Organization Announcements

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/frontiers-group/news-press/
News
No new digest content identified.

BARDA – U.S. Department of HHS [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.phe.gov/about/barda/Pages/default.aspx
BARDA News
March 2, 2021: Biden Administration Announces Historic Manufacturing Collaboration Between Merck and Johnson & Johnson to Expand Production of COVID-19 Vaccines
[See COVID above for detail]

BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
Press Releases and Statements
No new digest content identified.

Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 6 Mar 2021]
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 6 Mar 2021]
https://carb-x.org/
News
03.01.2021  |
CARB-X is funding GSK to support the development of two unique vaccine projects that aim to prevent serious bacterial infections killing thousands worldwide each year
CARB-X is funding the GSK Biologicals and its affiliate GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), based in Siena, Italy, to develop new vaccines to prevent serious infections caused by two different pathogens. Together, the two awards could be worth potentially more than $18 million if project milestones are met, subject to available funding.

Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy – GE2P2 Global Foundation [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.net/
News/Analysis/Statements
:: Past weekly editions of Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review are available here.
:: A new edition of Informed Consent: A Monthly Digest is now posted here and via a PDF.

CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://cepi.net/
Latest News
Going universal: The search for an all-in-one coronavirus vaccine
Instead of working to make vaccines against each unique coronavirus or variant, what if we could provide broad protection across the field through an all-in-one coronavirus shot?
01 Mar 2021

First COVID-19 COVAX vaccine doses administered in Africa
Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana began COVID-19 vaccination campaigns aimed at protecting healthcare workers. A further 11 million COVAX doses are expected to be delivered over the next seven days.
01 Mar 2021

DARPA – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [to 6 Mar 2021
https://www.darpa.mil/
News
No new digest content identified.

Duke Global Health Innovation Center [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://dukeghic.org/
Launch and Scale Speedometer
No new digest content identified.

EDCTP [to 6 Mar 2021]
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
04 March 2021
EDCTP and Africa CDC partner to train highly skilled epidemiologists and biostatisticians in Africa

Emory Vaccine Center [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
Vaccine Center News
No new digest content identified.

European Commission [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://europa.eu/rapid/search-result.htm?query=18&locale=en&page=1
Latest
No new digest content identified.

European Medicines Agency [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News & Press Releases
News: EMA starts rolling review of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine
Last updated: 04/03/2021
[See COVID above for detail]

News: EMA and Health Canada publish clinical data used to support their authorisations of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
Last updated: 02/03/2021
[See COVID above for detail]

European Vaccine Initiative [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/
Latest News
No new digest content identified.

FDA [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
Press Announcements /Selected Details
March 5, 2021 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: March 5, 2021
March 2, 2021 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: March 2, 2021

FDA – COVID-19 Vaccines [to 6 Mar 2021]
www.fda.gov/covid19vaccines
News and Updates; Upcoming Events
FDA Statement on Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting
02/26/2021
Following today’s positive advisory committee meeting outcome regarding the Janssen Biotech Inc. COVID-19 Vaccine, the FDA has informed the sponsor that it will rapidly work toward finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization.

Fondation Merieux [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
News, Events
Mérieux Foundation co-organized event
Advanced Course on Diagnostics (ACDx): Special Edition on COVID-19
March 15 – 17, 2021 – Virtual

Gavi [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.gavi.org/
News Releases
2 March 2021
COVAX publishes first round of allocations

1 March 2021
First COVID-19 COVAX vaccine doses administered in Africa
[See COVID above for detail on these announcements]

GHIT Fund [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
GHIT was set up in 212 with the aim of developing new tools to tackle infectious diseases that
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

Global Fund [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News & Stories
News
Global Fund and Fondation CHANEL Form New Partnership to Advance Women’s Health in Western and Central Africa
04 March 2021
The Global Fund and Fondation CHANEL have signed a new agreement to set up a civil society-led fund to strengthen women’s and girls’ engagement in developing health policies, including Global Fund-related processes, in western and central Africa. The partnership, worth US$1.5 million, will run for three years starting in Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire.

Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness [GloPID-R] [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.glopid-r.org/news/
News
No new digest content identified.

Hilleman Laboratories [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
No new digest content identified.

Human Vaccines Project [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
HVP COVID Report
Universal Coronavirus Vaccines: Invest Now or Pay Later
Wayne Koff, Ph.D.
Founding President and CEO
The Human Vaccines Project

IAVI [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
PRESS RELEASES/FEATURES
March 5, 2021
International Women’s Day 2021

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
Press Releases/Announcements
No new digest content identified.

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

IFRC [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Middle East and North Africa, Syria
Syria crisis: 10 years on, humanitarian situation is worse than ever
The daily suffering of Syrians is worse now than it has been at nearly any point throughout the decade-long conflict that has ravaged the country. This is the sobering message delivered today by three senior Red Cross and Red Crescent officials as Syria enters the second decade of a relentless crisis.
4 March 2021

Institut Pasteur [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.pasteur.fr/en/press-area
No new digest content identified.

IRC International Rescue Committee [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.rescue.org/press-release-index
Media highlights [Selected]
Press Release
New IRC report: A decade of attacks on health care in Syria
March 3, 2021
IRC survey of 237 people + 74 health workers on 10th anniversary of the Syria conflict
:: 81% of surveyed health workers said they had a coworker or patient who had been injured or killed due to an attack
:: 77% had witnessed an average of four attacks on health care – some had witnessed as many as 20 over the course of the war
:: 68% were inside a health facility when it was attacked
:: 59% of civilians surveyed had been directly impacted by an attack on a health facility during the course of the conflict
:: 49% fear accessing health care as a result of attacks
:: 8 in 10 indicate having fled home at least 6 times during the conflict – some as many as 25 times

IVAC [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
Updates; Events
No new digest content identified.

