Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review is a weekly digest  summarizing news, events, announcements, peer-reviewed articles and research in the global vaccine ethics and policy space. Content is aggregated from key governmental, NGO, international organization and industry sources, key peer-reviewed journals, and other media channels. This summary proceeds from the broad base of themes and issues monitored by the Center for Vaccine Ethics & Policy in its work: it is not intended to be exhaustive in its coverage. You are viewing the blog version of our weekly digest, typically comprised of between 30 and 40 posts below all dated with the current issue date

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David R. Curry, MS
Executive Director
Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy

WHO Director-General’s remarks at the Munich Security Conference – 18 February 2022
Speech
18 February 2022
[Excerpt]
…Taking those recommendations into account, last month WHO’s Executive Board tasked me with developing a set of proposals on strengthening the global architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, to be considered by all Member States at the World Health Assembly in May.

In brief, I see three key pillars of that architecture. 

First, we need stronger governance. I think that has been raised by the panelists. Instead of the confusion and incoherence that has fueled this pandemic, we need cooperation and collaboration in the face of common threats, that can address the trust deficit that we have seen.

At a Special Session of the World Health Assembly at the end of last year, WHO’s 194 Member States agreed to negotiate a new legally-binding instrument, to set the rules of the game for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

WHO also supports the recommendation for a heads of state council, to provide high-level political leadership for rapid and coordinated action. In our view, such a council must be anchored in the constitutional mandate of WHO, to ensure political, strategic and technical coherence.

Second, we need stronger systems and tools to prevent, detect, and respond rapidly to epidemics and pandemics. Already, WHO has taken steps to build some of these systems and tools, including the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin, to enhance global surveillance through collaborative intelligence; We’re piloting the WHO BioHub System, a new mechanism for countries to share novel biological materials; Several countries are now piloting the Universal Health and Preparedness Review, a new peer-review mechanism for enhancing national preparedness;

We established the ACT Accelerator, which has given us valuable experience and insights into how to fast-track equitable access to countermeasures; And to strengthen capacities for local production of vaccines and other health products in low- and middle-income countries, we have established the WHO Technology Transfer Hub in South Africa, which has now developed its own mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Today we announced the first six African countries to receive technology from the hub to produce their own mRNA vaccines: Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. But above all, not only the systems and tools, the central point will be developing the workforce. And that is why we are building the WHO Academy in Lyon, France.

And third, we need stronger financing. It’s obvious that nationally and globally, we need substantial resources for strengthening global health security. Our analysis estimates the needs at US$ 31 billion per year.

We estimate that about US$20 billion could come from existing and projected domestic and international resources, leaving a gap of US$ 10 billion per year. To close the gap for the most essential functions – such as surveillance, research and market-shaping for countermeasures – we support the idea of a new dedicated financing facility, anchored in, and directed by, WHO’s constitutional mandate, inclusive governance and technical expertise.

Any efforts to strengthen the global health security architecture can only succeed if they also strengthen WHO’s role at its centre, rather than creating further mechanisms that would only create further fragmentation and potentially leave the world less safe…

BioNTech introduces first modular mRNA manufacturing facility to promote scalable vaccine production in Africa
16 February 2022
:: Developing turnkey solution to enable mRNA-based vaccine production in modular and scalable sites installed by BioNTech
:: Presidents of Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, the Director of the Africa CDC and the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany met in Marburg to jointly discuss the infrastructure, regulatory and technological requirements to establish end-to-end manufacturing network for mRNA-based vaccines in Africa
:: First manufacturing facility to become a node in a decentralized and robust African end-to-end manufacturing network
:: Establishment of mRNA manufacturing facilities in Africa is planned in the partner countries Senegal, Rwanda and potentially South Africa; construction of first facility to start in mid-2022 in first partner country, with the others to follow suit. New project in Ghana to support manufacturing with fill-and-finish capacities

MAINZ, Germany, February 16, 2022 – BioNTech SE has taken a next step to improve vaccine supply in Africa. The company has introduced its approach to establishing scalable vaccine production by developing and delivering turnkey mRNA manufacturing facilities based on a container solution. At a high-level meeting at BioNTech’s new manufacturing facility in Marburg and at the invitation of kENUP Foundation, the company presented the container solution named “BioNTainer” to key partners…

The manufacturing solution consists of one drug substance and one formulation module, each called a BioNTainer. Each module is built of six ISO sized containers (2.6m x 2.4m x 12m). This allows for mRNA vaccine production in bulk (mRNA manufacturing and formulation), while fill-and-finish will be taken over by local partners. Each BioNTainer is a clean room which BioNTech equips with state-of-the-art manufacturing solutions. Together, two modules require 800 sqm of space and offer an estimated initial capacity of for example up to 50 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine each year. The BioNTainer will be equipped to manufacture a range of mRNA-based vaccines targeted to the needs of the African Union member states, for example the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and BioNTech’s investigational malaria and tuberculosis vaccines, if they are successfully developed, approved or authorized by regulatory authorities.

The capacity can be scaled up by adding further modules and sites to the manufacturing network on the African continent. One of the most critical parts of the manufacturing process is quality control, which includes all necessary tests for each finished vaccine batch. In partnership with local quality control testing labs, BioNTech will help to ensure the identity, composition, strength, purity, absence of product- and process-related impurities, as well as the absence of microbiological contamination of each produced batch.

The establishment of the first mRNA manufacturing facility by BioNTech in the African Union is expected to start in mid-2022. The first BioNTainer is expected to arrive in Africa in the second half of 2022. Manufacturing in the first BioNTainer is planned to commence approximately 12 months after the delivery of the modules to its final location in Africa. BioNTech expects to ship BioNTainers to Rwanda, Senegal and potentially South Africa in close coordination with the respective country and the African Union.

BioNTech will be responsible for the delivery and installation of the modules, while local organizations, authorities and governments will ensure the needed infrastructure. Partners in Ghana and South Africa could support the manufacturing with fill-and-finish capacities. BioNTech will work closely with local authorities to ensure compliance to relevant regulatory procedures of the national regulatory agencies in each partner country, and also coordinate where appropriate with relevant continental and international agencies, including WHO, Africa CDC, the African Medicines Agency (AMA), and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).

BioNTech will initially staff and operate the facilities to support the safe and rapid initiation of the production of mRNA-based vaccine doses under stringent good manufacturing processes (“GMP”) to prepare for the transfer of know-how to local partners to enable independent operation. Vaccines manufactured in these facilities are expected to be dedicated to domestic use and export to other member states of the African Union at a not-for-profit price..
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Featured Journal Content

Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology
https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/ierj20
Special Report
WHO collaborative registration procedure using stringent regulatory authorities’ medicine evaluation: reliance in action?
Alexandra Vaz et al.
Published online: 12 Feb 2022
https://doi.org/10.1080/17512433.2022.2037419
ABSTRACT
Introduction
The regulatory approval of medical products in countries with limited regulatory resources can be lengthy, which often compromises patients’ timely access to much-needed medicines. To improve the efficiency of regulatory systems, reliance is being used. Reliance allows an authority to leverage the work performed by other authorities, such as scientific evaluations, to decide on medical products approval within their jurisdiction. This reduces duplication of regulatory efforts, resources and time, while maintaining national sovereignty.
Areas covered
This article analyzes the outcomes and stakeholders’ experience of using medicines assessments performed by Stringent Regulatory Authorities (SRA) in the Collaborative Registration Procedures (CRP). Since its establishment in 2015, 59 approvals were granted to 16 medicines in 23 countries through SRA CRP. Results show that the procedure is delivering on the intended benefits of access and speed, with long-term positive impact for resource-limited countries. The article concludes with recommendations on the need for guidance on management of post-approval changes, wider promotion of the procedure, and increased collaboration between authorities.
Expert opinion
The SRA CRP provides a mechanism for the use of reliance by strengthening communication and promoting the exchange of information among regulators. This fosters faster regulatory approvals and, consequently, earlier access to medicines.

