Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

COVID-19

Act-Accelerator update
Publication of investment cases
26 June 2020 News release
:: The tools developed will benefit the whole world, and by saving lives and reducing severe COVID-19 disease, contribute to the goal of protecting health systems and restoring full societal and economic activity globally in the near term, and facilitating high-level control of COVID-19 disease in the medium term.

:: The consolidated investment case calls for US$31.3 billion over the next 12 months[1]. US$3.4 billion has been contributed to date, resulting in a funding gap of US$27.9 billion, of which $13.7 billion is urgently needed.

:: Pillar plans published today show a path to the accelerated development, equitable allocation, and scaled up delivery of 500 million tests to LMIC’s by mid-2021, 245 million courses of treatments to LMICs by mid-2021, and 2 billion vaccine doses, of which 1 billion will be purchased for LMICs, by the end of 2021.

Today, the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) published its consolidated investment case, alongside the costed plans of the member organizations.

Launched at the end of April 2020, at an event co-hosted by the Director-General of the World Health Organization, the President of France, the President of the European Commission, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the ACT-Accelerator brings together governments, health organizations, scientists, businesses, civil society, and philanthropists who have joined forces to speed up an end to the pandemic.

Since the ACT-Accelerator was launched, the partner organizations have moved fast to develop costed and implementable plans designed to contribute to the end of the pandemic through the accelerated development, equitable allocation, and scaled up delivery of new tools to reduce rapidly mortality and severe disease, protecting health systems and restoring full societal and economic activity globally in the near term, and facilitating high-level control of COVID-19 disease in the medium term.

ACT-Accelerator investment case and costed plans
The ACT-Accelerator’s investment case and the plans published by the organizations leading each of the ‘pillars’  show a path to the accelerated development, equitable allocation, and scaled up delivery of 500 million diagnostic tests to LMIC’s by mid-2021, 245 million courses of treatments to LMICs by mid-2021, and 2 billion vaccine doses, of which 50% will go to LMICs by the end of 2021.

To achieve this, the costed plans presented today call for US $31.3 billion in funding for diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, of which US$3.4 billion has so far been pledged[2]. An additional US$27.9 billion is therefore needed, including US$13.7 billion to cover immediate needs (i.e. US$17.1 billion is immediately required, of which US$3.4 billion has been pledged).

The investment required is significant, but it pales in significance when compared to the cost of COVID-19: the total cost of the ACT-Accelerator’s work is less than a tenth of what the IMF estimates the global economy is losing every month due to the pandemic.  468,000 thousand people have already lost their lives.

The tools developed will benefit the whole world; the ACT-Accelerator pillars will also buy and deliver tools to ensure that LMIC’s have access.

The ACT-Accelerator’s investment case is available here.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator Donors Launch International Alliance to Connect Research Data Sources and Enable Collaboration
International COVID-19 Data Research Alliance and Workbench will bring together data to
accelerate the search for new therapies to fight the pandemic and save lives

SEATTLE, JUNE 26, 2020 – The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator donors and partners today announced the formation of the International COVID-19 Data Research Alliance to accelerate clinical research on COVID-19. Composed of academic institutions, research organizations, life sciences and technology companies, and philanthropies, the International Alliance was created to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, but with the promise for use across other health conditions, including readiness for future pandemics.

Accelerator donors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Mastercard, Minderoo Foundation, and Wellcome, will be founding members of the International Alliance. It will be managed by Health Data Research UK, a national institute for health data science with expertise in harnessing data at scale to improve people’s lives, working in partnership with alliance partners from life science companies, academic institutions and clinical research organizations from around the world.

The current pandemic has prompted a great deal of research, but there are few environments where data sets generated by previous studies and trials can be accessed to inform research and development efforts. These data sets could address key questions about the course of COVID-19, how it impacts the body, and what treatments might be effective. In many cases, relevant data sets exist, but researchers cannot easily access or link them for integrated analysis. The International Alliance will provide a variety of ways for researchers to collaborate on data—from pooled to federated analyses—for trustworthy, privacy-protected, and ethical research as determined by a governance board of global specialists in the field.

“In a pandemic, the pathogen has the upper hand. We know very little about it, so access to information becomes an important commodity,” said Trevor Mundel, president of global health at the Gates Foundation. “By entering into agreements on data sharing up front, we can avoid wasting time going down blind alleys, ultimately saving lives by getting definitive answers to key questions more quickly. This grant to form an international data alliance will accelerate efforts and provide a legacy for future collaboration on pandemics. We encourage others to join us and the other founding partners in this important initiative.”…

An Analytical Workbench for Scientific Inquiry
The Workbench will connect to regional and national data infrastructures used by International Alliance members, such as data generated by Therapeutics Accelerator-funded trials, pharmaceutical industry partners, the national BREATHE health data research hub in the United Kingdom, SAIL Databank and others to be confirmed in the coming months. The Workbench, developed by Aridhia Informatics, will enable the discovery of data relevant for answering priority questions from its own repository and federated repositories, and will provide a secure location where analysts can work collectively on a target research hypothesis. Data access and use will be conducted in accordance with the governance requirements of individual data controllers from countries around the world, in a transparent and ethical manner. Authorized users will be able to bring their data to the Workbench and collaborate with others in a secure environment. The Workbench will be designed to encourage and enable responsible data use, including transparency, ethical review, privacy, and data protection…

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

COVAX: ensuring fair allocation of a COVID-19 vaccine
A global initiative to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries
26 June 2020
When a vaccine against COVID-19 becomes available, there will be intense and global demand. Therefore, an ambitious solution is needed to ensure fair allocation of vaccine supply and to make sure no one is left behind. If we are to end this pandemic, we need to stamp out the coronavirus everywhere, not just in the countries that can afford to procure large volumes of a vaccine.

To meet this challenge the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX), part of the ACT Accelerator, has been launched. This initiative, of which CEPI is a proud partner, aims to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, at all levels of development, that wish to participate.

COVAX is our best hope of ending the pandemic
COVAX is radical in its ambition but practical in its approach, harnessing the strengths of existing organisations: CEPI will continue to develop, at speed, one of the largest and most advanced COVID-19 vaccine portfolios in the world and will ensure, in collaboration with its industry partners, candidates are ready to be produced at scale. Simultaneously, GAVI will procure and finance (licensed) vaccine and help deploy it to the world, ensuring supply to low-income and middle-income countries and other countries through domestic government budgets.