IVI [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.ivi.int/
Selected IVI News, Announcements, Events
No new digest content identified.

JEE Alliance [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/news/center-news/
Center News
No new digest content identified.

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.msf.org/
Latest [Selected Announcements]
DRC Ebola outbreaks
DRC’s twelfth Ebola outbreak
Crisis Update 5 Mar 2021

Syria
A decade of war in Syria: 10 years of increasing humanitarian needs
Project Update 3 Mar 2021

National Vaccine Program Office – U.S. HHS [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.hhs.gov/vaccines/about/index.html
Upcoming Meetings/Latest Updates
No new digest content identified.

NIH [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
News Releases
NIH-Sponsored ACTIV-3 Clinical Trial Closes Enrollment into Two Sub-Studies
March 4, 2021 — ACTIV-3 is a master protocol designed to allow for the study of multiple investigational agents compared to placebo in adults hospitalized with COVID-19.

NIH halts trial of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in emergency department patients with mild symptoms
March 2, 2021 — Study shows the treatment is safe, but provides no significant benefit in this group.

NIH effort seeks to understand MIS-C, range of SARS-CoV-2 effects on children
March 2, 2021 — Program to investigate why some children are at greater risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection than others.

UN OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.unocha.org/
Selected Research, Announcement
No new digest content identified.

PATH [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
Statements and Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

UNAIDS [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
3 March 2021
From HIV survivor to COVID-19 responder

2 March 2021
Faith-based project against paediatric HIV launched in Côte d’Ivoire

1 March 2021
US$ 64 million to respond to HIV, TB and malaria in Congo

UNDP United Nations Development Programme [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter.html
Latest from News Centre
UNDP calls for temporary basic income to help world’s poorest women cope with effects of COVID-19 pandemic
A temporary basic income (TBI) given specifically to hundreds of millions of women in the world’s developing countries could prevent rising poverty and widening gender inequalities during the COVID-19…   Posted on March 4, 2021

UNESCO [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://en.unesco.org/news
Selected Latest News
No new digest content identified.

UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/media-centre.htmlS
Selected Announcements
No new digest content identified.

UNICEF [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Selected Press releases, Statements
Press release 03/05/2021
More than 1.7 million COVID-19 vaccines arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Press release 03/03/2021
At least 1 in 7 children and young people has lived under stay-at-home policies for most of the last year, putting mental health and well-being at risk
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the pandemic, UNICEF urges greater investment in mental health services

Press release 03/03/2021
Sudan receives first delivery of COVID-19 vaccines with over 800,000 doses
Sudan becomes first country in the Middle East and North Africa to receive vaccines via the COVAX Facility

Press release 03/03/2021
340,000 doses of COVAX vaccines due in Rwanda today
Air freight carrying the AstraZeneca/Oxford SII vaccines supplied through the COVAX Facility arrives in Kigali. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines expected to arrive later today.

Statement 03/02/2021
Remarks by Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director at COVAX media briefing on first deliveries and first round of allocations
As prepared for delivery
[See COVID above for detail]

Statement 03/02/2021
COVAX publishes first round of allocations

Unitaid [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://unitaid.org/
Featured News
No new digest content identified.

Vaccination Acceptance Research Network (VARN) [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://vaccineacceptance.org/news.html#header1-2r
Announcements
No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Confidence Project [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
News, Research and Reports
Coronavirus global impact
Launched April 2, 2020 and recurring every 3 days, Premise Data is utilizing its global network of Contributors to assess economic, social, and health sentiment surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
News
No new digest content identified.

Wellcome Trust [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
Q&A
Anna Mouser, Jeremy Farrar
Why we need fair global vaccine allocation to end Covid-19
2 March 2021

Explainer
Why is a global Covid-19 vaccine rollout vital?
2 March 2021

The Wistar Institute [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

WFPHA: World Federation of Public Health Associations [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.wfpha.org/
Latest News
WFPHA Has Joined the WHO’s Campaign for #VaccinEquity
Mar 4, 2021
WFPHA Has Joined the WHO’s Campaign for #VaccinEquityHealth workers have been at the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic response. In January 2021, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has called all countries to work together…

Coalition of International NGOs Call for Equitable Access for Vaccines and Treatment during COVID-19 Pandemic
Mar 4, 2021
Coalition of International NGOs Call for Equitable Access for Vaccines and Treatment during COVID-19 Pandemic
Around the world, governments are struggling to find ways to work together and control the spread of COVID-19. The virus does not recognize…
[See COVID above for detail]

Call to Governments to Support the TRIPS Waiver Proposal to End the COVID-19 Pandemic
Mar 1, 2021
Call to Governments to Support the TRIPS Waiver Proposal to End the COVID-19 Pandemic
The time is now to stop vaccine nationalism, private profiteering, and stand in solidarity with the world for health equity and human rights. WFPHA joins the…

World Bank [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all
Selected News, Announcements
World Bank Bond Expands Support to COVID-19 Resilience Through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Washington, DC, March 4, 2021—The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or IBRD) has issued a US$100 million 5-year bond which both supports IBRD’s ongoing sustainable development…
Date: March 04, 2021 Type: Press Release
[See COVID above for detail]

Reversing the Disproportionate Impact of the Pandemic on Female Workers in Latin America and the Caribbean
Women were 44 percent more likely to lose their jobs in the crisis than men. Permanent job losses affected one in five women according to a new World Bank report. WASHINGTON, March 4, 2021 – Working women…
Date: March 04, 2021 Type: Press Release

Future of Cities Will Shape Post-COVID-19 World
Cities have a once -in-a-lifetime chance to leverage the pandemic and build back in a resilient, inclusive and sustainable way
Date: March 02, 2021 Type: Feature Story

World Customs Organization – WCO [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.wcoomd.org/
Latest News – Selected Items
No new digest content identified.