Featured Journal Content

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Coronavirus [COVID-19] – WHO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Weekly Epidemiological and Operational updates
Last update: 18 Feb 2022
Confirmed cases :: 418 650 474
Confirmed deaths :: 5 856 224
Vaccine doses administered: 10 279 668 555

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Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 – 15 February 2022
Overview
During the week of 7 to 13 February 2022, the global number of new COVID-19 cases decreased by 19% as compared to the number reported during the previous week, while the number of new deaths remained similar to that of the previous week. Across the six WHO regions, just over 16 million new cases and just under 75 000 new deaths were reported. As of 13 February 2022, over 409 million confirmed cases and over 5.8 million deaths have been reported globally.
At the regional level, the Western Pacific Region reported an increase of 19% in the number of new weekly cases while all other regions reported decreases: the South-East Asia Region (37% decrease), the Region of the Americas (32% decrease), the African Region (30% decrease), the European Region (16% decrease) and the Eastern Mediterranean Region (12% decrease). The number of new weekly deaths increased in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (38%), the Western Pacific Region (27%), the African Region (14%) and the Region of the Americas (5%), while it remained similar to that of the previous week in the European Region and decreased in the South-East Asia Region (9%)…

Featured Journal Content

WHO Director General Speeches [selected]
https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches
Selected
18 February 2022
Speech
WHO Director-General’s remarks at the Munich Security Conference – 18 February 2022

18 February 2022
Speech
WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at announcement “spokes” of mRNA technology transfer hub – 18 February 2022

18 February 2022
Speech
WHO Director-General’s remarks at thematic roundtable: health systems and vaccine production EU-AU Summit  – 18 February 2022

16 February 2022
Speech
WHO Director-General’s remarks at Vaccine Equity for Africa – 16 February 2022

14 February 2022
Speech
WHO Director-General’s remarks at the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting – 14 February 2022
We’re grateful for the leadership of the United States and all countries here today. I’ve just returned from South Africa yesterday, where I met with President Ramaphosa and saw first-hand the progress underway at the WHO mRNA vaccine technology transfer Hub. The commitment from the government and the private sector is real.  This historic initiative comes at a critical time.

In some countries, high vaccine coverage, combined with the lower severity of Omicron, is driving a false narrative that the pandemic is over. At the same time, low vaccine coverage and low testing rates in other countries are creating the ideal conditions for new variants to emerge. We can bring the pandemic under control this year – but we are at increased risk of squandering that opportunity.

Currently, 116 countries are off track for our shared target of vaccinating 70% of the population of every country by the middle of this year. Through the ACT Accelerator and the COVAX pillar and our partnership with UNICEF, we are now overcoming some of the supply and delivery constraints we faced last year, with more than 1 billion vaccine doses shipped. In many countries, the issues are not primarily a problem of absorptive capacity. We need to urgently support political leaders to accelerate the rollout of vaccines.

We welcome the ongoing engagement of all countries represented here today, the lines of effort proposed by the United States, and continued alignment with the ACT Accelerator and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

Let me leave you with three requests.
First, to vaccinate the world, we ask all countries to support WHO’s global target of 70%.

Second, to save lives now, we ask all countries to contribute their fair share to fully fund the ACT Accelerator, especially for the immediate need of US$ 16 billion.

Third, we need to support models such as the mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa and its network of spokes around the world, to build capacity for controlling COVID-19 and other preventable diseases.

As I mentioned, I have just witnessed the collaborative work being done at the Hub and by the vaccine developers participating in this historic effort, including Afrigen, Biovac, and the Biomedical Research Institute at Stellenbosch University. Fostering local vaccine manufacturing capacity throughout the globe,  supplemented by temporary intellectual property waivers for COVID-19 tools, will help bring this pandemic to an end and keep us all safer.

By working together, across the public and private sectors, we can bring the pandemic under control and drive an inclusive and sustainable recovery…

Featured Journal Content

SAVE THE DATE – Developing a framework for evaluating new COVID-19 vaccines
23 February 2022 13:00 – 19:30 CET
Download Agenda
Registration: https://who-e.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MBB2uq8ATsiuG-V2xQSR4w
The WHO R&D Blueprint is organizing a consultation to discuss emerging evidence towards the establishment of correlates of protection for COVID-19 vaccines.  There is a global need to increase the supply of vaccines that likely meet the WHO TPP criteria for effectiveness against severe disease.
WHO is considering the development of a framework to help evaluate new vaccines, against currently circulating variants or for pan-sarbecovirus vaccines. This may also help inform researchers and developers decisions on how to generate additional data for the assessment of new vaccines.
The scientific elements of the proposed framework will be presented and discussed during this meeting.

EPI-WIN webinar: Update on COVID-19 vaccines & vaccine safety monitoring
23 February 2022 14:00 – 15:00 CET
Please join us for a technical briefing on the different types of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine safety monitoring.
Speakers:
:: Dr. Martin Friede, Unit Head,Vaccine and Immunology Research , WHO
:: Dr Madhava Ram Balakrishnan, Medical Officer, Global Vaccine Safety, WHO
Registratoin: https://who-e.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_L_tGfKBdSe6ENX7as9NThA

Status of COVID-19 Vaccines within WHO EUL/PQ evaluation process 23 December 2021
[Full scale view available at title link above]
[Updated on 18 February 2022]

COVID Vaccines/Therapeutics – Developer/Manufacturer Announcements
[Selected press releases/announcements from organizations from WHO EUL/PQ listing above and other organizations]

AstraZeneca
Press Releases – No new digest announcements identified

Bharat Biotech
Press Releases – No new digest announcements identified

BioCubaFarma – Cuba
Últimas Noticias – No new digest announcements identified

Biontech
Press Releases
BioNTech introduces first modular mRNA manufacturing facility to promote scalable vaccine production in Africa
16 February 2022
[See Perspectives above for detail]

BioNTech to Join High-level Meeting with Partners in Marburg and to Hold Press Conference to Provide an Update on Sustainable Vaccine Manufacturing in Africa
15 February 2022

CanSinoBIO
News – [Website not responding at inquiry]

Clover Biopharmaceuticals – China
News – No new digest announcements identified

Curevac [Bayer Ag – Germany]
News
February 10, 2022
CureVac Doses First Participant in Phase 1 Study with Multivalent Influenza Vaccine Candidate Based on Second-Generation mRNA Backbone Developed in Collaboration with GSK

Gamaleya National Center
Latest News and Events – See Russia below

IMBCAMS, China
Home – Website not responding at inquiry

Janssen/JNJ
Press Releases – No new digest announcements identified

Moderna
Press Releases
February 18, 2022
Moderna Expands Its mRNA Pipeline with Three New Development Programs
:: mRNA-1608 is a vaccine candidate against Herpes simplex virus (HSV)
:: mRNA-1468 is a vaccine candidate against varicella-zoster virus (VZV) to reduce the rate of herpes zoster (shingles)
:: mRNA-4359 is a new checkpoint cancer vaccine

February 16, 2022
Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia Authorizes Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine in Children (6-11 Years)

Moderna Announces Plan to Expand Commercial Footprint in Europe Across Six Additional Countries

Moderna and ROVI Expand Long-term Collaboration for the Manufacture of MRNA Medicines Over the Next Ten Years

February 15, 2022
Moderna Announces Plan to Expand Footprint in Asia with Four Additional Subsidiaries

Novavax
Press Releases
Health Canada Authorizes Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine
Feb 17, 2022

Singapore Health Sciences Authority Issues Interim Authorization for Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine
Feb 14, 2022

Novavax Files for Conditional Marketing Authorization of COVID-19 Vaccine in Switzerland
Feb 14, 2022

Pfizer
Recent Press Releases
02.15.2022
European Medicines Agency Approves Pfizer’s 20-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Against Invasive Pneumococcal Disease and Pneumonia in Adults

Sanofi Pasteur
Press Releases – No new digest announcements identified

Serum Institute of India
NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS – No new digest announcements identified

Shifa Pharmed [Iran]
http://shafapharmed.com/
No news page identified.

Sinopharm/WIBPBIBP
News – No new digest announcements identified

Sinovac
Press Releases
CUHK and SINOVAC Biotech (Hong Kong) Limited strategic collaboration framework agreement signing ceremony
2022/02/18

Vector State Research Centre of Viralogy and Biotechnology
Home – No new digest announcements identified

Zhifei Longcom, China
[Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biologic Pharmacy Co., Ltd.]
[No website identified]

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GSK
Press releases for media
GSK provides update on phase III RSV maternal vaccine candidate programme
18 February 2022 GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) today announced that it has voluntarily paused enrolment and vaccination in the GRACE phase III trial (NCT04605159), evaluating its potential respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) maternal vaccine candidate, as well as two other trials investigating this candidate in pregnant women (NCT04980391, NCT05229068).
This decision was made following a recommendation from the Independent Data Monitoring Committee based on an observation from a routine safety assessment. Monitoring safety signals is an integral part of the clinical development process for potential new vaccines…

Merck
News releases – No new digest announcements identified

Novartis
News – No new digest announcements identified

SK Biosciences
Press releases – No new digest announcements identified

Valneva
Press Releases – No new digest announcements identified

Featured Journal Content

UNICEF COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard :: Agreements Table Accessed 19 Feb 2022
An overview of information collected from publicly announced bilateral and multilateral supply agreements [no new agreements since 10/22/2021 reported]

Featured Journal Content

COVID-19 Global Targets and Progress Tracker – IMF
The COVID-19 Global Targets and Progress Tracker presents a consolidated view of the progress towards global COVID-19 targets, barriers in access to COVID-19 tools, and delivery of donor pledges. The global targets presented in the Tracker are based on an alignment of the targets identified in the IMF Pandemic Proposal, ACT-A Strategic Plan & Budget, and the US-hosted Global C19 Summit, and as such have been reaffirmed by multilateral institutions and global leaders. We will continue to enhance the tracker as we improve our data collection efforts.