Ultimately, governments that decide to go it alone risk concentrating their resources in a few potentially unsuccessful vaccine candidates, but by participating in COVAX they will be able to hedge that risk and increase their chances of success by contributing to a large and diverse portfolio of vaccines. At the same time, through COVAX, governments with limited or no ability to finance their own bilateral procurement can be assured access to life-saving vaccines that would otherwise have been beyond their reach.

Funding COVAX
$18.1 billion will be required to get 2 billion doses of vaccine in 2021. The funding is required immediately, so that we can ensure that accelerated development, manufacturing, procurement, stockpiling, and fair allocation of a vaccine can be achieved. These vital elements must be put in place now, otherwise we could face a delay of up to a year in getting a vaccine to the people who need it most.

Such a delay would be unacceptable, especially against a backdrop of rising coronavirus infections and deaths and an estimated US$375 billion impact on the global economy for every month this pandemic rages on.

Fair allocation of a vaccine
COVAX partners will work together to setup the framework and mechanism required to ensure fair allocation. A methodology is required to fairly allocate a COVID-19 vaccine and it will need to prioritise vaccine supply according to risk groups to reduce the spread of virus and its impact as quickly as possible. Priority populations for the first round of vaccinations will likely include healthcare workers, adults over the age of 65 years, and other high-risk adults with underlying health conditions.

Why we need to act now
Mitigate economic damage – for every month that this pandemic continues, $375 billion is lost from the global economy. Acting now to accelerate development, manufacture, and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine will save hundreds of thousands of lives and protect the livelihoods of millions more.

Accelerate availability of vaccine – if we follow the traditional course of vaccine development, we could face years of delay. Such a delay will cost lives and trillions of dollars in economic damage. COVAX will enable at-risk investments in production capacity across several candidates now – to ensure that, upon regulatory approval, doses can be made immediately available at scale.

Ensure globally fair allocation and access for low and middle income countries –nobody is safe from COVID-19 until everybody is safe. COVAX not only represents the best solution to end this pandemic, it is also the fairest way to allocate vaccine for all countries to ensure that access can be provided for every country.

With the launch of COVAX, we have a real chance to end this pandemic, but only if governments take a global approach to how they allocate funds for vaccine development, manufacturing, and distribution.

Dr. Richard Hatchett
Chief Executive Officer, CEPI

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Human Vaccines Project [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
COVID Report
“What Worries Me Is That People Do Trust Vaccines”
Interview with Paul A. Offit, M.D.
We asked for his thoughts on the clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine candidates prioritized
by Operation Warp Speed. A slightly edited version of our conversation appears below.

Are the vaccines that are being prioritized by Operation Warp Speed in the US the most likely to work or just the fastest to produce?
I think they’re just the fastest to be produced because for the most part they are all genetic vaccines; mRNA or replication-defective simian or human adenoviruses where you can just sort of plug and play. You know the gene you’re interested in—it’s the gene that codes for the SARS-CoV-2 surface protein, the Spike protein—so you just plug it in. It’s much easier to make than an inactivated viral vaccine, a live attenuated viral vaccine, or a purified protein vaccine. There is nothing that says these vaccines will be more likely to be safe or effective than existing vaccine strategies.
I don’t know how the decision was made to prioritize these candidates. I’m on the NIH ACTIV group but we weren’t involved in picking those vaccines.

Is there a potential trade-off between speed and safety/efficacy in the race to develop vaccines for SARS-CoV-2?
I’ll tell you eight months from now. The Phase III trials will tell all, assuming that we do the Phase III trials that we’ve been asking to do, which will involve at least 20,000 vaccine recipients and 10,000 placebo recipients. If we at least do that, we’ll see.
We have no experience with those strategies. There are no mRNA vaccines or replication-defective simian or human adenovirus vaccines on the market. They don’t exist. With messenger RNA, the mRNA itself is a very labile molecule that is rapidly degraded, so that doesn’t worry me. But do you know how many particles are given when you give a replication defective virus vaccine? Roughly 100 billion particles. Might that invoke some aberrant immune response? It’s possible. That’s why you have to enroll at least 20,000 volunteers in the vaccine arm to rule out an uncommon side effect. You’re not going to be able to rule out rare side effects until you put the vaccine in 20 million people.

Are there plans now to test any of these COVID-19 vaccine candidates in children?
Not initially. When the vaccine rolls out, then children will be part of those studies. For children, you have to hold this vaccine to an especially high standard of safety because although there is this post-infection Kawasaki-like disease, it’s still the rare child that dies of this virus. When you consider that there 114,000 people who have died in the US from COVID-19, how many have been children? It has to be fewer than 20, whereas 160 children died from flu this year.

Does releasing a vaccine so quickly risk increasing the distrust of vaccines, particularly among certain groups?
The true anti-vaccine activists, which is to say the conspiracy theorists, will still find some reason to hate this vaccine no matter how safe or effective it is, even though those reasons won’t be valid.
I think the focus by the media has been wrong to some extent. When people say there’s a distrust of vaccines, I don’t think that’s true. What worries me is that people do trust vaccines. Very much so. Parents in this country are asked to give children 14 different vaccines in the first years of life—that can be as many as 27 inoculations during that time period and as many as five shots at one time—to prevent diseases most parents have never seen, using biological fluids most parents don’t understand. They do trust us. I think we risk that trust if we rush this
along and don’t do the type of Phase III testing that we need to do for this vaccine.
We also need to manage expectations when we do release a vaccine to say that we don’t know if it causes rare side effects, but we’re looking, and we don’t know how long the duration of immunity will be because we’ll learn as we go. You will never, ever convince the anti-vaccine people because data doesn’t convince them.

When vaccines are available, what percentage of the population will likely need to be vaccinated to establish herd immunity?
It’s a guess. It is a combination of two factors: the contagiousness of the virus and the effectiveness of the vaccine. With measles, for example, you have a very, very contagious virus—the most contagious of the vaccine-preventable diseases—but you have an extraordinarily effective vaccine, so you need to have just over 90 percent of the population vaccinated. With polio, we started to see a decrease in the spread of polio when we started to get to 40-50 percent immunization rates. With rotavirus, by the time you got to 60-70 percent immunization rates, the disease dramatically declined. I think if you get to 70-80 percent with a COVID-19 vaccine you’ll see a dramatic reduction in the incidence of this disease, as a guess.

