their peers refuse to get vaccinated. But refusing a coronavirus vaccine may be illegal.
By Christopher Rim Senior Contributor

Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/
Accessed 23 May 2020
Snapshot May 19, 2020
Drugs and Vaccines Are Coming—But to Whom?
Successfully confronting a global pandemic demands more, not less, investment in multilateralism. During the COVID-19 crisis, the world must count on the WTO to keep…
Jennifer Hillman

Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/
Accessed 23 May 2020 |
Why the WHO Investigation Won’t Work
Beijing’s influence within the organization means the results of a review into the origins of the coronavirus are likely to be delayed—and compromised.
China Brief | May 20, 2020, 5:16 PM
James Palmer

The Guardian
http://www.guardiannews.com/
Accessed 23 May 2020
Member states back WHO after renewed Donald Trump attack
US president claimed WHO too willing to accept Chinese explanations over coronavirus outbreak
Patrick Wintour and Julian Borger
Tue 19 May 2020
Member states have backed a resolution strongly supportive of the World Health Organization, after Donald Trump issued a fresh broadside against the UN body, giving it 30 days to make unspecified reforms or lose out on US funding.
A resolution that backed the WHO’s leadership and said there needed to be an investigation into the global response to the coronavirus pandemic won endorsement at the WHO’s annual ministerial meeting on Tuesday.
The US president launched his attack late on Monday, sending a lengthy letter outlining America’s belief that the WHO had not been sufficiently independent of China, and had been too willing to accept its explanations for the origins of the coronavirus outbreak…

New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/
Accessed 23 May 2020
Annals of Technology
Immunity Passports and the Perils of Conferring Coronavirus Status
Smartphone apps that promise to verify whether a user has been infected with COVID-19 might be creating more problems than they solve.
By Sue Halpern
May 22, 2020

The New Yorker Radio Hour
To Test a Vaccine for COVID-19, Should Volunteers Risk their Lives?
Larissa MacFarquhar on a potentially lethal form of medical research. Plus, Jelani Cobb on the killing of Ahmaud Arbery; and a short story about a very boring Memorial Day.
By David Remnick
May 22, 2020

Daily Comment
Camus and the Political Tests of a Pandemic
In this political season of our own, it can be uncanny to encounter Camus’s seven-decade-old account of a dissembling leader, whose advisers cannot bear even to speak aloud the name of the disease that is rampaging through their city.
By Steve Coll
May 19, 2020

American Chronicles
May 25, 2020 Issue
Will the Coronavirus Make Us Rethink Mass Incarceration?
Community groups have pointed out the social costs of the prison system for decades. Now the pandemic has exposed its public-health risks.
By Sarah Stillman
May 18, 2020

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 23 May 2020
Europe
Project Leader: Oxford’s COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Has 50% Chance of Success-Telegraph
The University of Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine trial has only a 50% chance of success as the coronavirus seems to be fading rapidly in Britain, the professor co-leading the development of the vaccine told the Telegraph newspaper https://bit.ly/2LQTNos.
By Reuters May 23, 2020

Asia Pacific
Thailand Begins Coronavirus Vaccine Trials on Monkeys
Thailand on Saturday began testing a vaccine against the coronavirus on monkeys after positive trials in mice, an official said.
By Reuters May 23, 2020

Business
How One Indian Company Could Be World’s Door to a COVID-19 Vaccine
If the world is to gain access to a vaccine for COVID-19, there’s a good chance it will pass through the doors of Serum Institute of India.
By Reuters May 22

U.S.
Disruption to Global Immunization System Could Delay COVID-19 Vaccinations
Massive disruptions to global immunisation programmes from the COVID-19 pandemic have health experts fearful that much of the developing world will not be able to get a vaccine for the new coronavirus, even once one is ready.
By Reuters May 22

Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Accessed 23 May 2020
Retropolis
This Montana farm boy became a scientific legend, developing vaccines to protect kids worldwide
Maurice Hilleman isn’t a household name, but he has saved untold millions of lives
Kathleen McLaughlin · · May 23, 2020

Think Tanks et al

Brookings
http://www.brookings.edu/
Accessed 23 May 2020
[No new relevant content]

Center for Global Development [to 23 May 2020]
http://www.cgdev.org/page/press-center
Accessed 23 May 2020
May 21, 2020
The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine: An Overview of Current Proposals and Our Contribution in Bringing in the Missing Middle
Much rests with the successful development and introduction of an effective COVID-19 vaccine. It may be our only path towards fully reopening our economies without fear of future outbreaks and associated health and economic impacts. See here for an overview of recent vaccine initiatives.
Rachel Silverman et al.

Chatham House [to 23 May 2020]
https://www.chathamhouse.org/
Expert Comment
Coronavirus Vaccine: Available For All, or When it’s Your Turn?
4 May 2020
Despite high-level commitments and pledges to cooperate to ensure equitable global access to a coronavirus vaccine, prospects for fair distribution are uncertain.
Professor David Salisbury CB, Associate Fellow, Global Health Programme

CSIS
https://www.csis.org/
Accessed 23 May 2020
Commentary
The Trump Administration’s Ignominious Exit at the 2020 World Health Assembly
May 20, 2020 | By J. Stephen Morrison
… China benefited to some degree at the WHA, as it sought to recover from widespread anger across the world at its mishandling of the virus. In his statement, President Xi glided past China’s actions in early 2020, responded in kind to Trump and Azar’s charges, and looked forward with a $2 billion pledge to the global Covid-19 response and a commitment to pursue a “common public good approach to the delivery of an eventual vaccine.”
Dr. Tedros kept cool throughout this dark and disturbing moment. On May 18, he made an appeal for pragmatism, solidarity, and commitment: “the world doesn’t need another plan, another system, another mechanism, another committee or another organization. It needs to strengthen, implement and finance the systems and organizations it has – including WHO.” German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron each voiced strong support for WHO in their remarks.
By the conclusion of the WHA, the Trump administration had wantonly withdrawn the United States from any meaningful leadership role in the international response to the coronavirus pandemic. It was a form of self-immolation, a willful regression that now confines the United States to an isolated corner, the object of pity, sadness, scorn, anger, and contempt.

Commentary
Forecasting Covid-19’s Course
May 20, 2020 | By Sarah Ladislaw, Samuel Brannen

Transcript
Online Event: Humanitarian Operations During COVID-19: A Conversation with Peter Maurer of the ICRC
May 19, 2020

Council on Foreign Relations
http://www.cfr.org/
Accessed 23 May 2020
May 22, 2020
Coronavirus
Scaling Up African Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in a Time of COVID-19
Africa is vulnerable to disruptions in global supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with respect to pharmaceuticals, because between 70 and 90 percent are imported. But it has underutilized capacity to make up the difference.
Blog Post by Guest Blogger for John Campbell Africa in Transition

May 20, 2020
Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines
What Is the World Doing to Create a COVID-19 Vaccine?
The race to find a vaccine for the new coronavirus is well underway. Governments and researchers are aiming to provide billions of people with immunity in eighteen months or less, which would be unpr…
Backgrounder by Claire Felter

Kaiser Family Foundation
https://www.kff.org/search/?post_type=press-release
Accessed 23 May 2020
[No new relevant content]

####

COVID-19 response
SEVENTY-THIRD WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
A73/CONF./1 Rev.1 18 May 2020
Draft resolution proposed by Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kiribati, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the African Group and its Member States, the European Union and its Member States, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Uruguay

The Seventy-third World Health Assembly,
Having considered the address of the Director-General on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,1