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2021/
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

::::::

ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine] [to 6 Mar 2021]
Press Releases – Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (alliancerm.org)
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

BIO [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://www.bio.org/press-releases
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
News; Upcoming events
No new digest content identified.

ICBA – International Council of Biotechnology Associations [to 6 Mar 2021]
https://internationalbiotech.org/news/
News
No new digest content identified.

IFPMA [to 6 Mar 2021]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications
No new digest content identified.

PhRMA [to 6 Mar 2021]
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

AMA Journal of Ethics
Volume 23, Number 2: E83-211 Feb 2021
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/issue/racial-and-ethnic-health-equity-us-part-2

Racial and Ethnic Health Equity in the US: Part 2
Health equity is defined by the World Health Organization as the “absence of unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in health among social groups.” Domestically and globally, health inequity is not a historical accident. Inequity today is not unfortunate—that is, not a product of a mere turn of the proverbial cosmic wheel—but unjust—that is, generated by colonial, White supremacist policies and practices structured and maintained over time, forged to persist in hierarchies that serve some of us, our ancestors, and our descendants well and some of us, our ancestors, and our descendants ill. This first of a 2-part theme issue focuses specifically on racial and ethnic inequity in morbidity, mortality, and access to services that are endemic to American life. We investigate health inequity as a product of transgenerational patterns of oppression that must be remediated by all of us compassionately and more deliberately and quickly than they were created.

BMJ Global Health
March 2021 – Volume 6 – 3
https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/3

An urgent call to collect data related to COVID-19 and Indigenous populations globally (2 March, 2021)
Alistair Mallard, Maria Amalia Pesantes, Carol Zavaleta-Cortijo, James Ward

BMJ Global Health
March 2021 – Volume 6 – 3
https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/3

Commentary
Communicating COVID-19 vaccines: lessons from the dengue vaccine controversy in the Philippines (2 March, 2021)
Gideon Lasco, Vincen Gregory Yu

BMC Health Services Research
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/content
(Accessed 6 Mar 2021)

Regional differences in general practitioners’ behaviours regarding influenza vaccination: a cross-sectional study
The World Health Organization recommends vaccination rates of 75% against seasonal influenza for patients over 65 years old. In the 2013/2014 season, the German vaccination rates ranged between 14 and 65%. Thi…
Authors: Jonathan Arlt, Kristina Flaegel, Katja Goetz and Jost Steinhaeuser
Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2021 21:197
Content type: Research article
Published on: 4 March 2021

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 6 Mar 2021)

Antibiotic resistance in Pakistan: a systematic review of past decade
During the last six decades, extensive use of antibiotics has selected resistant strains, increasing the rate of fatal infectious diseases, and exerting an economic burden on society. This situation is widely …
Authors: Hazrat Bilal, Muhammad Nadeem Khan, Tayyab Rehman, Muhammad Fazal Hameed and Xingyuan Yang
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2021 21:244
Content type: Research article
Published on: 6 March 2021

BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
(Accessed 6 Mar 2021)

Research article
Systematic review: bioethical implications for COVID-19 research in low prevalence countries, a distinctly different set of problems
A systematic review failed to identify articles relating to COVID-19 research ethics, specific to low prevalence countries. It shows that there is a significant gap in the literature that warrants further investigation. Common ethical principles were used to present a distinct set of challenges experienced by a country with a low prevalence of COVID-19. This unique perspective of some of the common ethical problems surrounding research, may help guide further discussion and guide research in similar countries.
Authors: Tony Skapetis, Constance Law and Rohan Rodricks
Citation: BMC Medical Ethics 2021 22:22
Content type: Research article
Published on: 3 March 2021

BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
(Accessed 6 Mar 2021)

Facing new challenges to informed consent processes in the context of translational research: the case in CARPEM consortium
In the context of translational research, researchers have increasingly been using biological samples and data in fundamental research phases. To explore informed consent practices, we conducted a retrospective study on informed consent documents that were used for CARPEM’s translational research programs. This review focused on detailing their form, their informational content, and the adequacy of these documents with the international ethical principles and participants’ rights.
Authors: Elise Jacquier, Pierre Laurent-Puig, Cécile Badoual, Anita Burgun and Marie-France Mamzer
Citation: BMC Medical Ethics 2021 22:21
Content type: Research article
Published on: 2 March 2021

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 6 Mar 2021)

Disparities in influenza vaccination: Arab Americans in California
Influenza vaccination among minoritized groups remains below federal benchmarks in the United States (US). We used data from the 2004–2016 California Health Interview Surveys (CHIS) to characterize influenza v…
Authors: Rose-Marie Jungquist and Nadia N. Abuelezam
Citation: BMC Public Health 2021 21:443
Content type: Research article
Published on: 5 March 2021

Measles outbreak in complex emergency: estimating vaccine effectiveness and evaluation of the vaccination campaign in Borno State, Nigeria, 2019
From January to May 2019, large measles outbreaks affected Nigeria. Borno state was the most affected, recording 15,237 suspected cases with the state capital of Maiduguri having 1125 cases investigated and li…