What keeps you up at night given all of this?
There is a system, which I trust, that has been in place since the 1950s to make sure that the vaccines that are brought into this country are tested as much as is reasonable to mitigate risks regarding safety and efficacy. This system involves the NIH, the CDC [US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], and the FDA [US Food and Drug Administration]. As long as that system stays in place, I’m good. What worries me is that this system could be perturbed by an administration that perturbs the science. This is an administration that took the words climate change off the EPA’s [US Environmental Protection Agency’s] website. This is an administration that pushed hydroxychloroquine [as a COVID-19 treatment] and got the FDA to approve it—a product that had never been shown to work, was known to have a certain level of toxicity, and that ended up doing more harm than good. That was the FDA at its worst. They let themselves be pushed around and if that happens here, that would be a problem.

EMERGENCIES

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

WHO – Situation report – 158
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
26 June 2020
Confirmed cases :: 9 653 048
Confirmed deaths :: 491 128
Countries, areas or territories with cases :: 216

Highlights
:: On 25 June, Health Minister Jens Spahn of Germany, and Solidarity and Health Minister Olivier Veran of France, visited WHO headquarters. During a press briefing they expressed their solidarity and additional support to both COVID-19 response and WHO’s core programmes.

Yesterday the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared over after nearly two years. The WHO Regional Office for Africa and partners are now building on the Ebola response to tackle COVID-19 in the country. Additionally, WHO is supporting other countries in Africa as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates in the region.

:: In a press briefing yesterday, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, spoke about COVID-19 in the region and how digital technology and artificial intelligence can empower people and play a leading role in optimizing efforts to control transmission of the disease.

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Emergencies

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

Final Statement on the 8th meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005)
26 June 2020 Statement
Emergency Committee for Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu) on 26 June 2020
…Conclusions and Advice
The Committee agreed that the current situation in the Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
The Committee emphasized the importance of continued donors’ funding and human resources to operationalize the 90-day day national response plan.
The Committee provided the following advice to the Director-General for his issuance as revised Temporary Recommendations, in accordance with Article 15(1) of the IHR (2005) “…Temporary Recommendations may be modified or extended as appropriate, including after it has been determined that a public health emergency of international concern has ended, at which time other temporary recommendations may be issued as necessary for the purpose of preventing or promptly detecting its recurrence […] These Temporary Recommendations shall automatically expire three months after their issuance.” …

…Based on this advice, the report made by the affected State Party and the currently available information, the Director-General accepted the Committee’s assessment and on 26 June 2020 declared the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for this event…

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²⁵ June 2020 News release
10th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared over; vigilance against flare-ups and support for survivors must continue
Today marks the end of the 10th outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This long, complex and difficult outbreak has been overcome due to the leadership and commitment of the Government of the DRC, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), a multitude of partners, donors, and above all, the efforts of the communities affected by the virus.

WHO congratulates all those involved in the arduous and often dangerous work required to end the outbreak, but stresses the need for vigilance. Continuing to support survivors and maintaining strong surveillance and response systems in order to contain potential flare-ups is critical in the months to come.

“The outbreak took so much from all of us, especially from the people of DRC, but we came out of it with valuable lessons, and valuable tools. The world is now better-equipped to respond to Ebola. A vaccine has been licensed, and effective treatments identified,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“We should celebrate this moment, but we must resist complacency. Viruses do not take breaks. Ultimately, the best defence against any outbreak is investing in a stronger health system as the foundation for universal health coverage.”

The outbreak, declared in North Kivu on 1 August 2018, was the second largest in the world, and was particularly challenging as it took place an active conflict zone. There were 3470 cases, 2287 deaths and 1171 survivors.

Led by the DRC Government and the Ministry of Health and supported by WHO and partners, the more than 22-month-long response involved training thousands of health workers, registering 250 000 contacts, testing 220 000 samples, providing patients with equitable access to advanced therapeutics, vaccinating over 303 000 people with the highly effective rVSV-ZEBOV-GP vaccine, and offering care for all survivors after their recovery.

The response was bolstered by the engagement and leadership of the affected communities. Thanks to their efforts, this outbreak did not spread globally. More than 16 000 local frontline responders worked alongside the more than 1500 people deployed by WHO. Support from donors was essential, as was the work of UN partner agencies, national and international NGOs, research networks, and partners deployed through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network. Hard work to build up preparedness capacities in neighbouring countries also limited the risk of the outbreak expanding…

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Ebola Outbreak in DRC 98: 23 June 2020
[Excerpts]
Situation Update WHO Health Emergencies Programme Page 2
In Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, no new confirmed cases of EVD have been reported since 27 April 2020…

Conclusion
Tuesday 23 June 2020 marks 41 days with no new cases of EVD since the Ministry of Health began its 42-day countdown to the declaration of the end of the EVD outbreak in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. Maintaining a robust surveillance system in order to detect, isolate, test and treat new suspected cases as early as possible will remain crucial for this response even after the declaration of the end of the outbreak, as will be coordination, among partners, authorities and communities and EVD survivor advocacy .

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Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 24 June 2020
:: Dr Fiona Braka, Immunization Team Lead for WHO Nigeria, speaks about fighting polio outbreaks and toppling gender barriers.

Summary of new viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Afghanistan: three WPV1 cases, two WPV1 positive environmental samples and fourcVDPV2 cases
:: Pakistan: two WPV1 cases, and five WPV1 positive environmental samples
:: Cameroon: one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample
:: Chad: 23 cVDPV2 cases
:: Côte d’Ivoire: eight cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
:: Togo: two cVDPV2 cases

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WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 27 June 2020]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola Outbreak in DRC 98: 23 June 2020
[See Ebola above for detail]

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

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 27 June 2020]
Burkina Faso [in French]
:: L’OMS appuie la construction des unités de triage des patients dans la lutte contre le COVID 19 21 juin 2020

Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Afghanistan – 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
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

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 27 June 2020]

Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – Page not responding at inquiry
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

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UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Syrian Arab Republic
:: Recent Developments in Northwest Syria – Situation Report No. 16 – As of 26 June 2020

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
CYCLONE IDAI and Kenneth
::  26 June 2020 Zimbabwe Situation Report, 26 June 2020

EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DRC – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO & Regional Offices [to 27 June 2020]
26 June 2020 News release
Act-Accelerator update

26 June 2020 Statement
Final Statement on the 8th meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005)

²⁵ June 2020 News release
10th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared over; vigilance against flare-ups and support for survivors must continue

²⁶ June 2020 News release
IOC joins forces with WHO and the United Nations to fight COVID-19
On Olympic Day, 23 June 2020, the International Olympic Committee and WHO together with the United Nations launch a partnership to encourage individuals and communities around the world to be #HEALTHYTogether. The three partners and Olympic athletes will spotlight the global collaboration needed to stay healthy and reduce the spread and impact of COVID-19…

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Weekly Epidemiological Record, 26 June 2020, vol. 95, 26 (pp. 281–300)
:: Index of countries/areas
:: Index, Volume 95, 2020, Nos. 1–26
:: Progress towards polio eradication – worldwide, January 2018–March 2020
:: Progress towards rubella elimination – Western Pacific Region, 2000–2019

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WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region AFRO
:: Building on Ebola response to tackle COVID-19 in DRC 25 June 2020

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

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

WHO European Region EURO
:: WHO/Europe and EU deliver critical supplies to the COVID-19 frontline 26-06-2020
:: Digital health is about empowering people 25-06-2020

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: EU, WHO to strengthen Sudan’s COVID-19 response and health system
Khartoum, 24 June 2020 — The World Health Organization welcomes a generous contribution of 11.5 million Euros from the European Union to fight COVID-19 in Sudan and improve the country’s overall health system.