PP1 Deeply concerned by the morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19 pandemic, the negative impacts on physical and mental health and social well-being, the negative impacts on economy and society and the consequent exacerbation of inequalities within and between countries;

PP2 Expressing solidarity to all countries affected by the pandemic, as well as condolences and sympathy to all the families of the victims of COVID-19;

PP3 Underlining the primary responsibility of governments to adopt and implement responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that are specific to their national context as well as for mobilizing the necessary resources to do so;

PP4 Recalling the constitutional mandate of WHO to act, inter alia, as the directing and
broader United Nations response and the importance of strengthened multilateral cooperation in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and its extensive negative impacts;

PP5 Recalling the Constitution of WHO, which defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, and declares that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being, without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition;

PP6 Recalling the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) on 30 January 2020 by the Director-General; and the temporary recommendations issued by the Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005, IHR) upon the advice of the Emergency Committee for COVID-19;

PP7 Recalling the United Nations General Assembly resolutions A/RES/74/270 on “Global solidarity to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)” and A/RES/74/274 on “International cooperation to ensure global access to medicines, vaccines and medical equipment to face COVID-19”;

PP8 Noting resolution EB146.R10 entitled “Strengthening Preparedness for Health Emergencies: implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005)” and reiterating the obligation for all Parties to fully implement and comply with the IHR;

PP9 Noting WHO’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) and the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19;

PP10 Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affects the poor and the most vulnerable people, with repercussions on health and development gains, in particular in low- and middle-income and developing countries, thus hampering the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) including through the strengthening of Primary Health Care, and reiterating the importance of continued and concerted efforts, and the provision of development assistance, and further recognizing with deep concern the impact of high debt levels on countries’ ability to withstand the impact of the COVID-19 shock;

PP11 Recognizing further the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, including hunger and malnutrition, increased violence against women, children, and frontline health workers, as well as disruptions in care of older persons and persons with disabilities;

PP12 Emphasizing the need to protect populations, in particular people with pre-existing health conditions, older persons, and other people at risk of COVID-19 including health professionals, health workers and other relevant frontline workers, especially women who represent the majority of the health workforce as well as persons with disabilities, children and adolescents and people in vulnerable situations, and stressing the importance of age-, gender-responsive and disability-sensitive measures in this regard;

PP13 Recognizing the need for all countries to have unhindered timely access to quality, safe, efficacious and affordable diagnostics, therapeutics, medicines and vaccines, and essential health technologies, and their components as well as equipment for the COVID-19 response;

PP14 Noting the need to ensure the safe and unhindered access of humanitarian personnel, in particular medical personnel responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, their means of transport and equipment, and to protect hospitals and other medical facilities as well as the delivery of supplies and equipment, in order to allow such personnel to efficiently and safely perform their task of assisting affected civilian populations;

PP15 Recalling resolution 46/182 of 19 December 1991 on the strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations and all subsequent General Assembly resolutions on the subject, including resolution 74/118 of 16 December 2019;

PP16 Underscoring that respect for international law, including international humanitarian law, is essential to contain and mitigate outbreaks of COVID-19 in armed conflicts;

PP17 Recognizing further the many unforeseen public health impacts, challenges and resource needs generated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the potential re-emergences, as well as the multitude and complexity of necessary immediate and long-termactions, coordination and collaboration required at all levels of governance across organizations and sectors, including civil society and the private sector, required to have an efficient and coordinated public health response to the pandemic, leaving no-one behind;

PP18 Recognizing the importance of planning and preparing for the recovery phase, including to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and of the unintended consequences of public health measures on society, public health, human rights and the economy;

PP19 Expressing optimism that the COVID-19 pandemic can be successfully mitigated, controlled and overcome through leadership and sustained global cooperation, unity, and solidarity;

OP1 Calls for, in the spirit of unity and solidarity, intensification of cooperation and collaboration at all levels to contain, control and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic;

OP2 Acknowledges the key leadership role of WHO and the fundamental role of the United Nations system in catalysing and coordinating the comprehensive global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the central efforts of Member States therein;

OP3 Expresses its highest appreciation of and support to the dedication, efforts and sacrifices, above and beyond the call of duty of health professionals, health workers and other relevant frontline workers, as well as the WHO Secretariat, in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic;

OP4 Calls for the universal, timely and equitable access to and fair distribution of all quality, safe, efficacious and affordable essential health technologies and products including their components and precursors required in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a global priority, and the urgent removal of unjustified obstacles thereto; consistent with the provisions of relevant international treaties including the provisions of the TRIPS agreement and the flexibilities as confirmed by the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health;

OP5 Reiterates the importance of urgently meeting the needs of low- and middle-income countries in order to fill the gaps to overcome the pandemic through timely and adequate development and humanitarian assistance;

OP6 Recognizes the role of extensive immunization against COVID-19 as a global public good for health in preventing, containing and stopping transmission in order to bring the pandemic to an end, once safe, quality, efficacious, effective, accessible and affordable vaccines are available;

OP7 Calls on Member States,1 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to:
OP7.1 Put in place a whole of government and whole of society response including through implementing a national, cross-sectoral COVID-19 action plan that outlines both immediate and long term actions with a view to sustainably strengthening their health system and social care and support systems, preparedness, surveillance and response capacities as well as taking into account, according to national context, WHO guidance, engaging with communities and collaborating with relevant stakeholders;

OP7.2 Implement national action plans by putting in place, according to their specific contexts, comprehensive, proportionate, time-bound, age- and disability-sensitive and gender-responsive measures across government sectors against COVID-19, ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and paying particular attention to the needs of people in vulnerable situations, promoting social cohesion, taking necessary measures to ensure social protection, protection from financial hardship and preventing insecurity, violence, discrimination, stigmatization and marginalization;

OP7.3 Ensure that restrictions on the movement of persons and of medical equipment and medicines in the context of COVID-19 are temporary and specific and include exceptions for the movement of humanitarian and health workers, including community health workers to fulfil their duties and for the transfer of equipment and medicines required by humanitarian organizations for their operations;

OP7.4 Take measures to support access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and infection prevention and control, ensuring that adequate attention is placed on the promotion of personal hygienic measures in all settings, including humanitarian settings and particularly in health facilities;

OP7.5 Maintain the continued functioning of the health system in all relevant aspects, in accordance with national context and priorities, necessary for an effective public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other ongoing epidemics, and the uninterrupted and safe provision of population and individual level services, for, among others, communicable diseases, including by undisrupted vaccination programmes, neglected tropical diseases, noncommunicable diseases, mental health, mother and child health and sexual and reproductive health and promote improved nutrition for women and children, recognizing in this regard the importance of increased domestic financing and development assistance where needed in the context of achieving UHC;

OP7.6 Provide the population with reliable and comprehensive information on COVID-19 and the measures taken by authorities in response to the pandemic, and take measures to counter misinformation and disinformation and as well as malicious cyber activities;

OP7.7 Provide access to safe testing, treatment, and palliative care for COVID-19, paying particular attention to the protection of those with pre-existing health conditions, older persons, and other people at risk, in particular health professionals, health workers and other relevant frontline workers;

OP7.8 Provide health professionals, health workers and other relevant frontline workers exposed to COVID-19, access to personal protective equipment and other necessary commodities and training, including in the provision of psychosocial support, taking measures for their protection at work, facilitating their access to work, and the provision of their adequate remuneration, consider also the introduction of task-sharing and task-shifting to optimize the use of resources;

OP7.9 Leverage digital technologies for the response to COVID-19, including for addressing its socioeconomic impact, paying particular attention to digital inclusion, patient empowerment, data privacy, and security, legal and ethical issues, and the protection of personal data;