Featured Journal Content

Global COVID-19 Access Tracker
https://www.covid19globaltracker.org/

Featured Journal Content

Global Dashboard on COVID-19 Vaccine Equity
The Dashboard is a joint initiative of UNDP, WHO and the University of Oxford with cooperation across the UN system, anchored in the SDG 3 Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All.

Dashboard on Vaccine Equity [accessed 19 Feb 2022]: https://data.undp.org/vaccine-equity/
See also visualization on Vaccine Access and Vaccine Affordability

Featured Journal Content

Duke – Launch and Scale Speedometer
The Race for Global COVID-19 Vaccine Equity
A flurry of nearly 200 COVID-19 vaccine candidates are moving forward through the development and clinical trials processes at unprecedented speed; more than ten candidates are already in Phase 3 large-scale trials and several have received emergency or limited authorization. Our team has aggregated and analyzed publicly available data to track the flow of procurement and manufacturing and better understand global equity challenges. We developed a data framework of relevant variables and conducted desk research of publicly available information to identify COVID vaccine candidates and status, deals and ongoing negotiations for procurement and manufacturing, COVID burden by country, and allocation and distribution plans. We have also conducted interviews with public officials in key countries to better understand the context and challenges facing vaccine allocation and distribution
[accessed 24 July 2021]
See our COVID Vaccine Purchases research
See our COVID Vaccine Manufacturing research
See our COVID Vaccine Donations & Exports research

Featured Journal Content

COVID Vaccines – OCHA:: HDX

COVID-19 Data Explorer: Global Humanitarian Operations
COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out
19 Feb 2022 | COVAX (WHO,GAVI,CEPI), UNDESA, Press Reports | DATA
Global COVID-19 Figures: 418M total confirmed cases; 5.9M total confirmed deaths
Global vaccines administered: 10.4B
Number of Countries: 28
COVAX Allocations Round 4-9 (Number of Doses): 170M
COVAX Delivered (Number of Doses): 250M
Other Delivered (Number of Doses): 230M
Total Delivered (Number of Doses): 480M
Total Administered (Number of Doses): 320M

Featured Journal Content

Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19 [IMF, World Bank Group, WHO, WTO]
https://data.covid19taskforce.com/data
A global effort to help developing countries access and deliver COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and therapeutics, as they work to end the pandemic and boost economic recovery.
The International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization have joined forces to accelerate access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics by leveraging multilateral finance and trade solutions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Website accessed 19 Feb 2022: https://data.covid19taskforce.com/data The global view below is complemented by country-specific dashboards here.

Featured Journal Content

Our World in Data
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations [Accessed 19 Feb 2022]
:: 61.9% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
:: 10.42 billion doses have been administered globally, and 30.92 million are now administered each day.
:: Only 10.6% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.

Featured Journal Content

U.S.: COVID-19 Vaccines – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment

HHS
News
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Welcomes Robert Califf Back to HHS as FDA Commissioner
February 17, 2022 | News Release

BARDA – U.S. Department of HHS [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://aspr.hhs.gov/newsroom/Pages/NewsRoomHome.aspx
News
DOD Awards Contracts to Purchase COVID-19 Antigen Over-the-Counter Test Kits in Support of POTUS’ One Billion Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests
Friday, February 18, 2022

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FDA
Press Announcements
No new digest content identified.

Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee– FDA
https://www.fda.gov/advisory-committees/blood-vaccines-and-other-biologics/vaccines-and-related-biological-products-advisory-committee
Calendar
Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee March 3, 2022 Meeting Announcement – 03/03/2022

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White House [U.S.]
Briefing Room – Selected Major COVID Announcements
Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate on the Continuation of the National Emergency Concerning the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-⁠19) Pandemic
February 18, 2022 • Statements and Releases

Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency Concerning the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-⁠19) Pandemic
February 18, 2022 • Presidential Actions
On March 13, 2020, by Proclamation 9994, the President declared a national emergency concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.  The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation.  For this reason, the national emergency declared on March 13, 2020, and beginning March 1, 2020, must continue in effect beyond March 1, 2022. ,,

Press Briefing by White House COVID-⁠19 Response Team and Public Health Officials
February 16, 2022 • Press Briefings

U.S. Department of State
https://www.state.gov/coronavirus/releases/
Media Notes
Special Briefing
Digital Press Briefing with Acting Coordinator for Global COVID-19 Response and Health Security Mary Beth Goodman
Digital Press Briefing with Acting Coordinator for Global COVID-19 Response and Health Security Mary Beth Goodman February 15, 2022

Press Statement
The COVID-19 Global Action Meeting
Antony J. Blinken February 14, 2022
… Participants joining the United States in the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting included the Commonwealth of Australia, Canada, the Republic of Colombia, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, the Italian Republic, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Senegal, the Republic of South Africa, the Kingdom of Spain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the African Union/Africa Centres for Disease Control, the European Commission, and the World Health Organization.

Featured Journal Content

Europe: COVID-19 Vaccines – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment

European Medicines Agency
News & Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

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European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en
Latest Updates [Selected]
Publication
Data collection on COVID-19 outbreaks in closed settings: long-term care facilities, version 2.1
Technical report – 18 Feb 2022

Publication
Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 testing policy in Belgium from June to December 2021
Technical report – 14 Feb 2022

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Accessed 19 Feb 2022
https://vaccinetracker.ecdc.europa.eu/public/extensions/COVID-19/vaccine-tracker.html#uptake-tab

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European Commission
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/home/en
Speech 19 February 2022
Speech by President von der Leyen at the Munich Security Conference 2022

Statement 18 February 2022
Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference on the global mRNA technology transfer hub

Statement 16 February 2022
Statement by President von der Leyen at the ‘Vaccine Equity for Africa’ launch event, co-organised by BioNTech SE and the kENUP Foundation

Press release 15 February 2022
Press release on the EU participation to the small group of foreign ministers meeting to coordinate enhanced COVID-19 response
In the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting, convened by US Secretary of State Blinken and gathering the EU, represented by Commissioner Urpilainen, and other partner countries, participants discussed yesterday a ‘COVID-19 Global Action Plan’…The EU and its Member States, acting as Team Europe, have been at the fore-front of efforts to tackle the pandemic globally and are committed to co-lead this Global Action Plan, in line with the ongoing Team Europe response to the pandemic. The EU will remain active in all 6 priority areas and specifically offered to co-lead with partners to coordinate actions to tackle vaccine hesitancy and combat disinformation, get shots in arms, bolster supply chain resilience and strengthen the global health security architecture…

Featured Journal Content

Africa: COVID-19 – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment

Accessed 19 Feb 2022. Full scale, interactive dashboard available at:
https://africacdc.org/covid-19-vaccination/

Featured Journal Content

Russia: COVID-19 Vaccines – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment

Russia: Sputnik V – “the first registered COVID-19 vaccine”
https://sputnikvaccine.com/newsroom/pressreleases/
Press Releases
Clinical trials in Russia and Azerbaijan demonstrated safety of AstraZeneca and Sputnik Light vaccines combination
Press release, 14.02.2022

Featured Journal Content

India: COVID-19 Vaccines – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

https://www.mohfw.gov.in/

Government of India – Press Information Bureau
Latest Press Releases
COVID – 19 Vaccination Update – Day 400
:: India’s cumulative vaccination coverage over 175 Crore
:: More than 27 lakh Vaccine doses administered today till 7 pm
Posted On: 19 FEB 2022 8:06PM by PIB Delhi

Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR)
https://www.icmr.gov.in/media.html
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

Featured Journal Content

China: COVID-19 Vaccines – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment

Financial Times
19 Feb 2022, p.1
Coronavirus pandemic
Illegal border crossings push Hong Kong Covid outbreak into China
Pressure from Beijing to eradicate outbreak raises prospect of stricter controls
China’s rigorous “zero-Covid” policy is facing an unexpected new threat in the form of illegal border crossings by people fleeing a worsening virus outbreak in Hong Kong.
Some Chinese cities have offered rewards for information about people smuggling after 15 individuals illegally entered Zhuhai, in southern Guangdong province, by boat from Hong Kong. At least four of them had Covid-19 and later travelled to other parts of China, according to Chinese media reports.
The cases came in a week when President Xi Jinping said eradicating the outbreak must be Hong Kong’s top priority. The local authorities are already weighing mandatory testing for the territory’s entire population followed by quarantine for anyone found to be infected.
The prospect of strict controls continuing with no end date is heightening business concern that Hong Kong’s position as a financial centre is being hurt by the decision to effectively cut off the territory from the outside world since early in the pandemic.
On Friday, the Chinese government’s top representative in Hong Kong summoned real estate tycoons to a meeting at which they discussed contributing hotels, properties and other resources to the effort…

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
https://polioeradication.org/polio-today/polio-now/this-week/

Polio this week as of 16 February 2022
:: During the fourth meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks convened on Wednesday 9 February, members issued two statements on Yemen and Afghanistan calling for uninterrupted access for vaccinations to all children and declared the ongoing circulation of any strain of poliovirus in the Region to be a regional public health emergency. Read more…

Summary of new WPV and cVDPV viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
– Djibouti: two cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
– Mozambique:  two cVDPV2 cases
– Nigeria: 16 cVDPV2 cases and 18 positive environmental samples
– Somalia: one cVDPV2 case

::::::

Republic of Malawi Reported Confirmed Case of Poliomyelitis
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia- February 18 2022. On 17 February 2022, the Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Health reported one confirmed case of Poliomyelitis in the country. The Government of Malawi has declared this outbreak as a Public Health Emergency and will activate an Emergency Operations Committee, with the aim of conducting rapid risk assessment and situational analysis. The Government of Malawi has also stated that this is an imported case and there is no evidence of community circulation of the virus. In the absence prompt and effective response, the outbreak has the potential to spread in the country and even beyond boarders and could negatively affect the global Polio elimination and eradication agenda…

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

Disease Outbreak News (DONs)
:: 14 February 2022 | Lassa Fever – Nigeria

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

WHO/OCHA Emergencies

Health emergencies list – WHO
“The health emergencies list details the disease outbreaks, disasters and humanitarian crises where WHO plays an essential role in supporting countries to respond to and recover from emergencies with public health consequences.”
Afghanistan crisis [Last apparent update: 17 Jan 2022]

Crisis in Northern Ethiopia [Last apparent update: 1 June 2021]

Ebola outbreak, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2021 [Last apparent update: 17 Aug 2021]

Ebola outbreak outbreak, N’Zerekore, Guinea, 2021 [Last apparent update: 17 Aug 2021]

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic [See COVID above]

Ebola outbreak, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2020
[Last apparent update: 17 Aug 2021]

Ebola outbreak, North Kivu, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2018 – 2020
[Last apparent update: 17 Aug 2021]

Ebola outbreak, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2018 [Last apparent update: 24 July 2018]

Yemen crisis [Last apparent update: 12 February 2021]

Syria crisis [Last apparent update: 18 June 2021]

Somalia crisis [Last apparent update: 24 March 2018]

Nigeria crisis [Last apparent update: 1 Oct 2021]

Ebola outbreak, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2017 [Last apparent update: 17 Aug 2021]

Zika virus disease outbreak, 2015-2016 [Last apparent update: 24 Jan 2020]

Ebola outbreak: West Africa, 2014-2016 [Last apparent update: 17 Aug 2021]

Iraq crisis [Last apparent update: 9 Jan 2008]

South Sudan crisis [Last apparent update: 23 Sep 2020]

Avian influenza A (H7N9) virus outbreak [Last apparent update: 13 September 2021]

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) outbreak [Last apparent update: 8 July 2019]

Influenza A (H1N1) virus, 2009-2010 pandemic [Last apparent update: 10 Aug 2010]

::::::

UN OCHA – Current Emergencies
Current Corporate Emergencies
Afghanistan
No new updates identified.

Northern Ethiopia
Ethiopia – Northern Ethiopia Humanitarian Update Situation Report, 17 February 2022
HIGHLIGHTS
The humanitarian situation in Afar continues to deteriorate with large-scale displacement leading to increased needs while access to many areas is not feasible due to insecurity.
Additional medical supplies airlifted to Mekelle, but partners are not able to dispatch and distribute them to health facilities across Tigray due to lack of fuel.
As part of the second measles campaign in Tigray last week, more than 60,000 children under five and about 11,000 pregnant and lactating women were screened for malnutrition.
About 78,000 children and pregnant and lactating women in seven woredas in Afar are currently benefiting from supplementary feeding programs.
More than 127,000 people reached with food assistance under two food distribution rounds in Amhara during the reporting week.

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

WHO & Regional Offices [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.who.int/
News [Selected]
18 February 2022
News release
WHO announces first technology recipients of mRNA vaccine hub with strong support from African and European partners
[See COVID above for detail]

17 February 2022
Statement
A € 500 million pledge under the WHO – EIB partnership, with the support of the EU, for health systems in Africa

17 February 2022
Departmental news
WHO announces the development of new guidance on offering long acting injectable cabotegravir as HIV prevention for people at substantial risk for HIV infection

15 February 2022
Departmental news
WHO collaborative registration procedure using stringent regulatory authorities’ medicine evaluation: reliance in action?
[See Featured Journal Content above for detail]

::::::

WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region
17 February 2022 Malawi declares polio outbreak

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: PAHO launches 120th Anniversary campaign
Washington D.C. 17 February 2022 (PAHO) – Today, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) kicks off its anniversary campaign to celebrate 120 years of active work promoting health and wellbeing throughout the Americas, with a calendar of events set to catalyze dialogue around the region’s pressing health challenges. Founded in 1902 under the…
:: Reduced public health measures contributed to deadly COVID-19 surge in the Americas, PAHO Director says
Deaths rose to 202 people per hour in the Region, despite overall decline in cases. Washington D.C. February 16, 2022 (PAHO) – Complacency around mask wearing, travel, and indoor gatherings created a perfect opportunity for the new Omicron variant to spread rapidly throughout the region and increase deaths, alerted PAHO Director, Carissa F.…
:: PAHO delivers 100 million COVAX vaccine doses to Latin America and the Caribbean
Milestone reached today with delivery of 1.5 million total doses, donated by Spain to Ecuador   Washington D.C. 14 February 2022 (PAHO) – The number of doses of COVID-19 vaccine delivered by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to Latin America and the Caribbean reached 100 million today, thanks to the efforts of the organization’s…
:: 55% of children and adolescents with cancer recover in Latin America and the Caribbean
PAHO calls for improvements in survival rates. Washington, DC, February 15, 2022 (PAHO)- To mark the International Day against Childhood Cancer, celebrated today, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) calls for improvements in survival rates of children and adolescents with cancer, currently at 55% in Latin America and the Caribbean.…

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

WHO European Region EURO
:: Preparing the next generation of laboratory leaders 16-02-2022
:: WHO launches fact sheet series on environmental health inequalities in Europe 16-02-2022
:: Risk remains high in eastern Europe and central Asia with arrival of COVID-19 Omicron variant 15-02-2022
:: New WHO report highlights scale of childhood cancer inequalities in the European Region 15-02-2022

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: WHO validates the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in Saudi Arabia 15 February 2022

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: 18 January 2022 WHO supports whole-of-UN response to volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga

::::::

WHO Events
https://www.who.int/news-room/events/2
[Selected]
WHO Consultation on the Composition of Influenza Virus Vaccines for Use in the 2022-23 Northern Hemisphere Influenza Season
21 – 24 February 2022

SAVE THE DATE – Developing a framework for evaluating new COVID-19 vaccines
23 February 2022 13:00 – 19:30 CET

EPI-WIN webinar: Update on COVID-19 vaccines & vaccine safety monitoring
23 February 2022 14:00 – 15:00 CET

COVID-19 Global Research and Innovation Forum: An invitation to the research community
24 – 25 February 2022

9th ACT-Accelerator Facilitation Council meeting
28 February 2022 12:30 – 15:00 CET
Primary Objectives 
:: To take stock of progress to meet global COVID-19 targets for vaccines, tests, treatments and PPE
:: Share country experience, lessons learnt and progress in meeting global COVID-19 targets
:: Reinforce Facilitation Council commitment and political support for the ACT-Accelerator campaign

::::::

New WHO Publications
https://www.who.int/publications/i
Selected Titles
18 February 2022
WHO Guidelines for malaria
Overview
The WHO Guidelines for malaria bring together the Organization’s most up-to-date recommendations for malaria in one user-friendly and easy-to-navigate online platform.
The WHO Guidelines for malaria  supersedes 2 previous WHO publications: the Guidelines for the treatment of malaria, third edition and the Guidelines for malaria vector control. Recommendations on malaria will continue to be reviewed and, where appropriate, updated based on the latest available evidence. Any updated recommendations will always display the date of the most recent revision in the MAGICapp platform. With each update, a new PDF version of the consolidated guidelines will also be available for download on the WHO website.
The third version of the Guidelines includes a new section on malaria vaccines and  replaces the versions published on 16 February 2021 and 13 July 2021.