WHO Western Pacific Region
No new digest content identified.

Africa CDC [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.africacdc.org/
News
Ecobank and Africa CDC hold digital public forum on COVID-19
Accra, Ghana – June 24, 2020. Ecobank, in partnership with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), held a public forum yesterday to engage customers and the public on the effects of COVID-19 on health in Africa as well as on individuals and businesses. Held virtually via Facebook Live and YouTube, the forum attracted hundreds of participants, in real time, with many shares and downloads of the event…

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
June 27: Daily briefing on novel coronavirus cases in China
On June 26, 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps on the Chinese mainland reported 21 new cases of confirmed infections, 1 new case of suspected infections, and no deaths.

Officials: Testing key to virus control
More than 90 million nucleic acid tests for novel coronavirus have been conducted across China, with testing capacity for the deadly virus increasing significantly, the top health authority said on June 24.

China’s daily nucleic acid testing capacity tops 3m: official
2020-06-26

Announcements

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 27 June 2020]
https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/frontiers-group/news-press/
News
No new digest content identified.

BARDA – U.S. Department of HHS [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.phe.gov/about/barda/Pages/default.aspx
June 23, 2020:
BARDA partners with MBio Diagnostics to develop an in vitro point-of-care serology test for the detection of human anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies from whole blood samples

BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
JUNE 26, 2020
COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator Donors Launch International Alliance to Connect Research Data Sources and Enable Collaboration
International COVID-19 Data Research Alliance and Workbench will bring together data to accelerate the search for new therapies to fight the pandemic and save lives
[See Perspectives above for detail]

Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 27 June 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 27 June 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.
06.22.2020  |
CARB-X funds University of Queensland to accelerate the development of a new class of last-resort antibiotics to treat deadly superbug infections
CARB-X is awarding up to US$3.83 million to The University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, Australia, to develop a new class of antibiotics to treat serious drug-resistant bacterial infections

CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 27 June 2020]
http://cepi.net/
Latest News
26 June 2020
COVAX: ensuring fair allocation of a COVID-19 vaccine
A global initiative to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries
[See Perspectives above for detail]

25 Jun 2020
Stevanato Group signs an agreement with CEPI to provide pharma glass vials for 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines under development
This supply is part of CEPI’s efforts to rapidly speed up the vaccine development timeline through making progress on manufacturing in parallel with the clinical development of COVID-19 candidate vaccines.

23 Jun 2020
CEPI-funded COVID-19 vaccine candidates progress to clinical trials
Clover Biopharmaceuticals have started Phase 1 trials of its COVID-19 candidate vaccine. CureVac and the University of Queensland are also set to begin clinical trials shortly.

Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) [to 27 June 2020]
https://clintonhealthaccess.org/
News & Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

EDCTP [to 27 June 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 27 June 2020]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
No new digest content identified.

European Medicines Agency [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News & Press Releases
News: Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 22-25 June 2020
CHMP, Last updated: 26/06/2020

Press release: First COVID-19 treatment recommended for EU authorisation
Last updated: 25/06/2020

Press release: Global regulators discuss data requirements for phase 3 trials of COVID-19 vaccines
Last updated: 24/06/2020

European Vaccine Initiative [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/
Latest News
No new digest content identified.

FDA [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
Press Announcements
June 26, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup June 26, 2020

June 25, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup June 25, 2020

June 24, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup June 24, 2020

June 24, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Joint Statement from USDA and FDA on Food Export Restrictions Pertaining to COVID-19

June 23, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup June 23, 2020

Fondation Merieux [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
News, Events
No new digest content identified.

Gavi [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.gavi.org/
News releases
26 June 2020
Gavi Board calls for global access to COVID-19 vaccines
:: Gavi Board shows support for continued work on COVAX Facility: a global, coordinated mechanism designed to ensure rapid and equitable access to safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines to as broad a global population as possible
:: The Board also discussed the role Gavi will play in an expansion in cold chain capacity in developing countries to deploy COVID-19 vaccines, as well as potentially diagnostics and treatments
:: New flexibilities and measures put in place to help countries deal with unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on immunisation programmes, as well as revised gender policy to guide Gavi’s programmes

25 June 2020
First-of-its-kind vaccine agreement helps end Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC
:: DRC government and WHO declare over the long-running Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces after more than 50 days without a case
:: A first-of-its-kind agreement between Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the vaccine manufacturer helped create a stockpile of Ebola vaccines that protected more than 303,000 people as part of the outbreak response
:: Dr Seth Berkley: “This is an important day for the DRC, which shows the key role the new Ebola vaccine can play in ending Ebola outbreaks now and in the future”

24 June 2020
Gavi a top performer in leading transparency index

23 June 2020
DRC recognised for its immunisation efforts

GHIT Fund [to 27 June 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 27 June 2020]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News
Global Fund Appoints New Chief Financial Officer
26 June 2020
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today announced the appointment of Adda Faye as Chief Financial Officer, as the Global Fund works to optimize its financial resource management at this critical moment in global public health financing…
Faye brings over 15 years of experience in strategic financial management and a deep understanding of the Global Fund’s financial and administrative functions. Before her selection through a competitive search process, Faye served as the Global Fund’s interim Chief Financial Officer since February 2020…

News
Global Fund COVID-19 Report: Deaths from HIV, TB and Malaria Could Almost Double in 12 Months Unless Urgent Action is Taken
24 June 2020
A new report [ download in English ] released by the Global Fund today estimates that countries affected by HIV, tuberculosis and malaria urgently need US$28.5 billion to protect the extraordinary progress achieved in the fight against the three diseases in the past two decades.
The report, Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Countries Affected by HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria, was released today to highlight the impact of COVID-19 and resources needed to protect progress against HIV, TB and malaria – diseases that still kill more than 2.4 million people a year. Since 2002, the Global Fund partnership has helped save more than 32 million lives and cut HIV, TB and malaria deaths by nearly half since the peak of the epidemics. The COVID-19 pandemic now threatens to reverse that progress.
Aside from the direct toll of COVID-19, which could be catastrophic in the most vulnerable countries, estimates suggest deaths from HIV, TB and malaria could as much as double if systems for health are overwhelmed, treatment and prevention programs are disrupted, and resources are diverted…

News
Global Fund Ranks in Top Category for Transparency
24 June 2020

Hilleman Laboratories [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
No new digest content identified.