OP7.10 Provide WHO timely, accurate and sufficiently detailed public health information related to the COVID-19 pandemic as required by the IHR;

OP7.11 Share, COVID-19 related knowledge, lessons learned, experiences, best practices, data, materials and commodities needed in the response with WHO and other countries, as appropriate;

OP7.12 Collaborate to promote both private sector and government-funded research and development, including open innovation, across all relevant domains on measures necessary to contain and end the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular on vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics and share relevant information with WHO;

OP7.13 Optimize prudent use of antimicrobials in the treatment of COVID-19 and secondary infections in order to prevent the development of antimicrobial resistance;

OP7.14 Strengthen actions to involve women’s participation in all stages of decision-making processes, and mainstream a gender perspective in the COVID-19 response and recovery;

OP7.15 Provide sustainable funding to WHO to ensure that it can fully respond to public health needs in the global response to COVID-19, leaving no one behind;

OP8 CALLS on international organizations and other relevant stakeholders to:
OP8.1 Support all countries, upon their request, in the implementation of their multisectoral national action plans and in strengthening their health systems to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in maintaining the safe provision of all other essential public health functions and services;

OP8.2 Work collaboratively at all levels to develop, test, and scale-up production of safe, effective, quality, affordable diagnostics, therapeutics, medicines and vaccines for the COVID-19 response, including, existing mechanisms for voluntary pooling and licensing of patents to facilitate timely, equitable and affordable access to them, consistent with the provisions of relevant international treaties including the provisions of the TRIPS agreement and the flexibilities as confirmed by the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health;

OP8.3 Address, and where relevant in coordination with Member States, the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation particularly in the digital sphere, as well as the proliferation of malicious cyber-activities that undermine the public health response, and support the timely provision of clear, objective and science-based data and information to the public;

OP9 REQUESTS the Director-General to:
OP9.1 Continue to work with the United Nations Secretary-General and relevant multilateral organizations, including the signatory agencies of the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-Being, on a comprehensive and coordinated response across the United Nations system to support Member States in their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in full cooperation with governments, as appropriate, demonstrating leadership on health in the United Nations system, and continue to act as the health cluster lead in the United Nations humanitarian response;

OP9.2 Continue to build and strengthen the capacities of WHO at all levels to fully and effectively perform the functions entrusted to it under the IHR;

OP9.3 Assist and continue to call upon all States’ Parties to take the actions according to the provisions of the IHR, including by providing all necessary support to countries for building, strengthening and maintaining their capacities to fully comply with the IHR;

OP9.4 Provide assistance to countries upon their request, in accordance with their national context, to support the continued safe functioning of the health system in all relevant aspects necessary for an effective public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other ongoing epidemics, and the uninterrupted and safe provision of population and individual level services, for, among others, communicable diseases, including by undisrupted vaccination programmes, neglected tropical diseases, noncommunicable diseases, mental health, mother and child health and sexual and reproductive health and promote improved nutrition for women and children;

OP9.5 Assist countries upon request in developing, implementing and adapting relevant national response plans to COVID-19, by developing, disseminating and updating normative products and technical guidance, learning tools, data and scientific evidence for COVID-19 responses, including to counter misinformation and disinformation, as well as malicious cyber activities, and continue to work against substandard and falsified medicines and medical products;

OP9.6 Continue to work closely with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and countries, as part of the One-Health Approach to identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population, including the possible role of intermediate hosts, including through efforts such as scientific and collaborative field missions, which will enable targeted interventions and a research agenda to reduce the risk of similar events as well as to provide guidance on how to prevent SARS-COV2 infection in animals and humans and prevent the establishment of new zoonotic reservoirs, as well as to reduce further risks of emergence and transmission of zoonotic diseases;

OP9.7 Regularly inform Member States, including through Governing Bodies, on the results of fundraising efforts, the global implementation of and allocation of financial resources through the WHO Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP), including funding gaps and results achieved, in a transparent, accountable and swift manner, in particular on the support given to countries;

OP9.8 Rapidly, and noting OP2 of RES/74/274 and in consultation with Member States,1 and with inputs from relevant international organizations civil society, and the private sector, as
appropriate, identify and provide options that respect the provisions of relevant international treaties, including the provisions of the TRIPS agreement and the flexibilities as confirmed by the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health to be used in scaling up development, manufacturing and distribution capacities needed for transparent equitable and timely access to quality, safe, affordable and efficacious diagnostics, therapeutics, medicines, and vaccines for the COVID-19 response taking into account existing mechanisms, tools, and initiatives, such as the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) accelerator, and relevant pledging appeals, such as “The Coronavirus Global Response” pledging campaign, for the consideration of the Governing Bodies;

OP9.9 Ensure that the Secretariat is adequately resourced to support the Member States granting of regulatory approvals needed to enable timely and adequate COVID-19 countermeasures;

OP9.10 Initiate, at the earliest appropriate moment, and in consultation with Member States,1 a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation, including using existing mechanisms,2 as appropriate, to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19, including (i) the effectiveness of the mechanisms at WHO’s disposal; (ii) the functioning of the IHR and the status of implementation of the relevant recommendations of the previous IHR Review Committees; (iii) WHO’s contribution to United Nations-wide efforts; and (iv) the actions of WHO and their timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, and make recommendations to improve global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacity, including through strengthening, as appropriate, WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme;

OP9.11 Report to the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly, through the 148th session of the Executive Board, on the implementation of this resolution.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Seventy-third World Health Assembly
#WHA73
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the 73rd World Health Assembly will be virtual. The agenda has been reduced to fit into two days, starting on Monday 18 May and concluding no later on Tuesday 19 May. Watch live

Main documents
A73/1 Provisional agenda
The programme will cover:
:: Opening of the Health Assembly by WHA 72 President
:: Election of the President and five Vice-Presidents
:: Presidential address
:: Statements by invited speakers
:: Address by the Director-General (on COVID-19 pandemic response)
:: Statements by Heads of delegation on COVID-19 pandemic
:: EB: election
:: Closure/suspension (The WHA will consider suspending and reconvening later in the year to consider the remaining items on the agenda)

A73/4 Consolidated report by the Director-General

A73/5 Consolidated report by the Director-General

A73/6
Global vaccine action plan
Defeating meningitis by 2030
Meningitis prevention and control

A73/7
Global vaccine action plan
Draft immunization vision and strategy: “Immunization Agenda 2030”

A73/8
Neglected tropical diseases
Draft road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030

A73/9
WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel
Report of the WHO Expert Advisory Group on the Relevance and Effectiveness of the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel

A73/12
Poliomyelitis
Polio eradication

A73/13
Poliomyelitis
Polio transition planning and polio post-certification

A73/14
International Health Regulations (2005)
Annual report on the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005)

A73/16
Programme budget 2020–2021
WHO results framework: an update

A73/20
Evaluation of the election of the Director-General of the World Health Organization

A73/21
Human resources: annual report

A73/22
Amendments to the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules

A73/23
Appointment of representatives to the WHO Staff Pension Committee

A73/30
Collaboration within the United Nations system and with other intergovernmental organizations
Reform of the United Nations development system and implications for WHO

A73/32
Progress reports

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

COVID-19 : Joint Statement

Uniting behind a people’s vaccine against COVID-19
14 May 2020
Humanity today, in all its fragility, is searching for an effective and safe vaccine against COVID-19. It is our best hope of putting a stop to this painful global pandemic.

We are calling on Health Ministers at the World Health Assembly to rally behind a people’s vaccine against this disease urgently. Governments and international partners must unite around a global guarantee which ensures that, when a safe and effective vaccine is developed, it is produced rapidly at scale and made available for all people, in all countries, free of charge. The same applies for all treatments, diagnostics, and other technologies for COVID-19. 

