Author Archives: davidrcurry

Identifying COVID-19 and H1N1 vaccination hesitancy or refusal among health care providers across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia: a scoping review protocol

Posted on by

JBI Evidence Synthesis
January 2022 – Volume 20 – Issue 1
https://journals.lww.com/jbisrir/Pages/currenttoc.aspx

 

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW PROTOCOLS
Identifying COVID-19 and H1N1 vaccination hesitancy or refusal among health care providers across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia: a scoping review protocol
Gallant, Allyson J.; Steenbeek, Audrey; Curran, Janet A.
JBI Evidence Synthesis. 20(1):173-180, January 2022.

Parental experiences of caring for their preschool children after declining vaccines: a qualitative systematic review protocol

Posted on by

JBI Evidence Synthesis
January 2022 – Volume 20 – Issue 1
https://journals.lww.com/jbisrir/Pages/currenttoc.aspx

 

Parental experiences of caring for their preschool children after declining vaccines: a qualitative systematic review protocol
Huel, Christine; Harding, Jillian; MacKinnon, Karen; More
JBI Evidence Synthesis. 20(1):196-203, January 2022.

Effectiveness of a Third Dose of BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine

Posted on by

Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 225, Issue 1, 1 January 2022
https://academic.oup.com/jid/issue/225/1

 

MAJOR ARTICLES AND BRIEF REPORTS
Effectiveness of a Third Dose of BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine
Yaki Saciuk, Jennifer Kertes, Naama Shamir Stein, Anat Ekka Zohar
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 225, Issue 1, 1 January 2022, Pages 30–33, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiab556
Providing a third dose of BNT152b2 6 months after the first 2 doses evidenced a vaccine effectiveness against infection rate of 89%. The reduction in infection risk 2 months after the third-dose vaccination campaign reinforces the wisdom of its implementation.

Efficacy of the adjuvanted subunit protein COVID-19 vaccine, SCB-2019: a phase 2 and 3 multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Posted on by

The Lancet
Jan 29, 2022 Volume 399 Number 10323 p411-494, e2
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

 

Efficacy of the adjuvanted subunit protein COVID-19 vaccine, SCB-2019: a phase 2 and 3 multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial
Lulu Bravo, et al.

Governing the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator: towards greater participation, transparency, and accountability

Posted on by

The Lancet
Jan 29, 2022 Volume 399 Number 10323 p411-494, e2
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

 

Health Policy
Governing the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator: towards greater participation, transparency, and accountability
Suerie Moon, PhD Jana Armstrong, MBA Brian Hutler, PhD Prof Ross Upshur, MD Rachel Katz, MA Caesar Atuire, PhD et al. Show all authors
Published:December 10, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02344-8
Summary
The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) is a multistakeholder initiative quickly constructed in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic to respond to a catastrophic breakdown in global cooperation. ACT-A is now the largest international effort to achieve equitable access to COVID-19 health technologies, and its governance is a matter of broad public importance. We traced the evolution of ACT-A’s governance through publicly available documents and analysed it against three principles embedded in the founding mission statement of ACT-A: participation, transparency, and accountability. We found three challenges to realising these principles. First, the roles of the various organisations in ACT-A decision making are unclear, obscuring who might be accountable to whom and for what. Second, the absence of a clearly defined decision making body; ACT-A instead has multiple centres of legally binding decision making and uneven arrangements for information transparency, inhibiting meaningful participation. Third, the nearly indiscernible role of governments in ACT-A, raising key questions about political legitimacy and channels for public accountability. With global public health and billions in public funding at stake, short-term improvements to governance arrangements can and should now be made. Efforts to strengthen pandemic preparedness for the future require attention to ethical, legitimate arrangements for governance.