Human Vaccines Project [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
COVID Report
“What Worries Me Is That People Do Trust Vaccines”
Interview with Paul A. Offit, M.D.
[See Perspectives above for full text]

IAVI [to 27 June 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/
Announcements
Innovative Humanitarian Financing Forum charts way forward
25 Jun 2020
Leaders in business and philanthropy explore pathways to catalyse change through public-private financing
As COVID-19 continues to spread, the world is witnessing the speed and scale with which a local health challenge can grow into a global crisis. How can public and private sectors work together to increase the scale and scope of funding required to proactively address social causes—and potentially avert crises from future global threats?
This question is at the center of discussions within the Innovative Humanitarian Financing Forum (IHFF), a roundtable of practitioners and stakeholders in innovative finance initiated by Cyrus Ardalan, IFFIm Board Chair, and Simon Meldrum, Innovative Finance Specialist at the British Red Cross.
The Forum is bringing together representatives of public and private institutions in business, banking, charities and humanitarian organisations to explore how novel financial tools and instruments could expand resources for urgent humanitarian needs, from health emergencies and education to sanitation, hygiene and climate change.
The IHFF convened virtually on May 18 with more than 30 participants from 17 organisations…

IFRC [to 27 June 2020]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Europe
Red Cross and Red Crescent urges continued vigilance amid alarming resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe
Budapest, 26 June 2020 – As a resurgence in COVID-19 cases is reported in many parts of Europe and total deaths on the continent near 200,000, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) calls on communities to continue …
26 June 2020

IVAC [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
Updates
Commentary: The pneumococcal vaccine is bolstering child health in Nepal
By Rose Weeks
New evidence shows fewer children hospitalized with bacterial pneumonia, but countries must be vigilant to avoid a drop in vaccine coverage during COVID-19

IVI [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.ivi.int/
Selected IVI News & Announcements
No new digest content identified.

JEE Alliance [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.msf.org/
Latest [Selected Announcements]
DRC Ebola outbreaks
Six lessons learned as Ebola outbreak in northeastern DRC ends
Project Update 26 Jun 2020

DRC Ebola outbreaks
Crisis update – June 2020
Crisis Update 26 Jun 2020

DRC Ebola outbreaks
DRC’s tenth Ebola outbreak
Crisis Update 25 Jun 2020

South Sudan
Intense fighting in eastern South Sudan once again forces thousands to flee
Statement 24 Jun 2020

United States of America
MSF helping to curb COVID-19 in nursing homes in US
Project Update 23 Jun 2020

National Vaccine Program Office – U.S. HHS [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.hhs.gov/vaccines/about/index.html
NVAC 2020 Meetings
September 23-24, 2020 Meeting (Virtual)

NIH [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
Selected News Releases
NIH investigators hope CD47 study leads to broad-spectrum infectious diseases immunotherapy
June 23, 2020 — Finding provides a potential target for an immunotherapy that might be applied to a wide range of infectious diseases.

Experts identify steps to expand and improve antibody tests in COVID-19 response
June 23, 2020 — NIH workshop attendees review capabilities, limits of SARS-CoV-2 serology testing.

PATH [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
Selected Announcements
No new digest content identified.

Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
Statements and Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

UNAIDS [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
26 June 2020
Harm reduction continues for people who use drugs during COVID-19 in Côte d’Ivoire

24 June 2020
Survey shows that many people lack multimonth HIV treatment in Latin America

UNICEF [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Selected Press releases/Announcements
News note
26/06/2020
UNICEF comment on malnutrition in Afghanistan at the Geneva Palais briefing
This is a summary of what was said by Marixie Mercado, UNICEF spokesperson – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva

Press release
26/06/2020
“To control COVID-19, we have to make hand hygiene accessible to all” – UNICEF and WHO
Joint statement by Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, on the launch of the ‘Hand Hygiene for All’ joint initiative

Press release
26/06/2020
Despite disruptions, UNICEF delivers critical life-saving supplies to over 100 countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
In 2019, UNICEF procured a record US$3.826 billion in goods and services for children in 150 countries and saved US$363.3 million for governments and donors by leveraging its purchasing power and strategic procurement approaches, in collaboration with par

Press release
26/06/2020
Yemeni children face deadly hunger and aid shortages as COVID-19 pandemic spreads – UNICEF
Number of malnourished children could reach 2.4 million by end of year, a 20 per cent increase

Press release
25/06/2020
UNICEF welcomes end of 23 month-long Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC and calls for additional support as country tackles new outbreak in north-west

Statement
23/06/2020
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore’s remarks at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict
This is a summary of what was said by Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s Security Council Open Debate at the United Nations in New York. Checked against delivery.

Press release
23/06/2020
Urgent action needed to safeguard futures of 600 million South Asian children threatened by COVID-19: UNICEF
Cash transfers and other measures can prevent families slipping into poverty
GENEVA/KATHMANDU/NEW YORK, 23 JUNE 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic is unravelling decades of health, education and other advances for children across South Asia, and governments must take urgent action to prevent millions of families from slipping back into poverty, UNICEF said in a new report released today.
With the pandemic expanding rapidly across a region that contains a quarter of the world’s population, Lives Upended describes the disastrous immediate and longer-term consequences that the virus and the measures to curb it have had on 600 million children and the services they depend on….
According to the report, immunization, nutrition and other vital health services have been severely disrupted, potentially threatening the lives of up to 459,000 children and mothers over the next six months. Food insecurity is growing: A UNICEF survey in Sri Lanka showed that 30 per cent of families have reduced their food consumption. In Bangladesh, some of the poorest families are unable to afford three meals a day…

Unitaid [to 27 June 2020]
https://unitaid.org/
Featured News
22 June 2020
£2.2m for Liverpool-led initiative to rapidly identify COVID-19 ‘game changing’ drugs
… The AGILE COVID-19 Drug Testing Initiative, led by the University of Liverpool and involving researchers from the Liverpool Tropical School of Medicine, Southampton Clinical Trials Unit and NIHR Liverpool and Broadgreen Clinical Research Facility, has been established to enable the rapid clinical evaluation of potential COVID-19 therapeutics.
Saye Khoo, Professor of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Liverpool, said: “AGILE uses the most modern and innovative statistical methods which allows for multiple drugs to be tested in parallel, and to remove or add treatments faster than ever before, based on results of safety and efficacy.”..