We recognize that many countries and international organizations are making progress towards this goal, cooperating multilaterally on research and development, funding and access, including the welcome $8 billion pledged on 4th May. Thanks to tireless public and private sector efforts and billions of dollars of publicly-financed research, many vaccine candidates are proceeding with unprecedented speed and several have begun clinical trials.

Our world will only be safer once everyone can benefit from the science and access a vaccine – and that is a political challenge. The World Health Assembly must forge a global agreement that ensures rapid universal access to quality-assured vaccines and treatments with need prioritized above the ability to pay.

It is time for Health Ministers to renew the commitments made at the founding of the World Health Organization, where all states agreed to deliver the “the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being”.

Now is not the time to allow the interests of the wealthiest corporations and governments to be placed before the universal need to save lives, or to leave this massive and moral task to market forces. Access to vaccines and treatments as global public goods are in the interests of all humanity. We cannot afford for monopolies, crude competition and near-sighted nationalism to stand in the way.

We must heed the warning that “Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” We must learn the painful lessons from a history of unequal access in dealing with disease such as HIV and Ebola. But we must also remember the ground-breaking victories of health movements, including AIDS activists and advocates who fought for access to affordable medicines for all.

Applying both sets of lessons, we call for a global agreement on COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and treatments – implemented under the leadership of the World Health Organization – that:

[1] Ensures mandatory worldwide sharing of all COVID-19 related knowledge, data and technologies with a pool of COVID-19 licenses freely available to all countries. Countries should be empowered and enabled to make full use of agreed safeguards and flexibilities in the WTO Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health to protect access to medicines for all.

[2] Establishes a global and equitable rapid manufacturing and distribution plan – that is fully-funded by rich nations – for the vaccine and all COVID-19 products and technologies that guarantees transparent ‘at true cost-prices’ and supplies according to need. Action must start urgently to massively build capacity worldwide to manufacture billions of vaccine doses and to recruit and train the millions of paid and protected health workers needed to deliver them.

[3] Guarantees COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, tests and treatments are provided free of charge to everyone, everywhere. Access needs to be prioritized first for front-line workers, the most vulnerable people, and for poor countries with the least capacity to save lives.

In doing so, no one can be left behind. Transparent democratic governance must be set in place by the WHO, inclusive of independent expertise and civil society partners, which is essential to lock-in accountability for this agreement.

In doing so, we also recognize the urgent need to reform and strengthen public health systems worldwide, removing all barriers so that rich and poor alike can access the health care, technologies and medicines they need, free at the point of need.

Only a people’s vaccine – with equality and solidarity at its core – can protect all of humanity and get our societies safely running again. A bold international agreement cannot wait.

Signed,
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo – President of the Republic of Ghana
Imran Khan – Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Cyril Ramaphosa – President of the Republic of South Africa and Chairperson of the African Union..
[Fifty+ signatories; Full list at title link above]

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

COVID-19 :: Clinical Trials Coordination

Press release: International coordination needed to encourage conduct of large, decision-relevant COVID-19 clinical trials
European Medicines Agency Last updated: 15/05/2020
Regulators are highlighting the need for a comprehensive international coordination mechanism to allow the conduct of adequately powered, randomised controlled trials, which can generate sound evidence on the effects of therapeutics or vaccines against COVID-19. This follows a call made by EMA’s Human Medicines Committee (CHMP) for the research community to pool resources into large, well-designed, multi-arm clinical trials to determine which investigational or repurposed medicines would be safe and effective for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.
Although the scientific community has responded to the COVID-19 challenge in an unprecedented manner, there are concerns about the growing number of COVID-19 stand-alone clinical trials with a small number of participants and observational studies, which might not generate the data required for regulatory decision-making.
In an article published today in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, EMA authors have therefore set out concrete actions that stakeholders involved with COVID-19 clinical trials should take to generate the type of conclusive evidence needed to enable rapid development and approval of potential treatments and vaccines against COVID-19. These include:
research community to consider whether their planned trial can become part of a larger platform;
:: developers of COVID-19 treatments to seek interactions with regulators as early as possible;
support well-established public or private consortia to ramp up their activities and take on a wider role in the management of trials;
:: regulatory flexibility in clinical trial management to address challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, while ensuring a high level of quality, efficacy and safety of medicines;
:: ethics committees to ensure that the benefits of conducting a stand-alone clinical trial for COVID-19 outweighs risks and burdens to the participants;
:: establish infrastructure to support clinical trial conduct;
:: umbrella patient organisations and learned societies to use their influence to encourage clinical trial coordination.
Medicine regulatory authorities worldwide are cooperating under the umbrella of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA) with the aim of expediting and streamlining the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. In a series of ICMRA meetings on COVID-19 held in March and April 2020, they have exchanged information about regulatory issues, including prioritisation of COVID-19 clinical trials, and sought alignment in their approaches to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory decision-making during the current pandemic.
The article entitled ‘Clinical trials for Covid-19: can we better use the short window of opportunity?‘ is available through open access in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

Featured Journal Content

Science 
11 May 2020:
eabc5312 DOI: 10.1126/science.abc5312
Policy Forum
A strategic approach to COVID-19 vaccine R&D
By Lawrence Corey^1,2, John R. Mascola³, Anthony S. Fauci⁴, Francis S. Collins⁵
Abstract
A public-private partnership and platform for harmonized clinical trials aims to accelerate licensure and distribution.
[Initial text]
There is an unprecedented need to manufacture and distribute enough safe and effective vaccine to immunize an extraordinarily large number of individuals in order to protect the entire global community from the continued threat of morbidity and mortality from severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The global need for vaccine and the wide geographic diversity of the pandemic require more than one effective vaccine approach. Collaboration will be essential among biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, many of which are bringing forward a variety of vaccine approaches (¹). The full development pathway for an effective vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 will require that industry, government, and academia collaborate in unprecedented ways, each adding their individual strengths. We discuss one such collaborative program that has recently emerged: the ACTIV (Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines) public-private partnership. Spearheaded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), this effort brings together the strengths of all sectors at this time of global urgency. We further discuss a collaborative platform for conducting harmonized, randomized controlled vaccine efficacy trials. This mechanism aims to generate essential safety and efficacy data for several candidate vaccines in parallel, so as to accelerate the licensure and distribution of multiple vaccine platforms and vaccines to protect against COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019)…

EMERGENCIES

Coronavirus [COVID-19]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Editor’s Note:
We certainly recognize the velocity of global developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. While we have concentrated the most current key reports just below, COVID-19 announcements, analysis and commentary will be found throughout this issue, in all sections.
Beyond the considerable continuing coverage in the global general media, the WHO’s authoritative guidance is available here:
:: Daily WHO situation reports here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports
:: WHO Coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) daily press briefings here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/media-resources/press-briefings

Situation report – 117 [WHO]

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
16 May 2020
[Excerpts]
Situation in numbers (by WHO Region)
Total (new cases in last 24 hours)
Globally 4 425 485 cases (86 827) 302 059 deaths (4 940)
Africa 54 461 cases (2 271) 1 667 deaths (44)
Americas 1 909 483 cases (45 015) 115 057 deaths (3 123)
Eastern Mediterranean 315 668 cases (10 479) 9 701 deaths (143)
Europe 1 848 445 cases (22 150) 164 723 deaths (1 446)
South-East Asia 127 995 cases (5 741) 4 201 deaths (151)
Western Pacific 166 721 cases (1 171) 6 697 deaths (33)

