Monthly Archives: May 2020

The state of vaccine safety science: systematic reviews of the evidence

Posted on by

Lancet Infectious Diseases
May 2020 Volume 20 Number 5 p511-628, e79-e115
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/issue/current

 

Review
The state of vaccine safety science: systematic reviews of the evidence
Matthew Z Dudley, Neal A Halsey, Saad B Omer, Walter A Orenstein, Sean T O’Leary, Rupali J Limaye, Daniel A Salmon
Summary
This Review updates the scientific evidence assessing possible causal associations of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) compiled in the 2012 report from the Institute of Medicine and the 2014 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. For 12 of 46 AEFI examined, a causal relationship has been established with at least one vaccine currently routinely recommended to the general USA population: anaphylaxis, arthralgia or arthritis (mild, acute, and transient, not chronic), deltoid bursitis (when vaccine is administered improperly), disseminated varicella infection (in immune deficient individuals for whom the varicella vaccine is contraindicated), encephalitis, febrile seizures, Guillain-Barré syndrome, hepatitis (in immune deficient individuals for whom the varicella vaccine is contraindicated), herpes zoster, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, meningitis, and syncope. Other than mild acute and transient arthralgia or arthritis, which is very common in adult women after rubella vaccine, these adverse reactions are rare or very rare. Vaccines have an excellent safety profile overall and provide protection against infectious diseases to individuals and the general population.

 

Show evidence that apps for COVID-19 contact-tracing are secure and effective

Posted on by

Nature
Volume 580 Issue 7805, 30 April 2020
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

 

Editorial | 29 April 2020
Show evidence that apps for COVID-19 contact-tracing are secure and effective
Governments see coronavirus apps as key to releasing lockdowns. In exchange for people’s health data, they must promise to work together to develop the highest standards of safety and efficacy.

 

Responding to Covid-19 — A Once-in-a-Century Pandemic?

Posted on by

New England Journal of Medicine
April 30, 2020 Vol. 382 No. 18
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

 

Perspective
Responding to Covid-19 — A Once-in-a-Century Pandemic?
Bill Gates
In any crisis, leaders have two equally important responsibilities: solve the immediate problem and keep it from happening again. The Covid-19 pandemic is a case in point. We need to save lives now while also improving the way we respond to outbreaks in general. The first point is more pressing, but the second has crucial long-term consequences.
The long-term challenge — improving our ability to respond to outbreaks — isn’t new. Global health experts have been saying for years that another pandemic whose speed and severity rivaled those of the 1918 influenza epidemic was a matter not of if but of when.1 The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed substantial resources in recent years to helping the world prepare for such a scenario.
Now we also face an immediate crisis. In the past week, Covid-19 has started behaving a lot like the once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about. I hope it’s not that bad, but we should assume it will be until we know otherwise…

 

Effect of State Immunization Information System Centralized Reminder and Recall on HPV Vaccination Rates

Posted on by

Pediatrics
Vol. 145, Issue 5 1 May 2020
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/

 

Articles
Effect of State Immunization Information System Centralized Reminder and Recall on HPV Vaccination Rates
Peter Szilagyi, Christina Albertin, Dennis Gurfinkel, Brenda Beaty, Xinkai Zhou, Sitaram Vangala, John Rice, Jonathan D. Campbell, Melanie D. Whittington, Rebecca Valderrama, Abigail Breck, Heather Roth, Megan Meldrum, Chi-Hong Tseng, Cynthia Rand, Sharon G. Humiston, Stanley Schaffer, Allison Kempe
Pediatrics, May 2020, 145 (5) e20192689

 

Evidence of rotavirus vaccine impact in sub-Saharan Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Posted on by

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 2 May 2020]

Evidence of rotavirus vaccine impact in sub-Saharan Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Opolot Godfrey, Weidong Zhang, Cecilia Amponsem-Boateng, Timothy Bonney Oppong, QingLin Zhao, Dankang Li
Research Article | published 27 Apr 2020 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232113

Impact of prophylactic vaccination strategies on Ebola virus transmission: A modeling analysis

Posted on by

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 2 May 2020]