Vaccination Acceptance Research Network (VARN) [to 27 June 2020]
https://vaccineacceptance.org/news.html#header1-2r
Announcements
No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Confidence Project [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
Latest News & Archive
No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
No new digest content identified.

Wellcome Trust [to 27 June 2020]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
Opinion | 26 June 2020
Four lessons from past epidemics to guide us in the search for COVID-19 treatments
by Josie Golding

Opinion | 22 June 2020
Our trans inclusion policy is the latest step in making Wellcome more inclusive
by Kathy Poole

Opinion | 22 June 2020
Treatments will take the fear and helplessness out of coronavirus – here’s how businesses can help find them
Jeremy Farrar, Director Wellcome
Science will show us the way out of the COVID-19 pandemic. And businesses and philanthropy can play a major role by stepping up to fund coronavirus treatments, as well as vaccines and tests.

The Wistar Institute [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Release
Jun. 25, 2020
The Wistar Institute & Allevi Inc. Collaborate on 3D Bioprinting Project to Advance COVID-19 Research
Allevi 3D printed lung models will be used to study SARS-CoV-2 mechanisms of disease progression

WFPHA: World Federation of Public Health Associations [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.wfpha.org/
Latest News
No new digest content identified.

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2020/
Press Releases
Preserving our future by protecting wildlife health
Today more than ever, the international health community recognises the importance of maintaining a global perspective and foresight on wildlife health and biodiversity and their inextricable connection with veterinary and human public health.
Paris, 22 June 2020 – Anthropogenic impact on the environment alters the delicate balance of ecosystems and their health. The recent spillover events, such as SARS and Ebola, have been associated with poorly regulated or managed wildlife trade and the lack of awareness of risks associated to human contact with potential reservoirs or intermediate hosts. Therefore, the suggestion that COVID-19 originated in wildlife highlights the importance of addressing health risks at the human-animal-ecosystem interface, as well as the need for integrated surveillance systems, all while preserving animal welfare and biodiversity.
Whether in the wild or in captivity, the health of wildlife represents a key component of global health. The OIE Working Group on Wildlife, formed in 1994, informs and advises the OIE on this matter. An overview of the main activities carried out by the group over last year is presented…
Improving wildlife disease surveillance
Wildlife disease surveillance allows early detection of potentially impactful animal and human health threats and implementation of appropriate control measures. This can only be achieved by timely reporting the occurrence of wild and domestic animal diseases. The OIE Working Group on Wildlife regularly encourages countries to notify wildlife diseases through the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) – Wild platform…

::::::

ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine] [to 27 June 2020]
https://alliancerm.org/press-releases/
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

BIO [to 27 June 2020]
https://www.bio.org/press-releases
Press Releases
As Companies Work Around the Clock to Address COVID-19, BIO Outlines Key Policy Priorities to Prevent the Next Pandemic
June 23, 2020
BIO Board Member Dr. Gerberding to testify this morning The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, chaired by Senator Lamar Alexander, will hold an important hearing today to examine lessons learned from the current global…

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
News
No new digest content identified.

IFPMA [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications
No new digest content identified.

ICBA – International Council of Biotechnology Associations [to 27 June 2020]
https://internationalbiotech.org/
News
No new digest content identified.

PhRMA [to 27 June 2020]
http://www.phrma.org/
Selected Press Releases, Statements
No new digest content identified.

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

American Journal of Infection Control
July 2020 Volume 48, Issue 7, p733-858
http://www.ajicjournal.org/current

Commentary
Weathering COVID-19 storm: Successful control measures of five Asian countries
Ning Lu, Kai-Wen Cheng, Nafees Qamar, Kuo-Cherh Huang, James A. Johnson
p851–852
Published online: April 29, 2020
:: COVID-19 control measures taken by 5 Asian countries first hit by coronavirus.
:: Singapore took proactive measures of border controls and extensive contact tracing.
:: Taiwan-seized border control and strict home quarantine with the use of big data.
:: South Korea executed widespread testing and contact tracing.
:: Japan promoted measures of social distancing.

American Journal of Preventive Medicine
July 2020 Volume 59, Issue 1, p1-148
http://www.ajpmonline.org/current

Research Articles
Shingles Vaccination of U.S. Adults Aged 50–59 Years and ≥60 Years Before Recommendations for Use of Recombinant Zoster Vaccine
Peng-jun Lu, Mei-chuan Hung, Anup Srivastav, Walter W. Williams, Kathleen L. Dooling
p21–31
Published online: May 7, 2020

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

AJPH EDITOR’S CHOICE
We’re Not All in This Together: On COVID-19, Intersectionality, and Structural Inequality
Other Race/Ethnicity, Human Rights, Infections, Socioeconomic Factors, Epidemiology, Ethics, Race/Ethnicity
Lisa Bowleg

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

AJPH EDITORIALS
COVID-19
The Public Health We Need
Infections, Public Health Practice, Epidemiology, Health Policy
Alfredo Morabia
110(7), pp. 923–924

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECTION
A Public Health Perspective in the Times of COVID-19
Global Health, Infections, Epidemiology, Other Infections
Daniel Tarantola, Wendy E. Parmet, Michael C. Costanza and Stella Yu

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

INFORMATION
COVID-19: The First Posttruth Pandemic
Immunization/Vaccines, Infections, Health Law, Public Health Practice, Other Infections, Health Promotion
Wendy E. Parmet and Jeremy Paul
110(7), pp. 945–946

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

Publication Ethics During Public Health Emergencies Such as the COVID-19 Pandemic
Global Health, Infections, Health Policy, Writing/Reviewing/Publishing, Ethics, Other Infections
Maxwell J. Smith, Ross E.G. Upshur and Ezekiel J. Emanuel
110(7), pp. 947–948

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

Accurate Statistics on COVID-19 Are Essential for Policy Guidance and Decisions
Infections, Epidemiology, Statistics/Evaluation/Research, Other Infections, Surveillance, Other Statistics/Evaluation/Research
Neil Pearce, Jan P. Vandenbroucke, Tyler J. VanderWeele and Sander Greenland
110(7), pp. 949–951