17 February 2022
Contact tracing and quarantine in the context of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant: interim guidance
Overview
This interim guidance has been developed in the background of the present global surge of cases due to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and is meant to be read in conjunction with the current WHO guidance on contact tracing and quarantine. A consolidated contact tracing and quarantine guidance with updated evidence is currently under development, which, when ready, will replace both this CT Omicron interim guidance as well as the current contact tracing and quarantine guidance documents. This Omicron CT interim guidance should also be read in conjunction with the following WHO interim guidance documents…

17 February 2022
Antiretroviral medicines in low- and middle-income countries: forecasts of global and regional demand…

16 February 2022
HIV diagnostic tests in low- and middle-income countries: forecasts of global demand for 2021–2025

16 February 2022
Antiretroviral medicines in low- and middle-income countries: forecasts of global and regional demand…

15 February 2022
Questions and Answers: COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy

14 February 2022
Public health surveillance for COVID-19: interim guidance

14 February 2022
WHO guideline on control and elimination of human schistosomiasis

CDC/ACIP [U.S.] [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html
Latest News Releases, Announcements [Selected]
CDC Media Telebriefing: COVID-19 Vaccination and Pregnancy
Tuesday, February 15, 2022

ACIP Meetings
Next meeting scheduled for February 23-24, 2022
Draft Agenda – February 23-24, 2022

MMWR News Synopsis Friday, February 18, 2022
Selected Content
:: Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Recommended Immunization Schedule for Adults Aged 19 Years or Older — United States, 2022
:: Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Recommended Immunization Schedule for Children and Adolescents Aged 18 Years or Younger — United States, 2022
:: Multistate Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) Variant Infections Among Persons in a Social Network Attending Convention — New York City, November 18–December 20, 2021
:: Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Associated With a Large Indoor Convention — New York City, November–December 2021
:: Notes from the Field: Outbreak of COVID-19 Among a Highly Vaccinated Population Aboard a U.S. Navy Ship After a Port Visit — Reykjavik, Iceland, July 2021
:: Previously Released: Waning 2-Dose and 3-Dose Effectiveness of mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19–Associated Emergency Department and Urgent Care Encounters and Hospitalizations Among Adults During Periods of Delta and Omicron Variant Predominance — VISION Network, 10 States, August 2021–January 2022
:: Previously Released: Effectiveness of Maternal Vaccination with mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine During Pregnancy Against COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization in Infants Aged
:: Previously Released: Hospitalizations of Children and Adolescents with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 14 States, July 2021–January 2022

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)– CDC
Approximately 25 announcements/reports/data summaries.
2/18/22 EARLY RELEASE: Pediatric Emergency Department Visits Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January 2019–January 2022
2/18/22 Overall US COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Administration Update as of Fri, 18 Feb 2022 06:00:00 EST
2/18/22 Steps for Determining Close Contact and Quarantine in K–12 Schools
2/17/22 Notes from the Field: Outbreak of COVID-19 Among a Highly Vaccinated Population Aboard a U.S. Navy Ship After a Port Visit — Reykjavik, Iceland, July 2021
2/17/22 Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Associated With a Large Indoor Convention — New York City, November–December 2021
2/17/22 Multistate Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) Variant Infections Among Persons in a Social Network Attending a Convention — New York City, November 18–December 20, 2021
2/17/22 Hospitalizations of Children and Adolescents with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 14 States, July 2021–January 2022

Africa CDC [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.africacdc.org/
News
Republic of Malawi Reported Confirmed Case of Poliomyelitis
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia- February 18 2022. On 17 February 2022, the Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Health reported one confirmed case of Poliomyelitis in the country. The Government of Malawi has declared this outbreak as a Public Health Emergency and will activate an Emergency Operations Committee, with the aim of conducting rapid risk assessment and situational analysis. The Government of Malawi has also stated that this is an imported case and there is no evidence of community circulation of the virus. In the absence prompt and effective response, the outbreak has the potential to spread in the country and even beyond boarders and could negatively affect the global Polio elimination and eradication agenda…

Communiqué
Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing: Scaling up Rapid Antigen Self-testing
17 February 2022

China CDC http://www.chinacdc.cn/en/

National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://en.nhc.gov.cn/
News
Feb 19: Daily briefing on novel coronavirus cases in China
On Feb 18, 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps on the Chinese mainland reported 137 new cases of confirmed infections.

Central-level agency announced to supervise disease control
Updated: 2022-02-17
chinadaily.com.cn
A central-level disease control and prevention body, which was established amid the COVID-19 pandemic, will take charge of a range of work regarding building the country’s emergency response capacity and regular monitoring of public health risks, according to a circular issued on Wednesday.
The document, jointly issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, stipulates that the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control — the official name of the new agency — will also be tasked to supervise and manage local disease control agencies and disease control work at medical institutions.
Such responsibilities were previously dispersed among several bureaus of the National Health Commission — the country’s top health authority.
The commission, a ministerial-level body, will still oversee the newly-established disease control agency, which is designated as being on a vice-ministerial level, according to the circular…

NHC fully supports Hong Kong in countering COVID-19 outbreak
2022-02-17
BEIJING — China’s National Health Commission (NHC) on Thursday said it will continue fully supporting the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and meet its demands in containing the current COVID-19 outbreak.
The commission said in a statement on the website that it has been paying close attention to the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong…

National Medical Products Administration – PRC [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://english.nmpa.gov.cn/
News
4.56 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on Chinese mainland
2022-02-17
The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on the Chinese mainland grew by more than 4.56 million on Tuesday, with the total number now over 3.05 billion, data from the National Health Commission showed on Feb 16.

CCDC Weekly Reports: Current Volume (4)
2022-02-18 / No. 7ONE HEALTH ISSUE
View  PDF of this issue
:: Foreword: Insight on Infectious Diseases from the Perspective of One Health
:: Preplanned Studies: A Landscape Analysis on Virus: based on NCBI Database

::::::

 
 
Organization Announcements
Editor’s Note:
Careful readers will note that the number and range of organizations now monitored in our Announcements section below has grown as the impacts of the pandemic have spread across global economies, supply chains and programmatic activity of multilateral agencies and INGOs.
 
 
Airfinity [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.airfinity.com/insights
INSIGHTS & COMPANY NEWS
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://alleninstitute.org/news-press/
News
A map of all our brains’ blood vessel cells finds new clues to Alzheimer’s disease
February 14, 2022
Scientists release the first cell-by-cell atlas of the human blood-brain barrier
 
 
BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center
Press Releases and Statements
Press release
Feb 17, 2022
Bill Gates Meets Prime Minister Imran Khan to Discuss Progress Against Polio, Steps to Overcome Final Challenges to Eradication
SEATTLE (February 17, 2022) – Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, today met with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and other leaders in Islamabad to discuss the country’s progress in the effort to stop poliovirus transmission. Pakistan is one of two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where wild polio continues to circulate, although not a single child has been paralyzed by the wild polio virus in Pakistan for more than a year…

Press release
Feb 15, 2022
Ahead of EU–AU Summit, African Medicines Regulators Receive Boost of More Than 100 Million Euros from Team Europe and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
SEATTLE (February 15, 2022) — In a strong endorsement of the work of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) to strengthen medicines regulators and improve health security on the African continent, the European Union (EU)—including the European Commission, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and EU member states Belgium, France, and Germany—and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) will mobilize more than 100 million euros over the next five years to support the recently established African Medicines Agency (AMA) and other African medicines regulatory initiatives at regional and national levels. This support to strengthen regulatory capacity will improve health security in Africa, including through the expansion of local manufacturing of quality, safe, efficacious, and affordable medicines, vaccines, and other health tools…
 
 
Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.gatesmri.org/news
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 19 Feb 2022]
https://carb-x.org/
News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy – GE2P2 Global Foundation [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.net/
News/Analysis/Statements
:: Informed Consent: A Monthly Review – February 2022 is now posted here
:: Past weekly editions and posting of all segments of Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review are available here.
:: Statement on ICF [Informed Consent Form] Posting for Clinical Trials Involving Gene Editing/Gene Therapies – Invitation to Endorse
 
 
CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://cepi.net/
Latest News
CEPI, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the Munich Security Conference Convene Global Actors on Accelerating the Development of Vaccines against Future Pandemic Threats
18 Feb 2022
 
 
DARPA – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [U.S.] [to 19 Feb 2022
https://www.darpa.mil/news
News
2/16/2022
DARPA Program to Reduce Mosquito Attraction and Biting Moves into Second Phase
Mosquitoes are vectors of a number of diseases, and are responsible for the majority of insect bites worldwide. The insects are attracted to humans, in part, by chemicals emitted in human breath. It is the heat and volatile molecules from the human skin microbiome, however, that direct mosquitoes to specific feeding sites on the body. The ReVector program aims to precisely, safely, and efficiently reduce mosquito attraction and biting, and, subsequently, to help maintain the health of military personnel operating in disease-endemic regions. In its first phase, ReVector performers developed technologies to modify human skin microbes and modulate the volatiles that these microbiomes produce. The teams tested petri dish formulations of their modified microbe communities with three mosquito types to gauge changes in attraction.
 