Impact of prophylactic vaccination strategies on Ebola virus transmission: A modeling analysis
Ravi Potluri, Amit Kumar, Vikalp Maheshwari, Charlie Smith, Valerie Oriol Mathieu, Kerstin Luhn, Benoit Callendret, Hitesh Bhandari
Research Article | published 27 Apr 2020 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230406

COVID-19 amidst Ebola’s retreat

Posted on by

Science
01 May 2020 Vol 368, Issue 6490
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

 

Editorial
COVID-19 amidst Ebola’s retreat

By John Ditekemena
01 May 2020
Summary
In April, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was on the verge of good news—announcing an end to its tenth (and the world’s second largest) Ebola outbreak. Unfortunately, since 10 April, new Ebola cases have been reported in Beni, the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak. Although the DRC has long struggled with political unrest, armed conflict, poverty, and infectious diseases, it must remain committed to ending the Ebola crisis while also applying the lessons learned in tackling this old viral enemy to combat a new one—severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

 

Against pandemic research exceptionalism

Posted on by

Science
01 May 2020 Vol 368, Issue 6490
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

 

Policy Forum
Against pandemic research exceptionalism
By Alex John London, Jonathan Kimmelman
Science01 May 2020 : 476-477 Full Access
Crises are no excuse for lowering scientific standards
Summary
The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has seen a deluge of clinical studies, with hundreds registered on clinicaltrials.gov. But a palpable sense of urgency and a lingering concern that “in critical situations, large randomized controlled trials are not always feasible or ethical” (1) perpetuate the perception that, when it comes to the rigors of science, crisis situations demand exceptions to high standards for quality. Early phase studies have been launched before completion of investigations that would normally be required to warrant further development of the intervention (2), and treatment trials have used research strategies that are easy to implement but unlikely to yield unbiased effect estimates. Numerous trials investigating similar hypotheses risk duplication of effort, and droves of research papers have been rushed to preprint servers, essentially outsourcing peer review to practicing physicians and journalists. Although crises present major logistical and practical challenges, the moral mission of research remains the same: to reduce uncertainty and enable caregivers, health systems, and policy-makers to better address individual and public health. Rather than generating permission to carry out low-quality investigations, the urgency and scarcity of pandemics heighten the responsibility of key actors in the research enterprise to coordinate their activities to uphold the standards necessary to advance this mission.
Research Articles

 

Substantial undocumented infection facilitates the rapid dissemination of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)

Posted on by

Science
01 May 2020 Vol 368, Issue 6490
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

Substantial undocumented infection facilitates the rapid dissemination of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)
By Ruiyun Li, Sen Pei, Bin Chen, Yimeng Song, Tao Zhang, Wan Yang, Jeffrey Shaman

Science01 May 2020 : 489-493 Open Access CCBY
Prior to travel restrictions, most SARS-CoV-2 infections went undocumented and substantially contributed to global virus spread.

Childhood vaccination coverage and equity impact in Ethiopia by socioeconomic, geographic, maternal, and child characteristics

Posted on by

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 20 Pages 3627-3698 (29 April 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/20

 

Research article Open access
Childhood vaccination coverage and equity impact in Ethiopia by socioeconomic, geographic, maternal, and child characteristics
Anne Geweniger, Kaja M. Abbas
Pages 3627-3638

 

Effect of a school-based educational intervention on HPV and HPV vaccine knowledge and willingness to be vaccinated among Chinese adolescents : a multi-center intervention follow-up study

Posted on by

Vaccine
Volume 38, Issue 20 Pages 3627-3698 (29 April 2020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/38/issue/20

 

Research article Open access
Effect of a school-based educational intervention on HPV and HPV vaccine knowledge and willingness to be vaccinated among Chinese adolescents : a multi-center intervention follow-up study
Xi Zhang, Chun-rong Liu, Zeng-zhen Wang, Ze-fang Ren, … Jing Li
Pages 3665-3670

 