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

Producing Independent, Systematic Review Evidence: Cochrane’s Response to COVID-19
Public Health Practice, Epidemiology, Health Policy, Writing/Reviewing/Publishing, Statistics/Evaluation/Research, Other Statistics/Evaluation/Research
Lisa A. Bero
110(7), pp. 952–953

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

VACCINES
The School Vaccination Assessment Program: A Physician’s Perspective
Immunization/Vaccines, Prevention, Child and Adolescent Health, School Health, Other Child and Adolescent Health
Joshua T. B. Williams
110(7), pp. 927–928

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

VACCINE EXEMPTIONS
The Emergence of Spatial Clustering in Medical Vaccine Exemptions Following California Senate Bill 277, 2015–2018
Immunization/Vaccines, Health Policy
Ashley Gromis and Ka-Yuet Liu
110(7), pp. 1084–1091

American Journal of Public Health
July 2020 110(7)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

VACCINE EXEMPTIONS
The Emergence of Spatial Clustering in Medical Vaccine Exemptions Following California Senate Bill 277, 2015–2018
Immunization/Vaccines, Health Policy
Ashley Gromis and Ka-Yuet Liu
110(7), pp. 1084–1091

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 27 June 2020)

Risk factors for disease progression in COVID-19 patients
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading worldwide. Although 10–20% of patients with COVID-19 have severe symptoms, little is known about the risk factors related to the aggravation of COVID-19 symp…
Authors: Min Cheol Chang, Yu-Kyung Park, Bong-Ok Kim and Donghwi Park
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2020 20:445
Content type: Research article
Published on: 23 June 2020

BMC Medicine
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/content
(Accessed 27 June 2020)

Why the COVID-19 pandemic should be a call for action to advance equitable access to medicines
Authors: Jillian C. Kohler and Tim K. Mackey
Citation: BMC Medicine 2020 18:193
Content type: Commentary
Published on: 25 June 2020

BMC Medicine
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/content
(Accessed 27 June 2020)

Addressing challenges for clinical research responses to emerging epidemics and pandemics: a scoping review
Major infectious disease outbreaks are a constant threat to human health. Clinical research responses to outbreaks generate evidence to improve outcomes and outbreak control. Experiences from previous epidemics have identified multiple challenges to undertaking timely clinical research responses. This scoping review is a systematic appraisal of political, economic, administrative, regulatory, logistical, ethical and social (PEARLES) challenges to clinical research responses to emergency epidemics and solutions identified to address these.
Authors: Louise Sigfrid, Katherine Maskell, Peter G. Bannister, Sharif A. Ismail, Shelui Collinson, Sadie Regmi, Claire Blackmore, Eli Harriss, Kajsa-Stina Longuere, Nina Gobat, Peter Horby, Mike Clarke and Gail Carson
Citation: BMC Medicine 2020 18:190
Content type: Research article
Published on: 25 June 2020

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 27 June 2020)

Development of a TB vaccine trial site in Africa and lessons from the Ebola experience
There is a dire need for a more efficacious TB vaccine. To deploy such vaccines, trials are needed in sites that combine high disease incidence and research infrastructure. We describe our twelve-year experience building a TB vaccine trial site in contrast to the process in the recent Ebola outbreak. There are additional differences. Relative to the Ebola pipeline, TB vaccines have fewer trials and a paucity of government and industry led trials. While pathogens have varying levels of difficulty in the development of new vaccine candidates, there yet appears to be greater interest in funding and coordinating Ebola interventions. TB is a global threat that requires similar concerted effort for elimination.
Authors: G. Kaguthi, V. Nduba, P. Rabuogi, D. Okelloh, S. G. Ouma, G. Blatner, S. Gelderbloem, Ellen M. H. Mitchell, Cherise P. Scott, S. Verver, T. Hawkridge, J. E. M. de Steenwinkel, K. F. Laserson and J. H. Richardus
Citation: BMC Public Health 2020 20:999
Content type: Research in practice
Published on: 26 June 2020

Developing World Bioethics
Volume 20, Issue 2 Pages: 61-114 June 2020
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14718847/current

EDITORIAL
The ethical challenges of the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic in the global south and the global north – same and different
Udo Schuklenk
Pages: 62-64
First Published: 28 April 2020

Developing World Bioethics
Volume 20, Issue 2 Pages: 61-114 June 2020
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14718847/current

Ethical principles for promoting health research data sharing with sub‐Saharan Africa
Evelyn Anane‐Sarpong, Tenzin Wangmo, Marcel Tanner

Pages: 86-95
First Published: 21 May 2019

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 27 June 2020]

Artificial intelligence in health care: laying the Foundation for Responsible, sustainable, and inclusive innovation in low- and middle-income countries
The World Health Organization and other institutions are considering Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a technology that can potentially address some health system gaps, especially the reduction of global health…
Authors: Hassane Alami, Lysanne Rivard, Pascale Lehoux, Steven J. Hoffman, Stéphanie Bernadette Mafalda Cadeddu, Mathilde Savoldelli, Mamane Abdoulaye Samri, Mohamed Ali Ag Ahmed, Richard Fleet and Jean-Paul Fortin
Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:52
Content type: Debate
Published on: 24 June 2020

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 27 June 2020]

Globalisation in the time of COVID-19: repositioning Africa to meet the immediate and remote challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new climate of uncertainty which is fuelling protectionism and playing into nationalist narratives. Globalisation is under significant threat as governments scramble to r…
Authors: Sanni Yaya, Akaninyene Otu and Ronald Labonté
Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:51
Content type: Commentary
Published on: 24 June 2020

Health and Human Rights
https://www.hhrjournal.org/
[Accessed 27 June 2020]

Recent Viewpoints
Learning from the Past: COVID-19 and Affordable Health Treatment
Diya Uberoi, 25 June 2020

Health Economics, Policy and Law 
Volume 15 – Issue 3 – July 2020
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/health-economics-policy-and-law/latest-issue

Articles
Why do health technology assessment drug reimbursement recommendations differ between countries? A parallel convergent mixed methods study
Elena Nicod, Laia Maynou, Erica Visintin, John Cairns
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 September 2019, pp. 386-402

Health Policy and Planning
Volume 35, Issue 6, July 2020
https://academic.oup.com/heapol/issue/35/5

Reviews
Health systems constraints and facilitators of human papillomavirus immunization programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review
Edina Amponsah-Dacosta, Benjamin M Kagina, Jill Olivier
Health Policy and Planning, Volume 35, Issue 6, July 2020, Pages 701–717, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czaa017