HIGHLIGHTS
:: WHO has published a new scientific brief on “Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and adolescents with COVID-19”, given the reported clusters of children and adolescents who require admission to intensive care units with a multisystem inflammatory condition. There is an urgent need for collecting standardized data describing epidemiology, clinical presentations, severity, and outcomes.
:: WHO Director-General Dr Tedros, in his media briefing yesterday, highlighted the need to “unleash the full power of science, to deliver innovations that are scalable, usable, and benefit everyone, everywhere, at the same time”.
:: WHO has published new guidance on “Cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces in the context of COVID-19”, intended for healthcare professionals, public health professionals and health authorities that are developing and implementing cleaning and disinfection policies and standard operating procedures.
:: WHO and UNICEF have published a document on frequently asked questions (FAQs) about immunization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. These FAQs accompany WHO’s Guiding principles for immunization activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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Emergencies

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

Ebola Outbreak in DRC 92: 12 May 2020
[Excerpts]
Situation Update WHO Health Emergencies Programme Page 2
From 4 to 10 May 2020, there have been no new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) reported in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since the resurgence of the outbreak on 10 April 2020, seven confirmed cases have been reported from Kasanga, Malepe and Kansulinzuli Health Areas in Beni Health Zone…

Conclusion
The cluster of EVD cases that emerged in April 2020 highlights the importance of heightened vigilance for the response in the face of significant challenges around community engagement, access to affected areas, ongoing insecurity, and limited response capacity due to other local and global emergencies. New cases are expected among contacts of recent cases reported in Beni Health Zone. The origin of this recent chain of transmission should continue to be investigated in order to prepare for future similar events. It is crucial to detect, isolate, test and treat new suspected cases as early as possible in order to improve outcome of cases and break the chain of transmission. Strong coordination and communication among partners, authorities and affected communities is essential, as well as continued support for and engagement with EVD survivors.

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Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 13 May 2020
:: The GPEI has released an updated guide that synthesizes and references new evidence and recommendations to help ensure continuity of the programme’s operations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
:: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic – certain countries are facing stock-outs of bi-valent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV) for their essential immunization services. To address this, the program has circulated a Statement on the use of bOPV supplied for Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs) in routine immunization activities.
:: The WHA will take place on 18-19 May over video conference. While discussions will focus on COVID-19 and items essential for business continuity, reports on Polio Eradication and Polio Transition have been made available to Member States. The polio report provides an overview of the epidemiological situation and highlights the Executive Board (EB) decision adopted earlier this year on the Strategy for Control of cVDPV2 2020–2021, including the roll-out of nOPV2 under Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

Summary of new viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Afghanistan: one WPV1 case
:: Pakistan: four WPV1 cases, 13 WPV1 positive environmental samples
:: Somalia: three cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
:: Chad: two cVDPV2 cases
:: Cote d’Ivoire: One cVDPV2 case

::::::

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 16 May 2020]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola Outbreak in DRC 92: 12 May 2020

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 16 May 2020]
Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Afghanistan – 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
Iran – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
Malawi – 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 16 May 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
:: Recent Developments in Northwest Syria – Situation Report No. 14 – As of 15 May 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
:: 12 May 2020 Somalia: Flooding displaces thousands from their homes amid COVID-19
:: 12 May 2019 Southern Africa: Tropical Cyclone Kenneth Flash Update No. 12 (12 May 2019)
:: 14 May 2020 Zimbabwe Situation Report, 14 May 2020

:: EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DRC – No new digest announcements identified

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

WHO & Regional Offices [to 16 May 2020]
News release
WHO and Costa Rica preview technology pooling initiative to ensure access to COVID-19 health products for all
Geneva, 15 May 2020 – Presidents Carlos Alvarado Quesada of Costa Rica and Sebastián Piñera of Chile joined WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today to announce progress on a technology platform that aims to lift access barriers to effective vaccines, medicines and other health products against COVID-19. Costa Rica proposed the idea at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and several countries are now backing the proposal.
“Our proposal relies on solidarity,” said President Alvarado of Costa Rica. “It’s a Solidarity call to action to Member States, to academia, to companies, research institutions and cooperation agencies, based on global social responsibility, on a voluntary basis, promoting more global nonexclusive voluntary licensing.”
“We need to unleash the full power of science, without caveats or restrictions, to deliver innovations that are scalable, usable, and benefit everyone, everywhere, at the same time,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus…

14 May 2020 News release
Substantial investment needed to avert mental health crisis

13 May 2020 News release
WHO: People living longer and healthier lives but COVID-19 threatens to throw progress off track

13 May 2020 News release
Launch of the WHO Academy and the WHO Info mobile applications

11 May 2020 News release
ECOSOC Informal Briefing on ‘Joining Forces: Effective Policy Solutions for Covid-19 Response’

::::::

Weekly Epidemiological Record, 15 May 2020, vol. 95, 20 (pp. 209–228)
Dracunculiasis eradication: global surveillance summary, 2019

::::::

WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region AFRO
:: COVID-19 could deepen food insecurity, malnutrition in Africa 14 May 2020
:: Nigeria drives routine immunization amid COVID-19 14 May 2020
:: Ghana bolsters medicines regulatory system, guarantees product quality 13 May 2020

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
No new digest content identified.

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: Local epidemiology should guide focused action in ‘new normal’ COVID-19 world 15 May 2020

WHO European Region EURO
:: COVID-19: WHO joins forces with young Global Shapers to disseminate health advice 15-05-2020
:: Behavioural insights are valuable to inform the planning of appropriate pandemic response measures 14-05-2020
:: Polish medics bring Italian COVID-19 experience to Kyrgyzstan with WHO support 13-05-2020
:: Bulgaria launches new national programme amid pandemic on violence against women and children 13-05-2020
:: New WHO resource on enhancing competencies of primary care nurses 12-05-2020

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: Yemen faces unprecedented risk as COVID-19 starts to spread 13 May 2020
:: WHO supports accelerated response efforts for contact tracing in Somalia 11 May 2020
:: Migrants face COVID-19 discrimination in Yemen 10 May 2020

WHO Western Pacific Region
No new digest content identified.

CDC/ACIP [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html
Latest News Releases
Media Statement from Dr. Robert Redfield, CDC Director; Dr. Steve Hahn, FDA Commissioner; and Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID Director Tuesday, May 12, 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have together determined that government entities working in support of the COVID-19 response efforts are providing essential services and the current guidelines for critical infrastructure workers apply. Therefore, providing that they are asymptomatic, screened, and monitored for fever and other symptoms, wear a face covering, and maintain a distance of at least six feet from others, Drs. Redfield, Hahn, and Fauci can and will participate in meetings on the White House complex when their attendance is needed.