Authors: Anne Eudes Jean Baptiste, John Wagai, Richard Luce, Balcha Masresha, Don Klinkenberg, Irene Veldhuijzen, Joseph Oteri, Boubacar Dieng, Obianuju Caroline Ikeonu, Sule Meleh, Audu Musa, Fiona Braka, Susan Hahné, E. A. M. Sanders and Eelko Hak
Citation: BMC Public Health 2021 21:437
Content type: Research article
Published on: 4 March 2021

BMJ Open
March 2021 – Volume 11 – 3
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/3

Protocol: Evaluation of the decision-making process underlying the initial off-label use of vaccines: a scoping review protocol (4 March, 2021)
Dieynaba Diallo, Caroline Quach
Vaccination has become a central part of public health prevention. Vaccines are introduced after licensure by national regulatory authorities, whereas recommendations for use of licensed vaccines are made by national or international advisory committees and may include off-label use. The methodological and decision-making processes that are used to assess novel initial off-label vaccine use are unclear. This review aims to examine the off-label assessment processes to map evidence and concepts used in the decision-making process and present a common approach between all recommendations and specifics of each decision.
Strengths and limitations of this study
:: Strengths of this review comprise the substantial significance of mapping the decision-making processes and methods used for off-label vaccine recommendations.
:: The use of recognised scoping review methodology.
:: A search strategy developed in collaboration with an experienced senior health research librarian.
:: Systematic screening and extraction of data independently conducted in duplicate.
:: Off-label vaccine use established practices, not published in an official form by national authorities, potentially represent a limitation for this review.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 99, Number 3, March 2021, 169-240
https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/99/3/en/

EDITORIALS
The quality-of-care agenda in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings
— Matthew Neilson, Sheila Leatherman & Shamsuzzoha Syed
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.21.285627

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 99, Number 3, March 2021, 169-240
https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/99/3/en/

Coordinating COVID-19 vaccine deployment through the WHO COVID-19 Partners Platform
— M Anne Yu, Angela K Shen, Michael J Ryan & Linda Lucy Boulanger
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.21.285550
…WHO, in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Development Coordination Office, launched the WHO COVID-19 Partners Platform to operationalize the plan.⁶ On this platform, for the first time, governments, UN agencies and partners can plan and coordinate, in real time, for an acute event. This innovative digital ecosystem operationalizes the nine pillars of the plan: country-level coordination, planning and monitoring; risk communication and community engagement; surveillance, rapid-response teams and case investigation; points of entry, international travel and transport; national laboratories; infection prevention and control; case management; operational support and logistics; and maintaining essential health services and systems.

The platform has facilitated actions within these initial nine strategic pillars and continues to do so.⁶ As a tool for emergency management, the platform supports transparency, collaboration and efficiency for countries, UN agencies, implementing partners and donors in their COVID-19 response. At the core of the platform is a centralized digital environment where countries and partners, in the context of an outbreak, can: (i) develop and share plans; (ii) monitor and review implemented actions; (iii) cost plans, share resource needs, and request critical supplies; and (iv) view and track donor contributions. These four basic functionalities are fundamental to emergency response in every nation, regardless of whether resources come from the international community or are domestically available.

As of 4 February 2021, the platform has tracked 9.3 billion United States dollars (US$) of requested resources and approximately US$ 8 billion in donor contributions.⁶ A total of 120 countries, areas and territories have integrated the platform into their emergency management cycle (disease prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery), supporting preparedness and response using a model that optimizes near real-time management of public health emergency needs and demands. The platform allows for rapid response in public health practice, provides a centralized hub to house information for decision-making, and brings stakeholders from across sectors within countries, including donors and key implementing partners, to collaborate using a common planning framework. The platform is accessible to and enabled by countries, regions and partners, and governed by the countries, who determine how to support their own needs.

Coordination is at the centre of the platform and critical to an effective response. In January 2021, a tenth pillar was added to the platform to support national deployment of COVID-19 vaccines when available…

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 99, Number 3, March 2021, 169-240
https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/99/3/en/

PERSPECTIVES
Adapting environmental surveillance for polio to the need to track antimicrobial resistance
— Christine Årdal, David McAdams, Astrid Louise Wester & Sigrun Møgedal
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.20.258905

Developing World Bioethics
Volume 21, Issue 1 Pages: i, 1-54 March 2021
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14718847/current

ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Lessons from the Ebola epidemics and their applications for COVID‐19 pandemic response in sub‐Saharan Africa
Muhammed O. Afolabi et al
Pages: 25-30
First Published: 12 July 2020

Developing World Bioethics  
Volume 21, Issue 1 Pages: i, 1-54 March 2021
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14718847/current

Allocation of scarce resources in Africa during COVID‐19: Utility and justice for the bottom of the pyramid?
Keymanthri Moodley et al

Pages: 36-43
First Published: 26 August 2020

Developing World Bioethics  
Volume 21, Issue 1 Pages: i, 1-54 March 2021
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14718847/current

Considerations for stakeholder engagement and COVID‐19 related clinical trials’ conduct in sub‐Saharan Africa
Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan et a;

Pages: 44-50
First Published: 15 August 2020
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to determine how stakeholder engagement can be adapted for the conduct of COVID‐19‐related clinical trials in sub‐Saharan Africa. Nine essential stakeholder engagement practices were reviewed: formative research; stakeholder engagement plan; communications and issues management plan; protocol development; informed consent process; standard of prevention for vaccine research and standard of care for treatment research; policies on trial‐related physical, psychological, financial, and/or social harms; trial accrual, follow‐up, exit trial closure and results dissemination; and post‐trial access to trial products or procedures. The norms, values, and practices of collectivist societies in Sub‐Saharan Africa and the low research literacy pose challenges to the conduct of clinical trials. Civil‐society organizations, members of community advisory boards and ethics committees, young persons, COVID‐19 survivors, researchers, government, and the private sector are assets for the implementation and translation of COVID‐19 related clinical trials. Adapting ethics guidelines to the socio‐cultural context of the region can facilitate achieving the aim of stakeholder engagement.