 
Duke Global Health Innovation Center [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://dukeghic.org/
Our Blog
No new digest content identified.
 
 
EDCTP [to 19 Feb 2022]
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
News
17 February 2022
EDCTP joins Europe PubMed Central
EDCTP has become a member of Europe PMC (PubMed Central), an open science platform that maintains a worldwide collection of scientific articles and research outputs. Joining Europe PMC enables EDCTP-funded researchers to share their publications via one central location. Sharing publications by EuropePMC ensures that they will also satisfy the requirements for EDCTP-funded research projects: making publications openly accessible as soon as possible.
 
 
Emory Vaccine Center [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
Vaccine Center News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
European Vaccine Initiative [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/
Latest News, Events
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Evidence Aid [to 19 Feb 2022]
Evidence Aid aims to save lives and livelihoods in disasters by providing decision-makers with the best available evidence and by championing its use.
http://www.evidenceaid.org/
New Resources
Interleukin-1 blocking agents for treating COVID-19 (search done on 5 November 2021) Added February 17, 2022

Fear of needles: possible impact on delivery of vaccines and treatments Added February 15, 2022
 
 
Fondation Merieux [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
News, Events
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Gavi [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.gavi.org/
News Releases
No new digest content identified.
 
 
GHIT Fund [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Global Fund [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News & Stories
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness [GloPID-R] [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.glopid-r.org/news/
News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Hilleman Laboratories [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
News & Insights
HILLEMAN VACCINES & BIOLOGICS SYMPOSIUM – 23 February 2022
agenda
register
 
 
HHMI – Howard Hughes Medical Institute [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.hhmi.org/news
Press Room
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Human Vaccines Project [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/
News
Global COVID Lab Meeting
Feb 24, 2022
Salim Abdool Karim: Covid-19 in South Africa – an Update on Omicron
 
 
HVP COVID Report
Feb 18, 2022
Kristen Jill Abboud: How Many Doses of COVID-19 Vaccines Are Enough?
 
 
IAVI [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.iavi.org/
Latest News
February 9, 2022
Meet the IAVI 2022 TB vaccine social media advocacy fellows
Using the power of social media to illuminate the urgent need for sustainable TB vaccine R&D

International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities [ICMRA]
http://www.icmra.info/drupal/en/news
Selected Statements, Press Releases, Research
No new digest content identified.

IFFIm
http://www.iffim.org/
Press Releases/Announcements
No new digest content identified.
 
 
IFRC [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
17/02/2022
Solomon Islands: Vaccines vital as COVID overloads Health system
Kuala Lumpur/Honiara/Suva, 17 February 2022 – Ramping up vaccinations is critical in the Solomon Islands as COVID-19 crashes across the country overloading the country’s fragile health system from the capital city Honiara to remote islands and villages.
Free of COVID-19 in the community one month ago, the Solomon Islands has reported nearly 5,000 infections and more than 50 deaths. Last week, authorities said one in every two people had COVID-19 symptoms, and testing was overwhelmed, indicating that many more people are sick with the virus…

Institut Pasteur [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.pasteur.fr/en/press-area
Press Documents
17.02.2022
Legionellosis: a novel mechanism by which the bacterium Legionella pneumophila regulates the immune response of its host cells

16.02.2022
SARS-CoV-2-related viruses capable of infecting human cells discovered in bats in northern Laos
 
 
IOM / International Organization for Migration [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.iom.int/press-room/press-releases
News – Selected
News
18 Feb 2022
COVID-19 Immunization Campaign Targets Mobile Communities Along Gambia-Senegal Border: Over 1,500 Vaccinated

News
18 Feb 2022
IOM Concerned about Increasing Deaths on Greece-Turkey Border

News
17 Feb 2022
UN Secretary-General Launches Report on the Implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

News
16 Feb 2022
IOM Issue Briefs Present a Way Forward on UN Secretary-General’s GCM Report Recommendations
 
 
ISC / International Science Council [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://council.science/current/
ISC is a non-governmental organization with a unique global membership that brings together 40 international scientific Unions and Associations and over 140 national and regional scientific organizations including Academies and Research Councils.
News Blogs Podcasts
Blogs
Strengthening emergency communications for complex, cascading and compounding events – lessons learned from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption and tsunami in Tonga
14.02.2022
 
 
IVAC [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
Updates; Events
Dr. Rupali Limaye Appointed Deputy Director of IVAC
February 2022
The International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) is pleased to announce that Rupali Limaye, PhD, MPH, MA, been appointed as its new Deputy Director. Dr. Limaye joined IVAC in 2020 as the Director of Behavioral and Implementation Science and is a full-time faculty member in the Departments of International Health, Epidemiology, and Health, Behavior and Society […]
 
 
IVI [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.ivi.int/
IVI News & Announcements
IVI named operator of ‘2022 Global Bio-Intensive Training Courses’ by Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare
Institute to run training program on vaccines and biologics development and manufacturing and GxP for 450 trainees from LMICs and Korea
February 16, 2022
 
 
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/news/center-news/
Center News
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the Munich Security Conference Convene Global Actors on Accelerating the Development of Vaccines against Future Pandemic Threats
February 18, 2022
Today, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research convened 9 government officials and 9 technical experts for a tabletop exercise and roundtable discussion on greatly accelerating the development and equitable availability of vaccines against future pandemic threats.
The virtual event, Every Day Counts: A Pandemic Vaccine Exercise, was hosted within the framework of the German G7 Presidency and as an official side event of the 2022 Munich Security Conference. The meeting was a closed-door event for government officials and technical advisors…

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Hosts Southeast Asia Strategic Multilateral Biosecurity Dialogue to Explore Lessons from National Pandemic Responses
February 16, 2022
 
 
MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.msf.org/
Latest [Selected Announcements]
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic
Protecting people with comorbidities with COVID-19 vaccinations in Khayelitsha
Press Release 17 Feb 2022
A new vaccination support approach has proven to protect people with comorbidities at higher risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms.
The targeted approach has seen a significant increase in vaccinations among the community in Khayelitsha.
MSF has recommended its vaccination support programme to the National Department of Health in order to protect more vulnerable people.
 
 
National Academy of Sciences – USA [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/
News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
National Vaccine Program Office – U.S. HHS [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.hhs.gov/vaccines/about/index.html
Upcoming Meetings/Latest Updates
No new digest content identified.
 
 
NIH [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
News Releases
Scientists pinpoint mechanisms associated with severe COVID-19 blood clotting
February 17, 2022 — Researchers found circulating antiphospholipid antibodies, which can be more common among people with autoimmune disorders.

National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity to convene
February 16, 2022 — Meeting will take place on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. EST NIH Videocast

Researchers document third known case of HIV remission involving stem cell transplant
February 15, 2022 — Woman has remained without detectable HIV for 14 months.
 
 
OECD [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/publicationsdocuments/bydate/
Newsroom
No new digest content identified.
 
 
PATH [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
Press Releases
Study confirms genetic stability of nOPV2
February 11, 2022 by PATH
nOPV2 is designed to hasten polio eradication
A new study published in npj Vaccines confirms that the novel oral polio vaccine against type 2 polio (nOPV2) is more stable against virulent mutations than the licensed oral polio vaccine against type 2 (OPV2). This is the first study that directly assesses shed nOPV2 virus against shed OPV2 virus in comparable groups. It adds to the evidence base that the attenuated nOPV2 vaccine is more resistant to reversion than OPV2.
“These findings represent a key milestone in the development of nOPV2,” says John Konz, nOPV project director at PATH, which serves as the convener of the nOPV development efforts. “They provide further proof that the designed modifications are working as intended, preventing the primary route by which the currently licensed OPV2 virus becomes more virulent.”..
 