A COVID-19 peptide vaccine for the induction of SARS-CoV-2 T cell immunity

Posted on by

Nature
Volume 601 Issue 7894, 27 January 2022
https://www.nature.com/nature/volumes/601/issues/7894

 

Article | 23 November 2021 | Open Access
A COVID-19 peptide vaccine for the induction of SARS-CoV-2 T cell immunity
A phase I open-label trial evaluating the immunogencity, reactogenicity and safety of a peptide-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate to induce SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses.
Jonas S. Heitmann, Tatjana Bilich, Juliane S. Walz

The past, present and future of Registered Reports

Posted on by

Nature Human Behaviour
Volume 6 Issue 1, January 2022
https://www.nature.com/nathumbehav/volumes/6/issues/1

 

Review Article | 15 November 2021
The past, present and future of Registered Reports
Registered Reports were introduced a decade ago as a means for improving the rigour and credibility of confirmatory research. Chambers and Tzavella overview the format’s past, its current status and future developments.
Christopher D. Chambers, Loukia Tzavella

The future of human behaviour research

Posted on by

Nature Human Behaviour
Volume 6 Issue 1, January 2022
https://www.nature.com/nathumbehav/volumes/6/issues/1

 

Feature | 27 January 2022
The future of human behaviour research
Human behaviour is complex and multifaceted, and is studied by a broad range of disciplines across the social and natural sciences. To mark our 5th anniversary, we asked leading scientists in some of the key disciplines that we cover to share their vision of the future of research in their disciplines. Our contributors underscore how important it is to broaden the scope of their disciplines to increase ecological validity and diversity of representation, in order to address pressing societal challenges that range from new technologies, modes of interaction and sociopolitical upheaval to disease, poverty, hunger, inequality and climate change. Taken together, these contributions highlight how achieving progress in each discipline will require incorporating insights and methods from others, breaking down disciplinary silos.
Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, Jean Burgess, Claudia Wagner

Rise of the preprint: how rapid data sharing during COVID-19 has changed science forever

Posted on by

Nature Medicine
Volume 28 Issue 1, January 2022
https://www.nature.com/nm/volumes/28/issues/1

 

News Feature | 14 January 2022
Rise of the preprint: how rapid data sharing during COVID-19 has changed science forever
Medical discoveries have been shared at an unprecedented pace during the COVID-19 pandemic, but so have fraudulent studies, which has led to worries about scientific integrity.
Clare Watson

Perceived COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, acceptance, and drivers of vaccination decision-making among the general adult population: A global survey of 20 countries

Posted on by

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
http://www.plosntds.org/
(Accessed 29 Jan 2022)

 

Perceived COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, acceptance, and drivers of vaccination decision-making among the general adult population: A global survey of 20 countries
Roy Rillera Marzo, Absar Ahmad, Md. Saiful Islam, Mohammad Yasir Essar, Petra Heidler, Isabel King, Arulmani Thiyagarajan, Kittisak Jermsittiparsert, Karnjana Songwathana, Delan Ameen Younus, Radwa Abdullah El-Abasiri, Burcu Kucuk Bicer, Nhat Tan Pham, Titik Respati, Susan Fitriyana, Erwin Martinez Faller, Aries Moralidad Baldonado, Md Arif Billah, Yadanar Aung, Shehu Muhammad Hassan, Muhammad Mujtaba Asad, Kareem Ahmed El-Fass, Sudip Bhattacharya, Sunil Shrestha, Nouran Ameen Elsayed Hamza, Pascal Friedmann, Michael Head, Yulan Lin, Siyan Yi
Research Article | published 28 Jan 2022 PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010103

Defining clinical trial quality from the perspective of resource-limited settings: A qualitative study based on interviews with investigators, sponsors, and monitors conducting clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa

Posted on by

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
http://www.plosntds.org/
(Accessed 29 Jan 2022)

 

Defining clinical trial quality from the perspective of resource-limited settings: A qualitative study based on interviews with investigators, sponsors, and monitors conducting clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa
Angela De Pretto-Lazarova, Claudia Fuchs, Peter van Eeuwijk, Christian Burri
Research Article | published 27 Jan 2022 PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010121

Assessment of vaccination timeliness and associated factors among children in Toke Kutaye district, central Ethiopia: A Mixed study

Posted on by

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 29 Jan 2022]

 

Research Article
Assessment of vaccination timeliness and associated factors among children in Toke Kutaye district, central Ethiopia: A Mixed study
Kuma Dirirsa, Mulugeta Makuria, Ermias Mulu, Berhanu Senbeta Deriba
Research Article | published 27 Jan 2022 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262320

Determinants of maternal influenza vaccination in the context of low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review

Posted on by

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 29 Jan 2022]

 

Determinants of maternal influenza vaccination in the context of low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review
Shrish Raut, Aditi Apte, Manikandan Srinivasan, Nonita Dudeja, Girish Dayma, Bireshwar Sinha, Ashish Bavdekar
Research Article | published 26 Jan 2022 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262871