Epidemics
Volume 34 March 2021
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/epidemics/vol/34/suppl/C

Research article Open access
Optimised prophylactic vaccination in metapopulations
Mingmei Teo, Nigel Bean, Joshua V. Ross
Article 100420
Highlights
:: A flexible SIR stochastic metapopulation model is studied.
:: Insights to when it is best to allocate vaccines (pre-versus post-outbreak) and to whom they should be allocated are provided.
:: In practice it is generally optimal to distribute all vaccines prophylactically, rather than withholding vaccines.
:: An approximately optimal vaccination scheme is introduced and is shown to be consistently at least as good as three strategies reported in the literature.
Abstract
A highly effective method for controlling the spread of an infectious disease is vaccination. However, there are many situations where vaccines are in limited supply. The ability to determine, under this constraint, a vaccination strategy which minimises the number of people that become infected over the course of a potential epidemic is essential. Two questions naturally arise: when is it best to allocate vaccines, and to whom should they be allocated? We address these questions in the context of metapopulation models of disease spread. We discover that in practice it is generally optimal to distribute all vaccines prophylactically, rather than withholding until infection is introduced. For small metapopulations, we provide a method for determining the optimal prophylactic allocation. As the optimal strategy becomes computationally intensive to obtain when the population size increases, we detail an approximation method to determine an approximately optimal vaccination scheme. We find that our approximate strategy is consistently at least as good as three strategies reported in the literature across a wide range of parameter values.

Gates Open Research
https://gatesopenresearch.org/browse/articles
[Accessed 6 Mar 2021]

Software Tool Article metrics AWAITING PEER REVIEW
Route Optimization Tool (RoOT) for distribution of vaccines and health products [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]
Zelda B. Zabinsky, Mariam Zameer, Larissa P.G. Petroianu, Mamiza M. Muteia, Aida L. Coelho
Peer Reviewers Invited
Funder: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
PUBLISHED 01 Mar 2021

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 6 Mar 2021]

A survey of International Health Regulations National Focal Points experiences in carrying out their functions
The 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR (2005)) require States Parties to establish National Focal Points (NFPs) responsible for notifying the World Health Organization (WHO) of potential events that might constitute public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs), such as outbreaks of novel infectious diseases. Given the critical role of NFPs in the global surveillance and response system supported by the IHR, we sought to assess their experiences in carrying out their functions.
Authors: Corinne Packer, Sam F. Halabi, Helge Hollmeyer, Salima S. Mithani, Lindsay Wilson, Arne Ruckert, Ronald Labonté, David P. Fidler, Lawrence O. Gostin and Kumanan Wilson
Citation: Globalization and Health 2021 17:25
Content type: Research
Published on: 6 March 2021

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 6 Mar 2021]

COVID-19 preparedness: capacity to manufacture vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics in sub-Saharan Africa
The COVID-19 pandemic is a biosecurity threat, and many resource-rich countries are stockpiling and/or making plans to secure supplies of vaccine, therapeutics, and diagnostics for their citizens. We review the products that are being investigated for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19; discuss the challenges that countries in sub-Saharan Africa may face with access to COVID-19 vaccine, therapeutics, and diagnostics due to the limited capacity to manufacture them in Africa; and make recommendations on actions to mitigate these challenges and ensure health security in sub-Saharan Africa during this unprecedented pandemic and future public-health crises.
Authors: Bisi Bright, Chinedum Peace Babalola, Nadia Adjoa Sam-Agudu, Augustine Anayochukwu Onyeaghala, Adebola Olatunji, Ufuoma Aduh, Patrick O. Sobande, Trevor A. Crowell, Yenew Kebede Tebeje, Sunny Phillip, Nicaise Ndembi and Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan
Citation: Globalization and Health 2021 17:24
Content type: Review
Published on: 3 March 2021

Health Affairs
Vol. 40, No. 3 March 2021
https://www.healthaffairs.org/toc/hlthaff/current

March 2021 | Nursing Homes, COVID-19 & More
Analysis COVID-19
How New Models Of Vaccine Development For COVID-19 Have Helped Address An Epic Public Health Crisis
David E. Bloom, Daniel Cadarette, Maddalena Ferranna, Randall N. Hyer, and Daniel L. Tortorice
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development and manufacturing have proceeded at a historically unprecedented pace. This speed may be accounted for by the unprecedented scale of resources being devoted to addressing COVID-19; an unusual …

Health Affairs
Vol. 40, No. 3 March 2021
https://www.healthaffairs.org/toc/hlthaff/current

Analysis COVID-19
Reflections On Governance, Communication, And Equity: Challenges And Opportunities In COVID-19 Vaccination
Daniel Salmon, Douglas J. Opel, Matthew Z. Dudley, Janesse Brewer, and Robert Breiman

Health and Human Rights
Volume 22, Issue 2, December 2020
https://www.hhrjournal.org/volume-22-issue-2-december-2020/

Special Section: Big Data, Technology, Artificial Intelligence and the Right to Health
Recent Viewpoints
The Value of Human Rights for Vaccine Prioritization at the National Level
Sharifah Sekalala, 8 February 2021
In this Viewpoint I argue that human rights have been largely left out of conversations about how to prioritise allocation within national vaccine programmes, but an intersectional human-rights approach is the fairest and most effective way to address COVID-19 vaccine prioritization.