 
Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
Statements and Press Releases
No new digest content identified.
 
 
UNAIDS [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
18 February 2022
Stronger Africa–Europe partnerships key to advancing education and health rights of adolescent girls in Africa

18 February 2022
UNAIDS saddened by the death of Joe Muriuki

17 February 2022
UNAIDS saddened by the death of Leonora Mathe

15 February 2022
Investments in HIV, health and pandemics are vital for economic recovery in Africa

15 February 2022
Towards a life of dignity for people living with disabilities

14 February 2022
Parental consent laws leave adolescents vulnerable to HIV

UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/media-centre.htmlS
Selected News Releases, Announcements
Thousands of Eritrean refugees displaced in clashes in Ethiopia’s Afar region
18 Feb 2022

UNHCR alarmed by rising violence against displaced civilians in eastern DR Congo
18 Feb 2022

UNHCR Deputy calls for enhanced access to education and livelihoods for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
18 Feb 2022
 
 
UNICEF [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Press Releases, News Notes, Statements [Selected]
Statement
02/17/2022
Children in eastern Ukraine must have access to safe education and childhood –UNICEF

Remarks
02/16/2022
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell’s remarks at the 2nd Global Disability Summit
As prepared for delivery

Remarks
02/16/2022
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell’s remarks at High-Level Briefing on the Secretary-General’s Report on the Global Compact for Migration
As prepared for delivery

Press release
02/15/2022
Urgent support needed for 1.4 million children likely to suffer from acute malnutrition in Somalia
Funding immediately needed to procure nutrition supplies and avert deaths

Unitaid [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://unitaid.org/
Featured News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
USAID [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/2021
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Announcements
News
USAID Supports Diaspora-Led Initiatives to Help Address Global Humanitarian Crises
February 17, 2022
Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it provided nearly $2.9 million in FY 2021 funding to support two projects that leverage the unique role of diaspora communities in responding and building resilience to the world’s largest humanitarian crises. During a time when humanitarian needs continue to grow globally, USAID recognizes the importance of supporting diaspora-led innovations that bring in new voices, skills, and abilities to save and improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people.

New Case Studies Show Significant Rise in Vaccination Rates in Sub-Saharan Africa Following U.S. Government’s Targeted ‘Global VAX’ Interventions
February 17, 2022
New case studies from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) show recent targeted efforts to accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations in sub-Saharan Africa are making significant progress. In Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, and Zambia, United States support contributed to a steady rise in vaccinations–with the most notable increase in Uganda, which in just 6 weeks experienced a 33 percent increase in first-dose shots among the eligible population.

USAID Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Faiths4Vaccines to promote a COVID-19 Year of Action
February 14, 2022
Today, Administrator Samantha Power signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Faiths4Vaccines, an inclusive, multifaith movement comprised of local and national religious leaders and medical professionals throughout the United States working together to identify and resolve current gaps in vaccine mobilization, outreach, uptake and ensure equitable distribution. The MOU launches a Year of Action working with civil society, including faith and community partners, on COVID-19 response efforts supported by USAID’s Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships (FBNP) around the world.
 
 
Vaccine Equity Cooperative [nee Initiative] [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://vaccineequitycooperative.org/news/
News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Vaccination Acceptance & Demand Initiative [Sabin) [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.vaccineacceptance.org/
Announcements
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Vaccine Confidence Project [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
News, Research and Reports
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Wellcome Trust [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
News. Opinion, Reports
Explainer
From epidemics to eradication: how the world is ending polio
16 February 2022
 
 
The Wistar Institute [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.
 
 
WFPHA: World Federation of Public Health Associations [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.wfpha.org/
Latest News – Blog
No new digest content identified.
 
 
World Bank [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all
Selected News, Announcements
Keynote Remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass to the European Union-African Union Summit on Peace, Security and Governance
Thank you, Prime Minister Sanchez, and to the EU and AU for your continued efforts to promote stability and security. The outlook for people in developing countries around the world remains grim – with…
Date: February 17, 2022 Type: Speeches and Transcripts
 
 
World Customs Organization – WCO [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.wcoomd.org/
Latest News – Selected Items
15 February 2022
The HS 2022 version of the COVID-19 reference lists for medical supplies, priority medicines, vaccines and related equipment are now available!
The following lists are available on the COVID-19 dedicated webpage under WCO instruments and tools:
:: NEW! – INN List 124 COVID-19 (Special Edition)
:: NEW! – HS Classification reference for COVID-19 medical supplies 3.01 Edition (2 June 2020) [es] [ar] [pt] [ru]
:: NEW! – List of priority medicines for customs during COVID-19 pandemic [ar] [es] [pt] [ru]
The following list is available on the COVID-19 vaccines distribution webpage under WCO tools and guidance materials:
:: NEW – HS classification reference for vaccines and related supplies and equipment [ar] [es] [pt] [ru]
 
 
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.oie.int/en/media/news/
Press Releases, Statements
No new digest content identified.
 
 
WTO – World Trade Organisation [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news_e.htm
WTO News and Events
WTO members look at how trade can help LDCs recover from COVID-19
16 February 2022
WTO members noted the sharp decline in least-developed countries’ (LDCs) participation in world trade since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic at a meeting of the Sub-Committee on LDCs on 16 February. The chair, Ambassador Kirsti Kauppi (Finland), underlined the need for the international community to work together to promote trade opportunities in LDCs.

WTO, WHO, WIPO to hold workshop on access, use of pandemic-related information resources
14 February 2022
A virtual workshop jointly organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WTO on 28 February will provide an overview of particular COVID-19-related information resources.

The workshop aims to enhance understanding of the characteristics, potential uses and limitations of particular information sources related to COVID-19. A range of experts will discuss information resources containing the following types of data: epidemiological and other health-related issues; clinical trials; technological developments; intellectual property rights (IPRs); and manufacturing and distribution of and access to technologies. Experts will also look at vaccination, diagnostics, treatment rates and cross-border flows of technology.

The workshop responds to the needs of policymakers and other stakeholders working on health, intellectual property and trade issues related to the pandemic, and is specifically targeted at them. The aim of these workshops is to strengthen the capacity of policymakers and experts in members of the three organizations to address the pandemic accordingly. The first in the series of workshops was held on 27 September 2021.

The event is part of the existing collaboration framework between the three organizations, as first highlighted by their Directors-General on 15 June 2021. WIPO Director-General Daren Tang, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala agreed that the three agencies will collaborate on the organization of practical capacity-building workshops at the technical level to enhance the flow of updated information on current developments in the pandemic and responses to achieve equitable access to COVID-19 health technologies.
Registration for the workshop is required and is available here.
The programme of the workshop is available here.

::::::

ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine] [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://alliancerm.org/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases
No new digest content identified.
 
 
BIO [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.bio.org/press-releases
Press Releases, Letters, Testimony, Comments [Selected]
BIO Encourages Science-based Oversight for Animal and Plant Biotech as Dr. Califf Takes Helm at FDA
February 15, 2022
The following statement may be attributed to BIO’s Vice President for Agriculture and Environment Sarah Gallo:  “BIO looks forward to working with a proven leader like Dr. Califf as he takes the helm at FDA. Dr. Califf will lead an agency that contributes to the oversight of animal and plant biotechnology and is indispensable for the safety of our food system…

New BIO Report Examines the State of Antibacterial Innovation
February 14, 2022
Current pipeline “insufficient” to meet the threat of AMR, policy reforms critically needed   The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today released a new report examining antibacterial innovation and the current pipeline for new…
 
 
DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
News; Upcoming events
No new digest content identified.
 
 
ICBA – International Council of Biotechnology Associations [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://internationalbiotech.org/news/
News
Website in “maintenance mode”
 
 
IFPMA [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications
No new digest content identified.