MMWR News Synopsis Friday, May 15, 2020
Survival and HIV-Free Survival Among Children Aged ≤3 Years — Eight Sub-Saharan African Countries, 2015–2017

COVID-19 in Correctional and Detention Facilities — United States, February–April 2020 (Early release May 6, 2020)

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Routine Pediatric Vaccine Ordering and Administration — United States, 2020 (Early release May 8, 2020)

Public Health Response to COVID-19 Cases in Correctional and Detention Facilities — Louisiana, March–April 2020 (Early release May 8, 2020)

Identification and Monitoring of International Travelers During the Initial Phase of an Outbreak of COVID-19 — California, February 3–March 17, 2020 (Early release May 11, 2020)

Preliminary Estimate of Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Outbreak — New York City, March 11–May 2, 2020 (Early release May 11, 2020)

High SARS-CoV-2 Attack Rate Following Exposure at a Choir Practice — Skagit County, Washington, March 2020 (Early release May 12, 2020)

Africa CDC [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.africacdc.org/
News
African researchers lead scientific coalition developing surveillance system for detecting emerging pandemics in real-time
11 May 2020

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
May 16: Daily briefing on novel coronavirus cases in China
2020-05-16

Xi calls for vigilance to combat virus
2020-05-15

Chinese mainland’s asymptomatic COVID-19 cases drop in past 10 days: official
2020-05-15

5 vaccines in China set to finish phase 2 trials in July
2020-05-15
China now has five vaccines, one vector and four inactivated, that have entered the first two phases of clinical trials in China, a senior scientist said on May 15. Vaccine recipients in phase II trials have reported no major adverse effects, and these vaccines are set to complete their phase II trials in July.
“As of today, vaccine development is generally progressing smoothly,” Zeng Yixin, deputy director of the National Health Commission, said in a news briefing on Friday.
Zeng said some vaccine candidates are conducting phase I and II clinical trials concurrently in China, which is considered “an innovation” in the emergency approval mechanism of the National Medical Products Administration.
Right now, 2,575 volunteers in total have been administered the five vaccines, including 539 volunteers for phase I trials, Zeng said. “We have gained preliminary data for phase I trials on the vaccines’ safety and ability to create protective antibodies.”
The phase II trials, which enrolled 2,036 volunteers, aim to further evaluate the vaccines’ safety and potency. “Some volunteers are taking more than one dose now, and relevant research is ongoing,” he said.
“We have not recorded any major adverse effects for volunteers in these trials,” he said. “If everything goes according to plan, these projects would finish their phase II trial in July.”…

Best efforts made in early study of virus spread, says health authority
2020-05-15

Announcements

 
 
Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group    [to 16 May 2020]
https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/frontiers-group/news-press/
News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
BMGF – Gates Foundation  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
Press Releases and Statements
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute    [to 16 May 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
No new digest content identified.
 
 
CARB-X   [to 16 May 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.
05.11.2020  |
CARB-X funds 60th project – $220M invested so far, plus millions more if milestones are met
CARB-X announced its 60th award today, representing more than $220 million invested since CARB-X was established in 2016 to support the early development of innovative products to fight drug resistance.
05.11.2020  |
CARB-X awards Day Zero Diagnostics $6.2M to develop a new test that would diagnose deadly superbug infections faster and determine what antibiotic would be most effective
CARB-X is awarding Day Zero Diagnostics, based in Boston, up to US$6.2 million in non-dilutive funding to develop a diagnostic system that could diagnose bacterial infections more quickly – within hours rather than days – and show physicians which antibiotics are most likely to effectively treat the infection. The innovative technology combines whole-genome sequencing and machine learning to identify the species of a pathogen and its drug-resistance profile without the need for culture, providing physicians with vital information to speed the appropriate treatment of serious drug-resistant bacterial infections in hours rather than days.
 
 
CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations  [to 16 May 2020]
http://cepi.net/
Latest News
CEPI extends collaboration with Novavax to advance development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccine
11 May 2020
 
 
Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI)  [to 16 May 2020]
https://clintonhealthaccess.org/
News & Press Releases
No new digest content identified.
 
 
EDCTP    [to 16 May 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
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Emory Vaccine Center    [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
[Undated]
No new digest content identified.
 
 
European Medicines Agency  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News & Press Releases
EU actions to support availability of medicines during COVID-19 pandemic – update #6
Press release 15/05/2020
The EU Executive Steering Group on Shortages of Medicines Caused by Major Events held a virtual meeting on 13 May 2020. Participation to the meeting of the steering group was extended to all the heads of the national competent authorities (NCAs) of the EU Member States to discuss the measures taken by EU authorities to ensure the continued availability of medicines in Europe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic…

Press release: International coordination needed to encourage conduct of large, decision-relevant COVID-19 clinical trials
Last updated: 15/05/2020
[See Perspectives above for detail]
News: EMA recommends expanding remdesivir compassionate use to patients not on mechanical ventilation
Last updated: 11/05/2020
 
 
European Vaccine Initiative  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/news-events
Latest News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
FDA [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
Press Announcements
May 16, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes First Standalone At-Home Sample Collection Kit That Can Be Used With Certain Authorized Tests
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized an at-home sample collection kit that can then be sent to specified laboratories for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. Specifically, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Everlywell, Inc. for the Everlywell COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit. Everlywell’s kit is authorized to be used by individuals at home who have been screened using an online questionnaire that is reviewed by a health care provider…

May 15, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup May 15, 2020

May 14, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup May 14, 2020

May 14, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Informs Public About Possible Accuracy Concerns with Abbott ID NOW Point-of-Care Test

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting the public to early data that suggest potential inaccurate results from using the Abbott ID NOW point-of-care test to diagnose COVID-19. Specifically, the test may return false negative results.

“We are still evaluating the information about inaccurate results and are in direct communications with Abbott about this important issue. We will continue to study the data available and are working with the company to create additional mechanisms for studying the test. This test can still be used and can correctly identify many positive cases in minutes. Negative results may need to be confirmed with a high-sensitivity authorized molecular test,” said Tim Stenzel, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health…

May 13, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup May 13, 2020

May 12, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup May 12, 2020

May 11, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Takes New Actions to Accelerate Development of Novel Prevention, Treatment Options for COVID-19

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took important actions to help accelerate the development of prevention and treatment options for COVID-19 by providing new guidance with recommendations for innovators and researchers conducting work in this area. These guidance documents aim to make the process for submitting applications to initiate studies for new drugs and biological products more efficient and outline recommendations for ways to design clinical trials to evaluate safety and effectiveness of these medical products for COVID-19…
 
 
Fondation Merieux  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
News, Events
No new digest content identified.
 
 
 
Gavi [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.gavi.org/
News releases
12 May 2020
Canada commits CAD 600 million to Gavi
11 May 2020
Spain pledges new support to Gavi
 
 
GHIT Fund   [to 16 May 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 16 May 2020]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
Sourcing & Management of Health Products
COVID-19 Diagnostics Procurement through the Global Fund
15 May 2020
News
Global Fund Board Members Unite to Fight
15 May 2020
Voices
On the Front Lines: Responding to COVID-19
15 May 2020
Voices
Amid COVID-19, Communities Continue Fight against Other Pandemics
12 May 2020
Voices
Protecting Mothers and Babies from HIV during the COVID-19 Pandemic
12 May 2020
 
 
Hilleman Laboratories   [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Human Vaccines Project   [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
HVP COVID Report   May 13, 2020
Human Challenges to Accelerate SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Development
By Stanley A. Plotkin, MD
Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics
University of Pennsylvania
Vaxconsult
 
 
IAVI  [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.
 
 
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/
Press Releases
Norway Renews its Support for IFFIm with US$400 Million Pledge
08 May 2020
The 10-year commitment to support Gavi vaccine programmes is part of Norway’s US$ 1 billion commitment to Gavi London, 8 May 2020 – Norway has committed an additional US$ 400 million over the next 10 years to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), which leverages long-term donor financing.
 
 
IFRC   [to 16 May 2020]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Global
International Nurses Day: Nurses deserve praise, thanks, protection amid COVID-19
Geneva, 11 May 2020 – Nurses and other health care workers on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 deserve to be recognized and commended for their lifesaving efforts and personal sacrifices amid increased medical risk – and in some places amid …
11 May 2020
 
 
IVAC  [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
Updates
Commentary: The success of a Covid-19 vaccine will hinge on its delivery
May 2020
By Lois Privor-Dumm, Naor Bar Zeev, and Maria Deloria Knoll Originally published on STAT News
The lesson learned from a long history of using vaccines to fight massively disruptive diseases like smallpox and Ebola is that the vaccine itself is not enough. Like a good punch line, it’s all about the delivery. The smallpox vaccine […]
 
 
IVI   [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.ivi.int/
Selected IVI News & Announcements
No new digest content identified.
 