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

Posted on by

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

Cognitive Processing
Published: 24 April 2020
The effects of source expertise and trustworthiness on recollection: the case of vaccine misinformation
S Pluviano, S Della Sala, C Watt
Abstract
Designing effective communication strategies for correcting vaccines misinformation requires an understanding of how the target group might react to information from different sources. The present study examined whether erroneous inferences about vaccination could be effectively corrected by a perceived credible (i.e. expert or trustworthy) source. Two experiments are reported using a standard continued influence paradigm, each featuring two correction conditions on vaccine misinformation. Participants were presented with a story containing a piece of information that was later retracted by a perceived credible or not so credible source. Experiment 1 showed that providing a correction reduced participants’ use of the original erroneous information, yet the overall reliance on misinformation did not significantly differ between the low- and high-expertise correction groups. Experiment 2 revealed that a correction from a high-trustworthy source decreased participants’ reliance on misinformation when making inferences; nonetheless, it did not positively affect the reported intent to vaccinate one’s child. Overall, source trustworthiness was more relevant than source expertise.

 

Journal of Pediatric Nursing
Available online 27 April 2020
Parents’ perspectives about vaccine hesitancies and vaccine rejection, in the west of Turkey
NA Gunes
Highlights
:: Vaccination services are carried out in primary health care institutions.
:: Vaccine rejection is a significant public health problem.
:: Regional assessments in countries on vaccine rejection are crucial.

 

European Journal of Epidemiology
2020 Apr 22 : 1–6.
Vaccine confidence in the time of COVID-19
EA Harrison, JW Wu -, 2020
Abstract
In the early months of the COVID-19 epidemic, some have wondered if the force of this global experience will solve the problem of vaccine refusal that has vexed and preoccupied the global public health community for the last several decades. Drawing on historical and epidemiological analyses, we critique contemporary approaches to reducing vaccine hesitancy and articulate our notion of vaccine confidence as an expanded way of conceptualizing the problem and how to respond to it. Intervening on the rush of vaccine optimism we see pervading present discourse around the COVID-19 epidemic, we call for a re-imagination of the culture of public health and the meaning of vaccine safety regulations. Public confidence in vaccination programs depends on the work they do for the community—social, political, and moral as well as biological. The concept of public health and its programs must be broader than the delivery of the vaccine technology itself. The narrative work and policy actions entailed in actualizing such changes will, we expect, be essential in achieving a true vaccine confidence, however the public reacts to the specific vaccine that may be developed for COVID-19

 

Media/Policy Watch

Posted on by

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 2 May 2020
Coronavirus: COVID-19
I Have Seen the Future—And It’s Not the Life We Knew
Cities around the world might slowly be coming back to life, but there’s no going back to “normal.”
Uri Friedman May 1, 2020

 

BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Accessed 2 May 2020
Technology
Coronavirus: Cyber-spies seek coronavirus vaccine secrets
By Gordon Corera Security correspondent
The US has seen foreign spy agencies carry out reconnaissance of research into a coronavirus vaccine, a senior US intelligence official has told the BBC.
Bill Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said the US government had warned medical research organisations of the risks.
But he would not say whether there had been confirmed cases of stolen data.
UK security sources says they have also seen similar activity…

 

The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
Accessed 2 May 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

 

Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/home/uk
Accessed 2 May 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]
[No new, unique, relevant content]Top of Form
Bottom of Form

 

Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
May 1, 2020
For Retail To Survive COVID-19 We Must All Face The Biggest Taboo Of The 21st Century
One consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is that death is conveyed into our homes on a daily basis.
By Andrew Busby Contributor

Apr 30, 2020
Lessons From Ebola: It’s Not Enough To Fight One Disease Outbreak – You Have To Build Systems That Can Prevent The Next Ones
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unparalleled example of systems failure, with adverse impacts on education, health and economic opportunity.
By Raj Panjabi Contributor

 

Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/
Accessed 2 May 2020
Snapshot April 30, 2020
Finding a Vaccine Is Only the First Step
No One Will Be Safe Until the Whole World Is Safe
As scientists race to develop a coronavirus vaccine, the international community must remember that the ultimate goal is not only to produce an effective inoculation but…
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

 

Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/
Accessed 2 May 2020 |
Argument
Why Herd Immunity Won’t Save India From COVID-19
By Devi Sridhar, Genevie Fernandes
| May 2, 2020, 2:00 AM
Rather than relying on mass infection to build resistance to the coronavirus, the country needs a long-term, data-driven, decentralized approach.