Health Policy and Planning
Volume 36, Issue 1, February 2021
https://academic.oup.com/heapol/issue/36/1

Original Articles
Competing interests, clashing ideas and institutionalizing influence: insights into the political economy of malaria control from seven African countries
Justin Parkhurst, Ludovica Ghilardi, Jayne Webster, Robert W Snow, Caroline A Lynch
Health Policy and Planning, Volume 36, Issue 1, February 2021, Pages 35–44, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czaa166

Humanitarian Exchange Magazine
Number 78, October 2020
https://odihpn.org/magazine/inclusion-of-persons-with-disabilities-in-humanitarian-action-what-now/

Disability inclusion in humanitarian action
by HPN October 2020
The theme of this edition of Humanitarian Exchange, co-edited with Sherin Alsheikh Ahmed from Islamic Relief Worldwide, is disability inclusion in humanitarian action. Persons with disabilities are not only disproportionately impacted by conflicts, disasters and other emergencies, but also face barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance. At the same time, global commitments and standards and the IASC Guidelines on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action all emphasise how persons with disabilities are also active agents of change. Disability and age-focused organisations have led on testing and demonstrating how inclusion can be done better. Yet despite this progress, challenges to effective inclusion remain.

As Kirstin Lange notes in the lead article, chief among these challenges is humanitarian agencies’ lack of engagement with organisations of persons with disabilities. Simione Bula, Elizabeth Morgan and Teresa Thomson look at disability inclusion in humanitarian response in the Pacific, and Kathy Al Jubeh and Alradi Abdalla argue for a ‘participation revolution’, building on learning from the gender movement. Tchaurea Fleury and Sulayman AbdulMumuni Ujah outline how the Bridge Article 11 training initiative is encouraging constructive exchange between humanitarian and disability actors. The lack of good, disaggregated data is highlighted by Sarah Collinson; Frances Hill, Jim Cranshaw and Carys Hughes emphasise the need for training resources in local languages and accessible formats; and Sophie Van Eetvelt and colleagues report on a review of the evidence on inclusion of people with disabilities and older people.

Rebecca Molyneux and co-authors analyse the findings of a review of a DFID programme in north-east Nigeria, while Carolin Funke highlights the importance of strategic partnerships between disability-focused organisations, drawing on her research in Cox’s Bazar. Sherin Alsheikh Ahmed describes Islamic Relief Worldwide’s approach to mainstreaming protection and inclusion, while Pauline Thivillier and Valentina Shafina outline IRC’s Client Responsive Programming. The edition ends with reflections by Mirela Turcanu and Yves Ngunzi Kahashi on CAFOD’s SADI approach.

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 8, No 3 (2021) March 2021
https://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/74

Table of Contents
Knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19 vaccination acceptance in West India
This is a cross-sectional study done in an urban slum in Mumbai, India. The main outcome variable was the responses related to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among the study participants.
Shibal Bhartiya, Nishant Kumar, Tarundeep Singh, Sathiabalan Murugan, Saranya Rajavel, Meenakshi Wadhwani

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 8, No 3 (2021) March 2021
https://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/74

A study on predictors of complete immunization in children aged 12-23 months in slums of Kanpur Nagar, India
Educational status of the parents particularly mothers and the economic status of the family have great bearing on the immunization coverage of under 5 children. So female empowerment measures may prove helpful in improvement of the immunization status.
Ruchi Chaturvedi, R. P. Sharma, D. S. Martolia, Tanu Midha

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 8, No 3 (2021) March 2021
https://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/74

Attitude towards childhood vaccination among parents in a rural area of Trivandrum district
A cross-sectional study was carried out among parents of children below the age of 15 years, who are residents of a rural area in Thiruvananthapuram district. Data was collected using the parents’ attitude about childhood vaccination (PACV) survey, with the consent of the participants. The collected data entered into MS Excel and analysis was carried out using SPSS 20.
Nithya Girija, Deena Divakaran Sreelatha, Benny Purandaran Vasanthamani, Anil Bindhu Sukumaran, Regi Jose, Manju Leelavathy, Divija ., Ramiz Raja

JAMA
March 2, 2021, Vol 325, No. 9, Pages 805-898
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

Viewpoint
SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines and the Growing Threat of Viral Variants
John P. Moore, PhD; Paul A. Offit, MD
free access has active quiz has multimedia has audio
JAMA. 2021;325(9):821-822. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.1114
This Viewpoint reviews circulating SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants and mechanisms of immunity by which they might escape coronavirus vaccine-induced protection and proposes 6 measures to address them, including enhanced variant isolation and testing procedures and continued adherence to mask-wearing and other established public health measures.
Audio Clinical Review: Understanding SARS-CoV-2 Genetic Variants
Conversations with Dr Bauchner: Coronavirus Vaccine Update with Paul Offit and Robert Wachter
Conversations with Dr Bauchner: Coronavirus Update With Peter Piot, MD, PhD
Conversations with Dr Bauchner: Coronavirus Vaccine Update With Paul Offit – February 11, 2021
Conversations with Dr Bauchner: Coronavirus Vaccine Update From the CDC With Nancy E. Messonnier, MD

JAMA
March 2, 2021, Vol 325, No. 9, Pages 805-898
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