International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association [IGBA]
https://www.igbamedicines.org/
News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations – IAPO [to 19 Feb 2022]
https://www.iapo.org.uk/news/topic/6
Press and media [Selected]
Metrodora Awards Nominations Start – Empower Women Leaders in Science & Medicine
Monday, 14 February 2022
We are delighted to announce the return of the Metrodora Awards, an initiative designed to recognise women leaders and innovators in science and medicine, following the success of the inaugural event in 2020. Women continue to play a leading role in driving scientific and medical breakthroughs…
 
 
PhRMA [to 19 Feb 2022]
http://www.phrma.org/
Latest News [Selected]
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 Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 106 (2022): Issue 2 (Feb 2022)
https://www.ajtmh.org/view/journals/tpmd/106/2/tpmd.106.issue-2.xml

Perspective Pieces
Resilient Clinical Trial Infrastructure in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned from the TOGETHER Randomized Platform Clinical Trial
Jamie I. Forrest, Angeli Rawat, Felipe Duailibe, Christina M. Guo, Sheila Sprague, Paula McKay, Gilmar Reis, and Edward J. Mills
Volume/Issue: Volume 106: Issue 2
Article Category: Perspective
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.21-1202

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 106 (2022): Issue 2 (Feb 2022)
https://www.ajtmh.org/view/journals/tpmd/106/2/tpmd.106.issue-2.xml

Articles
Immunogenicity of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine in Vietnamese Health-Care Workers
Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, Lam Anh Nguyet, Nguyen Thanh Truong, Le Mau Toan, Nguyen Thanh Dung, Le Manh Hung, Mai Thanh Nhan, Dinh Nguyen Huy Man, Nghiem My Ngoc, Huynh Phuong Thao, Tran Nguyen Hoang Tu, Huynh Kim Mai, Do Thai Hung, Nguyen Thi Han Ny, Le Kim Thanh, Nguyen To Anh, Nguyen Thi Thu Hong, Le Nguyen Truc Nhu, Lam Minh Yen, Marc Choisy, Tran Tan Thanh, Guy Thwaites, Le Van Tan, and for the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit COVID-19 Research Group
Volume/Issue: Volume 106: Issue 2
Article Category: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.21-0849

Annals of Internal Medicine
February 2022 Volume 175, Issue 2
http://annals.org/aim/issue

Original Research
Characteristics and Outcomes of Hospitalized Pregnant Women With Influenza, 2010 to 2019 – A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study
Rachel Holstein, MPH, Fatimah S. Dawood, MD, Alissa O’Halloran, MSPH, Charisse Cummings, MPH, … et al.

Annals of Internal Medicine
February 2022 Volume 175, Issue 2
http://annals.org/aim/issue

Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Transplant Recipients After Two and Three Doses of mRNA-1273 Vaccine – Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Trial
FREE

Deepali Kumar, MD, Victor H. Ferreira, PhD, Victoria G. Hall, MBBS, Queenie Hu, PhD, … et al.

Annals of Internal Medicine
February 2022 Volume 175, Issue 2
http://annals.org/aim/issue

Ideas and Opinions
COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters for All Adults: An Optimal U.S. Approach?
FREE
Ameet Sarpatwari, PhD, JD, Ankur Pandya, PhD, Emily P. Hyle, MD, MSc, Govind Persad, JD, PhD

Annals of Internal Medicine
February 2022 Volume 175, Issue 2
http://annals.org/aim/issue

Responses to a Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody for Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 According to Baseline Antibody and Antigen Levels
A Randomized Controlled Trial

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 19 Feb 2022)

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among different population groups in China: a national multicenter online survey
COVID-19 vaccine has been available in China since the beginning of the 2021, however, certain numbers of people are reluctant for some reasons to vaccinate. The high vaccine coverage is crucial for controllin…
Authors: Yiman Huang, Xiaoyou Su, Weijun Xiao, Hao Wang, Mingyu Si, Wenjun Wang, Xiaofen Gu, Li Ma, Li Li, Shaokai Zhang, Chunxia Yang, Yanqin Yu and Youlin Qiao
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2022 22:153
Content type: Research article
Published on: 14 February 2022

BMC Medicine
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/content
(Accessed 19 Feb 2022)

Mitigating the SARS-CoV-2 Delta disease burden in Australia by non-pharmaceutical interventions and vaccinating children: a modelling analysis
In countries with high COVID-19 vaccination rates the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant resulted in rapidly increasing case numbers. This study evaluated the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) coupled with …
Authors: George J. Milne, Julian Carrivick and David Whyatt
Citation: BMC Medicine 2022 20:80
Content type: Research article
Published on: 18 February 2022

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 19 Feb 2022)

Stakeholders’ hopes and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccines in Southeastern Nigeria: a qualitative study
Equitable access and high uptake of safe and effective vaccines is critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure the success of these vaccines, particularly in many developing and under-developed parts o…
Authors: Uchechukwu Madukaku Chukwuocha, Chiagoziem Ogazirilem Emerole, Greg Ndubeze Iwuoha, Ugonma Winnie Dozie, Princewill Ugochukwu Njoku, Chidinma Onyebuchi Akanazu, Precious Okechukwu Eteike and Charlotte Hemingway
Citation: BMC Public Health 2022 22:330
Content type: Research
Published on: 16 February 2022

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 19 Feb 2022)

The lived experiences of a COVID-19 immunization programme: vaccine hesitancy and vaccine refusal
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a global health emergency and lock-down measures to curb the uncontrolled transmission chain. Vaccination is an effective measure against COVID-19 infections. In Malaysia …
Authors: Nee Nee Chan, Khang Wei Ong, Ching Sin Siau, Kai Wei Lee, Suat Cheng Peh, Shakila Yacob, Yook Chin Chia, Vei Ken Seow and Pei Boon Ooi
Citation: BMC Public Health 2022 22:296
Content type: Research
Published on: 14 February 2022

Cell
Feb 17, 2022 Volume 185 Issue 4 p579-746
https://www.cell.com/cell/current

Articles
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination elicits a robust and persistent T follicular helper cell response in humans
Philip A. Mudd, et al.
Analysis of draining lymph nodes of individuals vaccinated with BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 identifies viral-spike-specific follicular helper CD4+ T cells that persist for months and contribute to long-term immunity.

Child Care, Health and Development
Volume 48, Issue 2, Pages: 177-357 March 2022
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/13652214/current

REVIEW ARTICLES
From research ‘on’ to research ‘with’ children about their family lives: A scoping review of ethical and methodological challenges
Anne-Catherine Dubois, Magali Lahaye, Isabelle Aujoulat
Pages: 203-216
First Published: 02 December 2021

Clinical Trials

Volume 19 Issue 1, February 2022
https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/ctja/19/1

Design
Design and implementation of an international, multi-arm, multi-stage platform master protocol for trials of novel SARS-CoV-2 antiviral agents: Therapeutics for Inpatients with COVID-19 (TICO/ACTIV-3) Daniel D Murray, Abdel G Babiker, Jason V Baker, Christina E Barkauskas, Samuel M Brown, Christina C Chang, Victoria J Davey, Annetine C Gelijns, Adit A Ginde, Birgit Grund, Elizabeth Higgs, Fleur Hudson, Virginia L Kan, H Clifford Lane, Thomas A Murray, Roger Paredes, Mahesh KB Parmar, Sarah Pett, Andrew N Phillips, Mark N Polizzotto, Cavan Reilly, Uriel Sandkovsky, Shweta Sharma, Marc Teitelbaum, B Taylor Thompson, Barnaby E Young, James D Neaton, Jens D Lundgrenon behalf of the TICO Study Group
First Published October 10, 2021; pp. 52–61

Health Economics, Policy and Law 
Volume 17 – Special Issue 1 – January 2022
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/health-economics-policy-and-law/latest-issue

SPECIAL ISSUE: Country Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Articles analyzing country responses in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, U.S., Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Italy

Health Research Policy and Systems
http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content
[Accessed 19 Feb 2022]

Rapid research response to the COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives from a National Institute for Health Biomedical Research Centre
With over 5 million COVID-19 deaths at the time of writing, the response of research leaders was and is critical to developing treatments to control the global pandemic. As clinical research leaders urgently r…
Authors: Lorna R. Henderson, Helen McShane and Vasiliki Kiparoglou
Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2022 20:24
Content type: Commentary
Published on: 19 February 2022

JAMA
February 15, 2022, Vol 327, No. 7, Pages 605-693
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

Original Investigation
Association Between 3 Doses of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine and Symptomatic Infection Caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta Variants
Emma K. Accorsi, PhD; Amadea Britton, MD; Katherine E. Fleming-Dutra, MD; et al.
free access has active quiz
JAMA. 2022;327(7):639-651. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.0470
This case-control study uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Increasing Community Access to Testing platform to estimate the association between receipt of 3 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 or Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine, compared with 2 doses or unvaccinated, and symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, stratified by Omicron and Delta variant.

JAMA
February 15, 2022, Vol 327, No. 7, Pages 605-693
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

Editorial
Booster Vaccination to Prevent COVID-19 in the Era of OmicronAn Effective Part of a Layered Public Health Approach
Saad B. Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD; Preeti N. Malani, MD, MSJ