COVID-19 vaccination beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours among health and social care workers in the UK: A mixed-methods study

Posted on by

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 29 Jan 2022]

 

COVID-19 vaccination beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours among health and social care workers in the UK: A mixed-methods study
Sadie Bell, Richard M. Clarke, Sharif A. Ismail, Oyinkansola Ojo-Aromokudu, Habib Naqvi, Yvonne Coghill, Helen Donovan, Louise Letley, Pauline Paterson, Sandra Mounier-Jack
Research Article | published 24 Jan 2022 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260949

One or two doses of hepatitis A vaccine in universal vaccination programs in children in 2020: A systematic review

Posted on by

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 2 Pages 173-396 (21 January 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/2

 

Review article Open access
One or two doses of hepatitis A vaccine in universal vaccination programs in children in 2020: A systematic review
Anar Andani, Pierre van Damme, Eveline M. Bunge, Fernanda Salgado, … Bernard Hoet
Pages 196-205

Willingness to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2: The role of reasoning biases and conspiracist ideation

Posted on by

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 2 Pages 173-396 (21 January 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/2

 

Research article Full text access
Willingness to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2: The role of reasoning biases and conspiracist ideation
Michael V. Bronstein, Erich Kummerfeld, Angus MacDonald, Sophia Vinogradov
Pages 213-222

Epidemiology of pertussis in Costa Rica and the impact of vaccination: A 58-year experience (1961–2018)

Posted on by

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 2 Pages 173-396 (21 January 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/2

 

Research article Open access
Epidemiology of pertussis in Costa Rica and the impact of vaccination: A 58-year experience (1961–2018)
María L. Avila-Agüero, Kattia Camacho-Badilla, Rolando Ulloa-Gutierrez, Carlos Espinal-Tejada, … James D. Cherry
Pages 223-228

The impact of a change in infant BCG vaccination policy on adolescent TB incidence rates: A South African population-level cohort study

Posted on by

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 2 Pages 173-396 (21 January 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/2

 

Research article Open access
The impact of a change in infant BCG vaccination policy on adolescent TB incidence rates: A South African population-level cohort study
Carlotta Fack, Robin Wood, Mark Hatherill, Frank Cobelens, Sabine Hermans
Pages 364-369

National stakeholder preferences for next-generation rotavirus vaccines: Results from a six-country study

Posted on by

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 2 Pages 173-396 (21 January 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/2

 

Research article Open access
National stakeholder preferences for next-generation rotavirus vaccines: Results from a six-country study
Jessica Price, Jessica Mooney, Carolyn Bain, John Tanko Bawa, … William P. Hausdorff
Pages 370-379

Pre-Print Servers

Posted on by

Pre-Print Servers

 

Gates Open Research
https://gatesopenresearch.org/browse/articles
[Accessed 29 Jan 2022]

[No new digest content identified]

 

medRxiv
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/about-medrxiv
medRxiv is a free online archive and distribution server for complete but unpublished manuscripts (preprints) in the medical, clinical, and related health sciences. Preprints are preliminary reports of work that have not been certified by peer review. They should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information. medRxiv is for the distribution of preprints – complete but unpublished manuscripts – that describe human health research conducted, analyzed, and interpreted according to scientific principles…

Comparative effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination against death and severe disease in an ongoing nationwide mass vaccination campaign
Theodore Lytras, Flora Kontopidou, Angeliki Lambrou, Sotirios Tsiodras
medRxiv 2022.01.28.22270009; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.28.22270009

Critical success factors for high routine immunization performance: A case study of Nepal
Kyra A Hester, Zoe Sakas, Anna S Ellis, Anindya Sekhar Bose, Roopa Darwar, Jhalak Gautam, Chandni Jaishwal, Hanleigh James, Pinar Keskinocak, Dima Nazzal, Emily Ogutu, Katie Rodriguez, Francisco Castillo Zunino, Sameer Dixit, Robert A. Bednarczyk, Matthew C Freeman, Vaccine Exemplars Research Consortium
medRxiv 2022.01.28.22270023; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.28.22270023