Funding of Pharmaceutical Innovation During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
James C. Robinson, PhD, MPH
free access has active quiz has audio
JAMA. 2021;325(9):825-826. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.25384
This Viewpoint considers whether the shift away from private investment toward government funding of drug and vaccine development and commercialization during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is sustainable, arguing that the same or greater level of public investment will be necessary if drug prices are to remain affordable and if the US wants to maintain its global leadership position.
Conversations with Dr Bauchner: Funding of Pharmaceutical Innovation During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

JAMA
March 2, 2021, Vol 325, No. 9, Pages 805-898
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

Editorial
Vaccine Distribution—Equity Left Behind?
Muriel Jean-Jacques, MD, MAPP; Howard Bauchner, MD
free access has multimedia has audio
JAMA. 2021;325(9):829-830. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.1205
The health disparities laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic have not been surprising in their direction. Likewise, the inequities that are likely to manifest when a limited supply of vaccine is rolled out to a large number of eligible individuals are predictable. As local communities roll out vaccine distribution to those aged 65 and older it is important to consider potential challenges and to proactively plan for ways to mitigate likely disparities.
[1] Prioritize vaccine distribution to zip codes that have been most severely affected by COVID-19 and that have high indexes of economic hardship.
[2] Partner with local health care institutions, community organizations, and other trusted sources to promote vaccine awareness and uptake within local communities, with particular attention to institutions and organizations that serve communities who have borne the brunt of COVID-19 exposure, illness, and death.
[3] Prioritize vaccine distribution to those who face mobility or other transportation barriers to receipt of the vaccine (eg, vans to deliver vaccine to homebound older persons, vaccination sites that are near public transportation, and hours of operation that are accessible to those who work or who rely on those who work during standard business hours).
[4] Simplify registration procedures. Ensure registration options that do not require the internet or digital platforms (such as phone or in-person registration). Ensure registration is accessible to those with limited English proficiency or limited literacy. Registration should not require nonessential documentation, such as proof of citizenship, that is likely to deter individuals from immigrant communities from seeking vaccination. Offer vaccination options that do not require preregistration (eg, at local community centers, schools, houses of worship, or other highly frequented and trusted sites in the community)…
Conversations with Dr Bauchner: Who Gets Coronavirus Vaccine First?
Conversations with Dr Bauchner: Prioritizing Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations for Coronavirus Vaccination
Conversations with Dr Bauchner: Coronavirus Vaccine Update From the CDC With Nancy E. Messonnier, MD

JAMA
March 2, 2021, Vol 325, No. 9, Pages 805-898
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

JAMA Live Highlights
Experts Discuss COVID-19—Vaccine Doses, Virus Variants, and More
free access has multimedia has audio
JAMA. 2021;325(9):812-813. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.1101
JAMA Live Highlights features comments from livestream interviews by JAMA Network Editor in Chief Howard Bauchner, MD. His discussions with experts in clinical care, public health, and health policy focus on critical issues related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Comments have been edited for clarity.

JAMA Network
COVID-19 Update March 6, 2021

These articles on COVID-19 were published across the JAMA Network in the last week.

JAMA Pediatrics
March 2021, Vol 175, No. 3, Pages 225-332
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/currentissue

Research Letter
Number of Childhood and Adolescent Vaccinations Administered Before and After the COVID-19 Outbreak in Colorado
Sean T. O’Leary, MD, MPH; Lynnsay Trefren, MSN, RN; Heather Roth, MA; et al.
free access has active quiz
JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(3):305-307. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.4733
This study assesses the association of social distancing due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with immunizations administered by age category (0-2 years, 3-9 years, and 10-17 years) in Colorado.

Journal of Community Health
Volume 46, issue 2, April 2021
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/volumes-and-issues/46-2

Original Paper
COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy in the United States: A Rapid National Assessment
Authors (first, second and last of 6) Jagdish Khubchandani, Sushil Sharma, Fern J. Webb
Published: 03 January 2021
Pages: 270 – 277

Journal of Community Health
Volume 46, issue 2, April 2021
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/volumes-and-issues/46-2

Increasing HPV Vaccination Support Through a Pilot Film-Based Community Engagement
Authors (first, second and last of 7) Shamly Austin, Katharine Wooten, Haiyan Qu
Content type: Original Paper
Published: 14 September 2020
Pages: 343 – 348

Journal of Community Health
Volume 46, issue 2, April 2021
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/volumes-and-issues/46-2

Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices Among U. S. College Students Concerning Papillomavirus Vaccination
Authors – Bulaporn Natipagon-Shah, Eunice Lee, Shin-Young Lee
Content type: Original Paper
Published: 16 September 2020
Pages: 380 – 388

Journal of Community Health
Volume 46, issue 2, April 2021
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/volumes-and-issues/46-2

Identification of the Knowledge Level of Students Receiving Health Education About the Human Papilloma Virus, Screening Tests, and Human Papilloma Virus Vaccination
Authors – Gulpinar Aslan, Ayse Berivan Bakan, Content type: Original Paper
Published: 18 July 2020
Pages: 428 – 433

Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (JHCPU)
Volume 32, Number 1, February 2021
https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/43951

Table of Contents
Institutional Distrust among African Americans and Building Trustworthiness in the COVID-19 Response: Implications for Ethical Public Health Practice
Alicia L. Best, Faith E. Fletcher, Mika Kadono, Rueben C. Warren
pp. 90-98

Journal of Medical Ethics
March 2021 – Volume 47 – 3
http://jme.bmj.com/content/current