 
JEE Alliance  [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.
 
 
MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.msf.org/
Latest [Selected Announcements]
Sudan
MSF urges to respect medical action after violent incursion in Rokero, Centr…
Statement 15 May 2020

Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic
COVID19 and lack of protective equipment threaten lifesaving care in KenyaProject Update 15 May 2020

Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 in West Africa: “Let’s prepare for a long-distance run”
Op-Ed 15 May 2020
Afghanistan
“They came to kill the mothers” in Kabul maternity hospital attack
Voices from the Field 14 May 2020
 
 
Afghanistan
Revolting attack on maternity ward kills pregnant women and babie…
Press Release 13 May 2020
 
 
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic
MSF supports the COVID-19 pandemic response in Guinea
Project Update 12 May 2020
 
 
National Vaccine Program Office – U.S. HHS  [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.hhs.gov/vaccines/about/index.html
NVAC 2020 Meetings
June 9-10, 2020 NVAC Meeting
September 23-24, 2020 Meeting (Virtual)
 
 
NIH  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
Selected News Releases
Investigational ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine protects monkeys against COVID-19 pneumonia
May 15, 2020 — Study provided data for clinical testing to commence.
NIH begins clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to treat COVID-19
May 14, 2020 — Study enrolling adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 in the United States.
Coordinated strategy to accelerate multiple COVID-19 vaccine candidates is key, NIH experts say
May 11, 2020 — More than one effective vaccine approach likely will be required to successfully protect the global community from SARS-CoV-2.
[See Milestones above for detail]
 
 
PATH  [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
Selected Announcements
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Sabin Vaccine Institute  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
Statements and Press Releases
BARDA Provides the Sabin Vaccine Institute with an Additional $20 Million for Further Development of Ebola Sudan and Marburg Vaccines
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Sabin and Partner ReiThera Initiate Manufacturing of Clinical Trial Material
WASHINGTON, D.C. and ROME, Italy, May 13, 2020 – The Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin) and its partner ReiThera Srl today announced that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has exercised the first two options, valued at $20 million, under the 2019 contract to advance the development of vaccines against Ebola Sudan and Marburg viruses through Phase 2 clinical trials…
 
 
UNAIDS [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
16 May 2020
New videos highlight LGBTI issues in Brazil
14 May 2020
Let transgender people be in the picture
14 May 2020
Russian regional AIDS centres leading the fight against COVID-19
14 May 2020
Uniting behind a people’s vaccine against COVID-19
[See Milestones above for detail]
13 May 2020
COVID-19 in prisons—a ticking time bomb
13 May 2020
“We are human, so of course it was scary”
13 May 2020
Sex workers in Bangladesh: building resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic
12 May 2020
People with disabilities often left behind by HIV responses
12 May 2020
United Nations agencies coordinate their COVID-19 response in South Africa
11 May 2020
Dealing with COVID-19 in Cameroon
11 May 2020
HIV testing and support for homeless people in Belarus
 
 
UNICEF  [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Selected Press releases/Announcements
Press release
Geneva Palais briefing note on UNICEF response to COVID-19 in Rohingya refugee camps as first coronavirus case confirmed
15/05/2020
Press release
Declining vaccination rates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could lead to resurgence in deadly diseases
KINSHASA/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 15 May 2020 –The reduction in vaccination rates currently being reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will leave children in the country at increased risk of contracting deadly diseases such as polio, measles and yellow fever, UNICEF warned today.
The decline in the first two months of the year was likely due to established challenges such as poor cold chain systems, low coverage and stock supply. However, the DRC’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) is now facing a new challenge which will almost certainly worsen the situation: COVID-19. Health workers conducting routine vaccinations do not have access to adequate equipment to protect themselves, caregivers and children from the coronavirus. Parents are reluctant to attend vaccination sessions for fear of exposing themselves and their children to COVID-19…
Statement
Joint statement on Libya
by OCHA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP, WHO, IOM
13/05/2020
Press release
Forced returns of migrants must be suspended in times of COVID-19
Statement by the United Nations Network on Migration
GENEVA, 14 May 2020 – The United Nations Network on Migration is concerned by reports of States in many regions using forced return of migrants as a measure in response to COVID-19.    The Network calls on States to suspend forced returns during the pandemic, in order to protect the health of migrants and communities, and uphold the human rights of all migrants, regardless of status. Successfully tackling the pandemic cannot be achieved without upholding human rights.
When temporary border closures and movement restrictions are deemed necessary to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, they must be implemented in a way that is non-discriminatory and proportionate to achieving the public health aim pursued. Such closures should incorporate health protocols and processes to guarantee fundamental rights at all times.
Keeping everyone safe means ensuring that no-one faces the risk of refoulement by being returned to places where their life, safety or human rights are threatened. It means that collective expulsions, such as arbitrary pushbacks of migrants and asylum-seekers at borders, must be halted; that protection needs must be individually assessed; and that the rule of law and due process must be observed. It also means prioritizing protection, including every child’s best interests. These are obligations in international law that can never be put on hold and are vital to any successful approach to combatting COVID-19 for the benefit of all…
Press release
As COVID-19 devastates already fragile health systems, over 6,000 additional children under five could die a day, without urgent action
UNICEF launches #Reimagine, a global campaign to prevent the pandemic from becoming a lasting crisis for children
12/05/2020
Press release
UNICEF appeals for $1.6 billion to meet growing needs of children impacted by COVID-19 pandemic
New funding request is $1 billion more than March appeal, as countries reel from socioeconomic impact of COVID-19
11/05/2020
Statement
In light of COVID-19 crisis, UN officials call for immediate release of all children in detention, including Palestinian children
Joint Press Statement from Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Genevieve Boutin, UNICEF Special Representative in State of Palestine, and James Heenan, Head of the UN Human Rights Office in the oPt
 
 
Unitaid  [to 16 May 2020]
https://unitaid.org/
Featured News
14 May 2020 | Statements
Equitable global access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics is key to tackling COVID-19 pandemic

Geneva – As governments, international organizations, pharmaceutical industry, academia and others focus their efforts on the COVID-19 coronavirus, it is clear that this global pandemic needs a global response. It is both a public health need and a moral duty to ensure that this response is grounded in solidarity to ensure that the vaccines, treatments and diagnostics being developed are accessible to all, everywhere and at the same time.

Heads of State and government, and the World Health Organization, have recognized and actively supported this need.

There is growing international backing for the proposal of the President of Costa Rica for voluntary pooling of knowledge, intellectual property and data necessary for COVID-19 detection, prevention, treatment and response. The pledging marathon co-hosted by the European Union and its partners on 4 May 2020 stressed the need for global development of innovative responses that are both universally available and affordable.

This political will is being translated into action through the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. Unitaid is proud to be part of the partnership driving the work around development, manufacturing, procurement and deployment of treatments. Core to this work must be to find innovative solutions that are adapted and accessible to all, especially in low-resource settings…
 
 
Vaccination Acceptance Research Network (VARN)  [to 16 May 2020]
https://vaccineacceptance.org/news.html#header1-2r
Announcements
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Vaccine Confidence Project  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
Latest News & Archive
Building trust, managing risk around vaccines: from trials to delivery
Course Dates: 20 – 23 July 2020
This 3.5-day course, developed by the Vaccine Confidence ProjectTM at LSHTM, will highlight the importance of maintaining and improving vaccine confidence and explore the diversity of concerns and perceptions about vaccines and how they have impacted vaccine uptake across multiple global settings.
 