 

The Guardian
http://www.guardiannews.com/
Accessed 2 May 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

 

New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/
Accessed 2 May 2020
[No new, unique, relevant content]

 

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 2 May 2020
U.S.
Anti-Vaccination Activists Are Growing Force at Virus Protests
Public health experts fear that their messaging could further harm the country’s response to the pandemic.
By Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

Opinion
She Predicted the Coronavirus. What Does She Foresee Next?
Laurie Garrett, the prophet of this pandemic, expects years of death and “collective rage.”
By Frank Bruni
Opinion Columnist
May 2, 2020,

Politics
Profits and Pride at Stake, the Race for a Vaccine Intensifies
Governments, companies and academic labs are accelerating their efforts amid geopolitical crosscurrents, questions about safety and the challenges of producing enough doses for billions of people.
By David E. Sanger, David D. Kirkpatrick, Carl Zimmer, Katie Thomas and Sui-Lee Wee

Politics
WH Blocking Fauci Testimony to House Panel, Spokesman Says
A spokesman for a key House panel said Friday that the White House has blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying next week at a hearing on the coronavirus outbreak.
By The Associated Press

 

Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Accessed 2 May 2020
Inside the extraordinary race to invent a coronavirus vaccine
Carolyn Y. Johnson · Science · May 2, 2020

The last time the government sought a ‘warp speed’ vaccine, it was a fiasco
Michael S. Rosenwald · Retropolis · May 1, 2020

UN: New polio outbreak in Niger after vaccination suspended
Apr 29, 2020

 

Think Tanks et al

Posted on by

Think Tanks et al

 
Brookings
http://www.brookings.edu/
Accessed 2 May 2020
TechStream
Can artificial intelligence help us design vaccines?
Ethan Fast and Binbin Chen
Thursday, April 30, 2020
 
 
Center for Global Development    [to 2 May 2020]
http://www.cgdev.org/page/press-center
Accessed 2 May 2020
May 1, 2020
Accountability for COVID-19 Aid: Better Visibility Matters for the Quality of the Response
As low- and middle-income countries are hit by the health and economic effects of COVID-19, the international community is working to mobilize billions of dollars in grants, loans, and debt relief. At the moment, it is difficult to get a full picture of the funding on offer, to whom it is given, and how it will be used.
Janeen Madan Keller, Julia Kaufman and Amanda Glassman
 
 
April 29, 2020
Maintaining Essential Services in the Time of COVID-19: Vaccination Delivery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
As we observe World Immunisation Week, the implications of COVID-19’s spread for routine childhood vaccination delivery are already becoming clear.
Sharif Ismail et al.
 
 
Delivering on the Promise of “Equitable Access” to Epidemic Vaccines and Treatments: the Need for Norms, Processes, and Evidence to Guide Supply and Allocation
Publication
4/25/20
While there has been much interest and investment in developing epidemic vaccines and medicines to combat emerging infectious disease threats, there has been less attention to how we will manage and allocate the global supply of efficacious vaccines and treatments once we have them. The launch of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator marks an unprecedented commitment to global collaboration to ensure rapid and equitable access to medical countermeasures for COVID-19, such as vaccines and treatments.
 
 
CSIS
https://www.csis.org/
Accessed 2 May 2020
Commentary
How Covid-19 Will Change Us: Seven Lessons from the Most Consequential Pandemics in History
April 29, 2020 | By Iain King
 
 
Commentary
WHO and President Trump on the Ledge
April 28, 2020 | By J. Stephen Morrison, Anna Carroll
 
 
Commentary
Gender and Immunizations within the Covid-19 Landscape
April 27, 2020 | By Katherine Bliss
 
 
Council on Foreign Relations
http://www.cfr.org/
Accessed 2 May 2020
[No new relevant content]
 
 
Kaiser Family Foundation
https://www.kff.org/search/?post_type=press-release
Accessed 2 May 2020
[No new relevant content]