COVID-19 Current Controversies

Global equitable access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for COVID-19: The role of patents as private governance (30 November, 2020) Free
Aisling McMahon

Journal of Medical Ethics
March 2021 – Volume 47 – 3
http://jme.bmj.com/content/current

COVID-19 Current Controversies
Ethical allocation of future COVID-19 vaccines (17 December, 2020) Free
Rohit Gupta, Stephanie R Morain

The Lancet
Mar 06, 2021 Volume 397 Number 10277 p853-940
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorial
Do we care about who cares?
The Lancet
… As countries look to post-COVID-19 recovery, there is an urgent need for institutions and governments to redesign economies more equitably. They should be based on feminist, intersectional, and anti-racist principles that generate understanding of the inextricable link between, and need for social systems of, child care, value, and pay for domestic labour. Several pandemic recovery plans that espouse those principles have emerged. Recovery from the pandemic also calls us to think about the importance of investing in health and social care more generally, which will have the effect of freeing up the time of women who are the main producers of the unpaid care and unpaid caregiving by alleviating the burden of non-communicable disease and other long-term conditions and disabilities.
COVID-19 has harmed the health and economic security of women worldwide. But the pandemic has also made the invisible contribution of women to health care much more apparent and provided important momentum to advocate for its measurement, recognition, and fair compensation with no disparities due to sex. This opportunity must be seized.

The Lancet
Mar 06, 2021 Volume 397 Number 10277 p853-940
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Comment
Single-dose Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine followed by a 12-week booster
Ivan F N Hung, Gregory A Poland
… Important study limitations include the fact that these studies were not prospectively designed to establish whether vaccine efficacy would differ by dose interval; therefore, these post-hoc exploratory findings could be biased. Other limitations are that participants were not randomised to dosing interval, only one of the four trials was double-blind, and the single-dose recipients were self-selected. Furthermore, baseline characteristics between the single-dose and two-dose cohorts were substantially different, with an older median age, higher proportion of men and non-white participants, and a smaller proportion of health or social care workers in the two-dose cohort than in the single-dose cohort. Also, worth considering is whether these results would hold up with widespread circulation of more transmissible and lethal viral variants.
Overall, the value of this study is in providing evidence that a single dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine is highly efficacious in the 90 days after vaccination, that a longer prime-boost interval results in higher vaccine efficacy, and that protection against symptomatic COVID-19 is maintained despite a longer dosing interval. It offers much-needed evidence for the UK policy of extending the dosing interval to 12 weeks and for rapid mass-immunisation campaigns worldwide. Further studies are warranted to assess whether a longer-interval strategy would also offer higher vaccine efficacy against the new variants⁸ and could be applicable to other types of COVID-19 vaccines. ⁹,  ¹⁰,  ¹¹

The Lancet
Mar 06, 2021 Volume 397 Number 10277 p853-940
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Articles
Single-dose administration and the influence of the timing of the booster dose on immunogenicity and efficacy of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) vaccine: a pooled analysis of four randomised trials
Merryn Voysey, et al. on behalf of the Oxford COVID Vaccine Trial Group
Open Access
The ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) vaccine has been approved for emergency use by the UK regulatory authority, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, with a regimen of two standard doses given with an interval of 4–12 weeks. The planned roll-out in the UK will involve vaccinating people in high-risk categories with their first dose immediately, and delivering the second dose 12 weeks later. Here, we provide both a further prespecified pooled analysis of trials of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and exploratory analyses of the impact on immunogenicity and efficacy of extending the interval between priming and booster doses. In addition, we show the immunogenicity and protection afforded by the first dose, before a booster dose has been offered.

The Lancet
Mar 06, 2021 Volume 397 Number 10277 p853-940
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Review
Improving lung health in low-income and middle-income countries: from challenges to solutions
Jamilah Meghji, et al.
Summary
Low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear a disproportionately high burden of the global morbidity and mortality caused by chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchiectasis, and post-tuberculosis lung disease. CRDs are strongly associated with poverty, infectious diseases, and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and contribute to complex multi-morbidity, with major consequences for the lives and livelihoods of those affected. The relevance of CRDs to health and socioeconomic wellbeing is expected to increase in the decades ahead, as life expectancies rise and the competing risks of early childhood mortality and infectious diseases plateau. As such, the World Health Organization has identified the prevention and control of NCDs as an urgent development issue and essential to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In this Review, we focus on CRDs in LMICs. We discuss the early life origins of CRDs; challenges in their prevention, diagnosis, and management in LMICs; and pathways to solutions to achieve true universal health coverage.

Lancet Respiratory Medicine
Mar 2021 Volume 9 Number 3 p217-318, e22-e29
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/issue/current

Comment
An issue of trust—vaccinating Black patients against COVID-19
Dale O Okorodudu,Daniel E Okorodudu

Nature
Volume 591 Issue 7848, 4 March 2021

Article | 11 December 2020
Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19
A genome-wide association study of critically ill patients with COVID-19 identifies genetic signals that relate to important host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage that may be targeted by repurposing drug treatments.
Erola Pairo-Castineira, Sara Clohisey & J. Kenneth Baillie

Nature Reviews Immunology
Volume 21 Issue 3, March 2021
https://www.nature.com/nri/volumes/21/issues/3

Comment | 05 January 2021
Endemic SARS-CoV-2 will maintain post-pandemic immunity
Here, Veldhoen and Simas discuss why immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in populations may ultimately be driven by the endemic presence of the virus and not rely on continued mass vaccination programmes.
Marc Veldhoen & J. Pedro Simas