Early introduction and rise of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant in highly vaccinated university populations
Brittany A Petros, Jacquelyn Turcinovic, Nicole Welch, Laura White, Eric Kolaczyk, Matthew Bauer, Michael Cleary, Sabrina Dobbins, Lynn Doucette-Stamm, Mitch Gore, Parvathy Nair, Tien Nguyen, Scott Rose, Bradford Taylor, Daniel Tsang, Erik Wendlandt, Michele Hope, Judy Platt, Karen Jacobson, Tara Bouton, Seyho Yune, Jared Auclair, Lena Landaverde, Catherine M. Klapperich, Davidson H Hamer, William P Hanage, Bronwyn MacInnis, Pardis Sabeti, John H Connor, Michael Springer
medRxiv 2022.01.27.22269787; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.27.22269787

Estimates of the impact on COVID-19 deaths of unequal global allocations of vaccines
John Paul Callan
medRxiv 2022.01.26.22269347; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.26.22269347

Is mandatory vaccination in population over 60 adequate to control the COVID-19 pandemic in E.U.?
Nikolaos Rachaniotis, Thomas Dasaklis, Filippos Fotopoulos, Michael Chouzouris, Thomas Georgiadis, Antigoni Lyberaki, Platon Tinios
medRxiv 2022.01.25.22269867; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.25.22269867

Critical success factors for high routine immunization performance: A case study of Senegal
Zoe Sakas, Kyra A. Hester, Katie Rodriguez, Saly Amos Diatta, Anna S. Ellis, Daouda Malick Gueye, Dawn Matapano, Pr Souleymane Mboup, Emily Awino Ogutu, Chenmua Yang, Robert A. Bednarczyk, Matthew C Freeman, Moussa Sarr, Vaccine Exemplars Research Consortium
medRxiv 2022.01.25.22269847; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.25.22269847

Omicron infection of vaccinated individuals enhances neutralizing immunity against the Delta variant
Khadija Khan, Farina Karim, Sandile Cele, James Emmanuel San, Gila Lustig, Houriiyah Tegally, Yuval Rosenberg, Mallory Bernstein, Yashica Ganga, Zesuliwe Jule, Kajal Reedoy, Nokuthula Ngcobo, Yoliswa Miya, Matilda Mazibuko, Ntombifuthi Mthabela, Zoey Mhlane, Nikiwe Mbatha, Jennifer Giandhari, Yajna Ramphal, Taryn Naidoo, Nithendra Manickchund, Nombulelo Magula, Salim Abdool Karim, Glenda Gray, Willem Hanekom, Anne von Gottberg, Ron Milo, Bernadett Gosnell, Richard Lessells, Tulio de Oliveira, Penny Moore, Yunus S Moosa, Alex Sigal
medRxiv 2021.12.27.21268439; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.27.21268439

COVID-19 vaccine attitude and its predictors among people living with chronic health conditions in Ibadan, Nigeria
Lucia Yetunde Ojewale, Rotimi Felix Afolabi, Adesola Ogunniyi
medRxiv 2022.01.27.22269947; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.27.22269947

The impacts of increased global vaccine sharing on the COVID-19 pandemic; a retrospective modelling study
Sam Moore, Edward M Hill, Louise J Dyson, Michael J Tildesley, Matt J Keeling
medRxiv 2022.01.26.22269877; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.26.22269877

Systematic review of social determinants of childhood immunisation in low- and middle-income countries and equity impact analysis of childhood vaccination coverage in Nigeria
Sarah V Williams, Tanimola Akande, Kaja Abbas
medRxiv 2022.01.24.22269771; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.24.22269771

South African Population Immunity and Severe Covid-19 with Omicron Variant
Shabir Madhi, Gaurav Kwatra, Jonathan E Myers, Waasila Jassat, Nisha Dhar, Christian K Mukendi, Amit Nana, Lucille Blumberg, Richard Welch, Nicoletta Ngorima-Mabhena, Portia C Mutevedzi
medRxiv 2021.12.20.21268096; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.20.21268096

Trust in the scientific research community predicts intent to comply with COVID-19 prevention measures: An analysis of a large-scale international survey dataset
Hyemin Han
medRxiv 2021.12.08.21267486; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.08.21267486

Wellcome Open Research [to 29 Jan 2022]
https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/browse/articles
[Accessed 29 Jan 2022]