 
Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Wellcome Trust  [to 16 May 2020]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
News | 14 May 2020
Julia Gillard appointed as next Chair of Wellcome
Julia Gillard, the former Prime Minister of Australia, has been appointed as the next Chair of Wellcome. She will will succeed Eliza Manningham-Buller, who is stepping down from the role in April 2021.

News | 12 May 2020
Wellcome Leap announces leadership team
Wellcome Leap, a not-for-profit organisation founded by Wellcome to accelerate innovations that benefit global health, will be led by Regina E. Dugan as CEO and Jay Flatley as Chair.
With initial funding of $300 million, Wellcome Leap will undertake bold, unconventional programmes and fund them at scale. These programmes will target complex human health challenges with the goal of achieving breakthrough scientific and technological solutions within a decade…
 
 
The Wistar Institute   [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.
 
 
WFPHA: World Federation of Public Health Associations  [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.wfpha.org/
Latest News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)   [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2020/
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

::::::
 
 
ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine]  [to 16 May 2020]
https://alliancerm.org/press-releases/
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.
 
 
BIO    [to 16 May 2020]
https://www.bio.org/press-releases
Press Releases
Modernized Biotech Regulation Will Unleash Greater Innovation
May 14, 2020
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released today a modernized, science-based regulatory system for plant biotechnology aimed at maintaining oversight while driving innovation. Now government and industry must do more to build an informed and…

BIO Appoints a Physician-Scientist as New President and CEO
May 14, 2020
Immunologist Michelle McMurry-Heath is Selected  for Her Global Leadership and Commitment to Innovation and Patients Former FDA Official Will Succeed Industry Leader Jim Greenwood  on June 1 as Leader of World’s Largest Biotechnology…
Dr. Moncef Slaoui “Excellent Choice” to Lead Operation Warp Speed
May 13, 2020
Following the announcement that Dr. Moncef Slaoui will lead the Trump Administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” initiative, BIO’s President and CEO, Jim Greenwood, issued the following statement:  “Dr. Moncef Slaoui is an excellent choice…
New Medicine Pipeline Tracker Illustrates Unprecedented Effort to Eradicate COVID-19
May 12, 2020
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today unveiled a first-of-its-kind, interactive tracker of the new treatments and vaccines in the COVID-19 pipeline. This online resource illustrates the unprecedented campaign being undertaken by…
 
 
DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network  [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
News
9 May 2020
DCVMN united with the EU at the Coronavirus Global Response international pledging event
Brussels, 04 May 2020 – Governments, global health organizations, and experienced partners joined hands…
 
 
IFPMA   [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications
COVID-19 Biopharmaceutical Industry – Regulatory Guiding Principles
Published on: 14 May 2020
During these unprecedented times, it is essential that we all come together to contribute to the development of medicines and vaccines for treatment and prevention of COVID-19.

Many activities, undertaken by governments, national regulatory authorities (NRAs), academia, global health stakeholders and the biopharmaceutical industry, are helping to identify, research, develop and manufacture at scale these vital technologies under immense time pressure.

While resources are being committed to address the pandemic, other equally important efforts must continue for the benefit of patients globally beyond COVID-19. Access to existing medicines and vaccines for treatment and prevention of other conditions, like diabetes, cancer and measles, must continue. Clinical research into new options and treatments for serious and life-threatening diseases and unmet medical needs should be preserved.

Despite the huge impact caused by COVID-19, the R&D-based biopharmaceutical industry must maintain and indeed increase the supply of medicines and vaccines to the best of our ability to patients at a time when ‘normal’ production, supply chains and business operations are adversely impacted and massively challenged.

With a need for increased speed and a ‘new’ normal comes unprecedented pressure on biopharmaceutical manufacturing, which we are committed to meeting whilst not affecting patient safety and quality.

Therefore, we would like to reiterate our continued commitments to:
:: Working in partnership and collaboration with NRAs to define the best science-based regulatory strategies for ensuring the availability of COVID-19 medicines and vaccines – Implementing new principles (e.g. regulatory reliance and mutual recognition) and enhancing existing approaches for clinical research, pharmaceutical production and advancement of new COVID-19 medicines and vaccines are critical for global public health.

:: Progressing research into new treatments and prevention of other conditions – We are committed to adhering to the best principles for conducting clinical research and ensuring the continuation of ongoing clinical trials for promising, non-COVID-19 treatments.

:: Maintaining supply of medicines and vaccines – Enabling continuity of manufacturing and availability of product supply is imperative for public health. Globally integrated supply chains, which ensure quality, safety and innovative approaches for distribution across the health sector, may be critically impacted by operational disruptions. We work to find solutions that address potential bottlenecks and barriers thereby avoiding disruptions that could jeopardize access to treatments.

:: Ensuring all our medicines and vaccines continue to meet appropriate standards for quality and safety – Patient safety and product quality are key priorities for the biopharmaceutical industry and are intrinsic to what we do. We routinely engage with regulatory and standard-setting bodies in the development and implementation of guidelines for the quality and safety of medicines and vaccines. We also monitor the use of our medicines and vaccines with patients to safeguard and promote public health.
 
 
PhRMA    [to 16 May 2020]
http://www.phrma.org/
Selected Press Releases, Statements
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Industry Watch   [to 16 May 2020]
:: Pfizer Announces Positive Top-Line Results From Phase 3 Lot Consistency Study of 20-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Pneumococcal Vaccine-Naive Adults 18 Through 49 Years of Age
20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine elicits consistent immune response across three different lots
May 14, 2020   NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) today announced top-line results from a second Phase 3 study (NCT03828617), which described the safety and evaluated the consistency of immune responses elicited across three different lots of its 20-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine (20vPnC) candidate in adults 18 through 49 years of age not previously vaccinated against pneumococcal disease. Responses elicited by 20vPnC for all 20 serotypes were equivalent across all three lots, meeting the primary immunogenicity objective of the study. In this study the 20vPnC safety profile was similar to the Prevnar 13® (pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]) control group. This clinical lot consistency study is expected to satisfy licensure requirements for manufacturing consistency by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and other countries’ regulatory agencies.
“We are excited by the progress of our adult development program for 20vPnC as this is the second phase 3 trial for this investigational vaccine for which we have positive topline data,” said Kathrin U. Jansen, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research & Development, Pfizer…
 

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

Annals of Internal Medicine
5 May 2020 Volume 172, Issue 9
http://annals.org/aim/issue

Original Research
The Incubation Period of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) From Publicly Reported Confirmed Cases: Estimation and Application
FREE
Stephen A. Lauer, MS, PhD, Kyra H. Grantz, BA, Qifang Bi, MHS, Forrest K. Jones, MPH, Qulu Zheng, MHS, … et al.
Using news reports and press releases from provinces, regions, and countries outside Wuhan, Hubei province, China, this analysis estimates the length of the incubation period of COVID-19 and its public health implications.

Annals of Internal Medicine
5 May 2020 Volume 172, Issue 9
http://annals.org/aim/issue

How Should U.S. Hospitals Prepare for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)?
FREE

Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc, Eric Toner, MD, Richard Waldhorn, MD, and Laraine Washer, MD
Estimates suggest that COVID-19 will stress bed capacity, equipment, and health care personnel in U.S. hospitals in ways not previously experienced. How can health systems prepare to care for a large influx of patients with this disease?