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 7, No 7 (2020) July 2020
https://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/64

Original Research Articles
Vaccination coverage and factors associated with incomplete childhood vaccination among children aged 12-59 months in Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines
This study aimed to determine the vaccination coverage, timeliness, and maternal-related factors associated with incomplete vaccination of children in Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines.
Serafin O. Malecosio, M. Jascha Lane D. Celis, Katie B. Delicana, Anarey M. Deopido, Keanah Marie F. Kang Bacale, Van Karlo L. Labasan, Riza Mae C. Ladiao, Kriza Marie D. Militante, Jaypee M. Paguntalan, Von Erjun P. Sabusap
DOI: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20202971

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 7, No 7 (2020) July 2020
https://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/64

Childhood immunisation knowledge and timeliness among caregivers of children 0-5 years, attending immunisation clinic of a medical college in West Bengal
Suman Das, Tapas K. Sarkar, Nirmal K. Mandal
DOI: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20203012

JAMA
June 23/30, 2020, Vol 323, No. 24, Pages 2445-2536
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

Viewpoint
Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV)An Unprecedented Partnership for Unprecedented Times
Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD; Paul Stoffels, MD
free access has active quiz has multimedia has audio
JAMA. 2020;323(24):2455-2457. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.8920
This Viewpoint describes how the National Institutes of Health is partnering with more than a dozen biopharmaceutical companies and multiple other agencies to develop an international strategy for a coordinated research response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including prioritizing vaccine and drug candidates.
Audio Interview: The NIH Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) Initiative

JAMA
June 23/30, 2020, Vol 323, No. 24, Pages 2445-2536
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

COVID-19: Beyond Tomorrow
Planning for a COVID-19 Vaccination Program
Sarah Schaffer DeRoo, MD, MA; Natalie J. Pudalov, BA; Linda Y. Fu, MD, MS
free access has active quiz
JAMA. 2020;323(24):2458-2459. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.8711
This Viewpoint describes the categories of concerns underlying vaccine hesitancy (necessity, safety, and freedom of choice), and proposes ways to educate the public now about the public health and individual benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine to enhance its rapid, widespread uptake when it becomes available.

JAMA
June 23/30, 2020, Vol 323, No. 24, Pages 2445-2536
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

COVID-19: Beyond Tomorrow
Adverse Consequences of Rushing a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine-Implications for Public Trust
Brit Trogen, MD, MS; David Oshinsky, PhD; Arthur Caplan, PhD
free access has active quiz has multimedia has audio
JAMA. 2020;323(24):2460-2461. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.8917
This Viewpoint discusses the importance of carefully evaluating SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates for safety and efficacy in the context of political pressure to accelerate the process, widespread vaccine hesitancy and refusal, and distrust of science.
Audio Interview: Coronavirus Vaccine Development

JAMA
June 23/30, 2020, Vol 323, No. 24, Pages 2445-2536
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

COVID-19: Beyond Tomorrow
The Equitable Distribution of COVID-19 Therapeutics and Vaccines
Thomas J. Bollyky, JD; Lawrence O. Gostin, JD; Margaret A. Hamburg, MD
free access has active quiz
JAMA. 2020;323(24):2462-2463. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.6641
This Viewpoint proposes a framework for international cooperation among governments and organizations to replace competition and hoarding with equitable global distribution of COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines as they are developed.

JAMA
June 23/30, 2020, Vol 323, No. 24, Pages 2445-2536
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

Editorial
COVID-19—Looking Beyond Tomorrow for Health Care and Society
Phil B. Fontanarosa, MD, MBA; Howard Bauchner, MD

JAMA
June 23/30, 2020, Vol 323, No. 24, Pages 2445-2536
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

Research Letter
Prescription Fill Patterns for Commonly Used Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States
Muthiah Vaduganathan, MD, MPH; Jeroen van Meijgaard, PhD; Mandeep R. Mehra, MD, MSc; et al.
free access
JAMA. 2020;323(24):2524-2526. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.9184
This pharmacoepidemiology study uses US pharmacy data to compare prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine and azithromycin in February to April 2020 vs 2019, and vs the top 10 most commonly prescribed drugs in the same year, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers.

Journal of Community Health
Volume 45, Issue 4, August 2020
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/45/4

Original Paper
Misinformation, Gendered Perceptions, and Low Healthcare Provider Communication Around HPV and the HPV Vaccine Among Young Sexual Minority Men in New York City: The P18 Cohort Study
Jessica Jaiswal, Caleb LoSchiavo, Anthony Maiolatesi…

Journal of Community Health
Volume 45, Issue 4, August 2020
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/45/4

Original Paper
Factors Associated with Initiation of HPV Vaccination Among Young Women and Girls in Urban and Suburban New Orleans
Ruth B. Hennebery, Dung N. Dang, Caitlin Sisson…

Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 221, Issue 11, 1 June 2020
https://academic.oup.com/jid/issue/221/11

PERSPECTIVE
Human Challenge Studies to Accelerate Coronavirus Vaccine Licensure
Nir Eyal, Marc Lipsitch, Peter G Smith
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 221, Issue 11, 1 June 2020, Pages 1752–1756, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaa152
Controlled human challenge trials of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates could accelerate the testing and potential rollout of efficacious vaccines, reducing the global burden of coronavirus-related mortality and morbidity. Volunteers’ net risk in such studies could be acceptable under specific conditions.

The Lancet
Jun 27, 2020 Volume 395 Number 10242 p1949-2020, e112-e116
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorial
Generation coronavirus?
The Lancet

The Lancet
Jun 27, 2020 Volume 395 Number 10242 p1949-2020, e112-e116
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Articles
Safety and immunogenicity of a mosquito saliva peptide-based vaccine: a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase 1 trial
Jessica E Manning, et al
Background
In animal models, immunity to mosquito salivary proteins protects animals against mosquito-borne disease. These findings provide a rationale to vaccinate against mosquito saliva instead of the pathogen itself. To our knowledge, no vector salivary protein-based vaccine has been tested for safety and immunogenicity in humans. We aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of Anopheles gambiae saliva vaccine (AGS-v), a peptide-based vaccine derived from four A gambiae salivary proteins, in humans.

Nature
Volume 582 Issue 7813, 25 June 2020
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

Editorial | 23 June 2020
Getting out of the World Health Organization might not be as easy as Trump thinks
There is no process for member countries to withdraw. The United States should stay and help to reform the agency from within.