Wellcome Open Research provides all Wellcome researchers with a place to rapidly publish any results they think are worth sharing. All articles benefit from rapid publication, transparent peer review and editorial guidance on making all source data openly available.
Research Article metrics
Revised
A patient satisfaction survey and educational package to improve the care of people hospitalised with COVID-19: a quality improvement project, Liverpool, UK [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
Muhammad Shamsher Ahmad, Scott Rory Hicks, Rebecca Watson, Rajia Akter Ahmed, Lewis Jones, Marcella Vaselli, Meng-San Wu, Fatima Hayat, Libuse Ratcliffe, Mark McKenna, Paul Hine, Sylviane Defres, Tom Wingfield
Peer Reviewers Katherine Ajdukiewicz; Vishesh Paul
Funder
Wellcome Trust
LATEST VERSION PUBLISHED 25 Jan 2022

Systematic Review metrics AWAITING PEER REVIEW
The fragmented COVID-19 therapeutics research landscape: a living systematic review of clinical trial registrations evaluating priority pharmacological interventions. [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]
Alistair R.D. McLean, Sumayyah Rashan, Lien Tran, Lorenzo Arena, AbdulAzeez Lawal, Brittany J. Maguire, Sandra Adele, Emilia Sitsofe Antonio, Matthew Brack, Fiona Caldwell, Verena Ilona Carrara, Reema Charles, Barbara Wanjiru Citarella, Terrence B. Epie, Vitalis Fambombi Feteh, Kalynn Kennon, Gerald Jamberi Makuka, Roland Ngu, Amen-Patrick Nwosu, Sopuruchukwu Obiesie, Chinwe Ogbonnaa-Njoku, Parvesh Paul, Caitlin Richmond, Sauman Singh-Phulgenda, Samantha Strudwick, Carina S.B. Tyrrell, Kasia Stepniewska, Nathalie Strub-Wourgaft, Nicholas J. White, Philippe J. Guérin
Peer Reviewers Invited
Funders
Wellcome
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Germany
International Solidarity Service, Republic and Canton of Geneva
PUBLISHED 25 Jan 2022
Abstract
Background: Many available medicines have been evaluated as potential repurposed treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We summarise the registered study landscape for 32 priority pharmacological treatments identified following consultation with external experts of the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition.
Methods: All eligible trial registry records identified by systematic searches of the World Health Organisation International Clinical Trials Registry Platform as of 26th May 2021 were reviewed and extracted. A descriptive summary of study characteristics was performed.
Results: We identified 1,314 registered studies that included at least one of the 32 priority pharmacological interventions. The majority (1,043, 79%) were randomised controlled trials (RCTs). The sample size of the RCTs identified was typically small (median (25th, 75th percentile) sample size = 140 patients (70, 383)), i.e. individually powered only to show very large effects. The most extensively evaluated medicine was hydroxychloroquine (418 registered studies). Other widely studied interventions were convalescent plasma (n=208), ritonavir (n=189) usually combined with lopinavir (n=181), and azithromycin (n=147). Very few RCTs planned to recruit participants in low-income countries (n=14; 1.3%). A minority of studies (348, 26%) indicated a willingness to share individual participant data. The living systematic review data are available at https://iddo.cognitive.city
Conclusions: There are many registered studies planning to evaluate available medicines as potential repurposed treatments of COVID-19. Most of these planned studies are small, and therefore substantially underpowered for most relevant endpoints. Very few are large enough to have any chance of providing enough convincing evidence to change policies and practices. The sharing of individual participant data (IPD) from these studies would allow pooled IPD meta-analyses which could generate definitive conclusions, but most registered studies did not indicate that they were willing to share their data.

Think Tanks

Posted on by

Think Tanks
 
 
Brookings [to 29 Jan 2022]
http://www.brookings.edu/
Accessed 29 Jan 2022
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
When a universal coronavirus vaccine arrives, we should test payments for vaccine recipients
Robert E. Litan
Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Africa in Focus
Vaccine inequity: Ensuring Africa is not left out
Michel Sidibé
Monday, January 24, 2022
 
 
Chatham House [to 29 Jan 2022]
https://www.chathamhouse.org/
Accessed 29 Jan 2022
[No new digest content identified]

 
 
CSIS
https://www.csis.org/
Accessed 29 Jan 2022
Upcoming Event
Covid-19 Vaccine Confidence at One Year
February 4, 2022

Podcast Episode
Dr. Michael Osterholm: “Don’t Be Surprised When You Are Surprised.”
January 28, 2022 | By H. Andrew Schwartz, J. Stephen Morrison

Report
Innovative Data Collection Methods for International Development
January 26, 2022 | By Daniel F. Runde, Romina Bandura

 
 

Kaiser Family Foundation
https://www.kff.org/search/?post_type=press-release
Accessed 29 Jan 2022
January 28, 2022 News Release
42% of Adults, and 70% of Those Likely Booster-Eligible, Now Say They’ve Gotten a COVID-19 Booster Shot; The Share Who Received At Least One Dose Inches Up to 77% in Omicron’s Wake
Black and Hispanic Adults are More Likely Than White Adults to Worry About Omicron’s Effects, Including Becoming Seriously Ill or Missing Work Due to Infection The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report shows that 42% of all adults nationwide have received a COVID-19 booster and more than three quarters (77%)…

January 26, 2022 News Release
Key Facts on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity
With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting communities of color disproportionately in their health and economic well-being, long-term racial and ethnic disparities have received growing attention. But these inequities in our health system are not new and are a part of larger issues of systemic racism. An updated KFF chart pack analyzes…

Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review :: 22 January 2022

Posted on by

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

.– Request an Email Summary: Vaccines and Global Health : The Week in Review is published as a single email summary, scheduled for release each Saturday evening before midnight (EDT in the U.S.). If you would like to receive the email version, please send your request to david.r.curry@centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.org.

– pdf version:  A pdf of the current issue is available here:

vaccines-and-global-health_the-week-in-review_22-jan-2022Download

– blog edition: comprised of the approx. 35+ entries posted below.

– Twitter:  Readers can also follow developments on twitter: @vaxethicspolicy.
.
– Links:  We endeavor to test each link as we incorporate it into any post, but recognize that some links may become “stale” as publications and websites reorganize content over time. We apologize in advance for any links that may not be operative. We believe the contextual information in a given post should allow retrieval, but please contact us as above for assistance if necessary.

Support this knowledge-sharing service: Your financial support helps us cover our costs and to address a current shortfall in our annual operating budget. Click here to donate and thank you in advance for your contribution.

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

WHO – 150th session of the Executive Board

Posted on by

WHO – 150th session of the Executive Board
24 – 29 January 2022
Virtual event: https://www.who.int/about/governance/executive-board/executive-board-150th-session

EB150 Main Documents [Selected]
EB150/1
Provisional agenda

EB150/1 (annotated)
Provisional agenda (annotated)

EB150/7
Political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases

EB150/7 Add.1
Political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases

EB150/8
The global health sector strategies on, respectively, HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections

EB150/9
Global strategy for tuberculosis research and innovation

EB150/10
Road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030

EB150/11
Immunization Agenda 2030

EB150/12
Infection prevention and control

EB150/13
Global road map on defeating meningitis by 2030

EB150/15
Strengthening WHO preparedness for and response to health emergencies

EB150/17
Standing Committee on Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness and Response

EB150/18
Public health emergencies: preparedness and response
WHO’s work in health emergencies

EB150/19
Influenza preparedness

EB150/20
Global Health for Peace Initiative

EB150/21
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis eradication

EB150/22
Poliomyelitis
Polio transition planning and polio post-certification

EB150/23
Maternal, infant and young child nutrition
Comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition: biennial report

CEPI

Posted on by

CEPI

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome pledge $300 million to CEPI to fight COVID-19 and combat threat of future pandemics
This news announcement forms part of CEPI’s 100 Days Mission, a campaign delving into how we can compress the vaccine development timeline to 100 days, while also counting down to CEPI’s Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit taking place in March, 2022.

OSLO, Norway; January 19, 2022 –The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) this week celebrates its fifth birthday with US$300 million in pledges from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome to help fund its work on ending the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and its global plan to take the threat of future pandemics off the table. The two philanthropic foundations were co-founders of CEPI at Davos in 2017, alongside the Governments of Norway and India, and the World Economic Forum.

The financial pledges—which together contribute towards the coalition’s $3.5 billion fundraising target—will help advance CEPI’s efforts to further COVID-19 vaccine R&D through investments in the development of the ‘next generation’ of COVID-19 vaccines, designed to protect against newly emerging variants and for use in low-resource settings.

The funding commitments will also provide critical support to ambitious initiatives set out by CEPI in its six-point pandemic preparedness plan to build a future world that is better prepared for emerging infectious disease outbreaks.

CEPI aims to reduce global epidemic and pandemic risk by preparing for known disease threats through the development of vaccines against its priority pathogens (Chikungunya, Lassa fever, MERS, Nipah, Rift Valley fever) and making them globally accessible. Focussing on Disease X, CEPI’s plan also aims to build on innovations seen in the current pandemic and transform the response to the next novel coronavirus by developing all-in-one coronavirus vaccines designed to protect against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants and other Betacoronaviruses*. Such tools could take the world beyond the current ‘one bug, one drug’ method and provide broad protection against current and future coronavirus threats.

Dr. Richard Hatchett, Chief Executive Officer, CEPI, said, “The crucial funds that have been pledged set CEPI on a positive trajectory towards our ultimate US$3.5 billion funding goal. Achieving this funding target will enable CEPI to further advance, and enable equitable access to, life-saving vaccines and help the world develop ground-breaking new technologies including universal vaccines against Betacoronaviruses.

“Both these Foundations have shown incredible leadership with regards to global health, and we are enormously grateful to them for their visionary contribution to our work. If fully funded, CEPI’s ambitious plan will revolutionise the way the world deals with future epidemics and could prevent us ever again having to suffer the devastation of a pandemic like COVID-19.

“The future we envisage can only be only realised if the world steps up now to make the investments needed to build on the scientific advances made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. CEPI calls on political, industry, academic, philanthropic, and civil society leaders to join us and support our bold plan.”…

 

::::::

CEPI and Institut Pasteur de Dakar partner to advance COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in Africa
DAKAR, Senegal and OSLO, Norway; 18 January 2022: The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize the partnership between the two organizations to advance IPD’s MADIBA project, a regional manufacturing hub for COVID-19 and other vaccines in Dakar, Sénégal. In its initial phase, IPD’s new modular facility will manufacture up to 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine annually for use in Africa.

With the manufacturing facility in advanced construction, IPD is on track to start vaccine production in the third quarter of 2022. IPD has previously signed an MOU with BioNTech to pursue mRNA vaccine manufacturing and is actively exploring partnerships with other vaccine companies to produce licensed COVID-19 vaccines in its new manufacturing facility. In the future, IPD plans to expand to produce vaccines against other pathogens that are relevant to the region – potentially also new vaccines funded by CEPI.

CEPI will provide strategic and technical support to IPD’s MADIBA project to advance the development and delivery of vaccines manufacturing in Africa. CEPI will also advise on the implementation of an innovative vaccine filling and delivery solution, licensed from MedInstill/INTACT Solutions and developed with CEPI’s funding and support…

IHR Emergency Committee – COVID-19

Posted on by

IHR Emergency Committee – COVID-19

 

Statement on the tenth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
19 January 2022
Statement
[Excerpts]
…The Committee unanimously agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic still constitutes an extraordinary event that continues to adversely affect the health of populations around the world, poses a risk of international spread and interference with international traffic, and requires a coordinated international response. As such, the Committee concurred that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a PHEIC and offered its advice to the Director-General. 
The Director-General determined that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to constitute a PHEIC. He accepted the advice of the Committee and issued the Committee’s advice to States Parties as Temporary Recommendations under the IHR 
The Emergency Committee will be reconvened within three months or earlier, at the discretion of the Director-General. The Director-General thanked the Committee for its work….

 

Temporary Recommendations to States Parties
The Committee identified the following actions as critical for all countries:

[1] MODIFIED: Continue to use evidence-informed public health and social measures, therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines for COVID-19, and to share response experiences with WHO.  States Parties are advised to regularly adjust their response strategies by monitoring their epidemiological situation, assessing their vulnerabilities including their health system capacity, as well as considering the adherence to and attributable impact of individual and combined PHSM. Where isolation and quarantine of large numbers of cases and contacts is potentially disrupting critical infrastructure (including heath care services), States Parties may need to modify isolation and quarantine periods, with the introduction of testing, to balance the risks with the continuation of key functions, using a risk-based approach. Technical Brief on enhancing Readiness for Omicron and Considerations for implementing and adjusting public health and social measures in the context of COVID-19.

[2] MODIFIED: Take a risk-based approach to mass gathering events by evaluating, mitigating, and communicating risks. Recognizing that there are different drivers and risk tolerance for mass gatherings and mass migrations, and the particular challenges for fragile and vulnerable States Parties, it is critical to consider the epidemiological context (including the prevalence of variants of concern and the intensity of transmission), surveillance, contact tracing and testing capacity, as well as adherence to PHSM when conducting this risk assessment in line with WHO guidance. Key planning recommendations for mass gatherings in the context of COVID-19.

[3] MODIFIED: Achieve the WHO call to action to have at least 70% of all countries’ populations vaccinated by the start of July 2022 and integrate COVID-19 vaccination into routine health services. In accordance with advice from SAGE and WHO interim statements, States Parties are requested to share vaccine doses to increase global equity and to use a stepwise approach to vaccination, prioritizing those at highest risk from COVID-19, considering an evidence-informed use of booster vaccination, and taking into account evolving data on population level immunity. To enhance vaccine uptake, States Parties are encouraged to assess enablers and barriers to vaccination. Vaccination programmes should continue to prioritize vulnerable populations, including health workers, older people, people with underlying conditions, immunocompromised individuals with insufficient access to treatment, migrants, refugees, people living in fragile settings, sea farers, and air crews. Interim Statement on COVID-19 vaccines in the context of the circulation of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Variant from the WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC); Link to WHO SAGE Prioritization Roadmap

[4] MODIFIED: Enhance surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and continue to report to WHO to enable rapid identification, tracking, and evaluation of variants and continued monitoring of the pandemic’s evolution and its control. States Parties should strengthen systems to collect and publicly share indicators to monitor the burden of COVID-19, such as hospitalization rates, severe disease, and excess mortality. States Parties are particularly encouraged to increase efforts to increase detection of infections in individuals where variants of interest and variants of concern may emerge. States Parties should strengthen mechanisms to link individual-level clinical, vaccination and genomic data to facilitate assessment of the impact of and vaccine effectiveness against VOC. States Parties should leverage and enhance existing systems such as the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), as well as other national, regional, and global networks to integrate respiratory disease surveillance and prioritize monitoring circulation of SARS-CoV-2, relative proportions of SARS-CoV-2 variants, and circulation of other co-circulating respiratory viruses, including influenza. Guidance for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants; SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing for public health goals

[5] MODIFIED: States Parties should ensure that there is sufficient surge capacity for critical SARS-CoV-2 clinical care and post COVID-19 condition, and for the maintenance of essential health services, and should plan for the restoration of health services at all levels with sufficient funding, supplies, and human resources. Specific to the risk of evolving new lineages, special attention may be needed for ensuring access to treatment for treatable immunosuppressive disease. States Parties should enhance access to health for all by strengthening health and social systems to cope with the impacts of the pandemic, especially on children. Building health systems resilience for universal health coverage and health security during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: WHO position paper

[6] MODIFIED: Lift or ease international traffic bans as they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to the economic and social stress experienced by States Parties. The failure of travel restrictions introduced after the detection and reporting of Omicron variant to limit international spread of Omicron demonstrates the ineffectiveness of such measures over time. Travel measures (e.g. masking, testing, isolation/quarantine, and vaccination) should be based on risk assessments and avoid placing the financial burden on international travellers in accordance with Article 40 of the IHR.  WHO advice for international traffic in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant 

[7] EXTENDED: Do NOT require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for international travel as the only pathway or condition permitting international travel given limited global access and inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. State Parties should consider a risk-based approach to the facilitation of international travel by lifting or modifying measures, such as testing and/or quarantine requirements, when appropriate, in accordance with the WHO guidance.  Interim position paper: considerations regarding proof of COVID-19 vaccination for international travellers; Policy considerations for implementing a risk-based approach to international travel in the context of COVID-19 

[8] MODIFIED: Recognize all vaccines that have received WHO Emergency Use Listing and all heterologous vaccine combinations as per SAGE recommendations, including in the context of international travel. States Parties are also requested to support research to derive the optimal vaccination strategy for reducing infection, morbidity and mortality. Interim Recommendations for heterologous COVID-19  Vaccine Schedules ; WHO Emergency Use Listing

[9] MODIFIED: Address community engagement and communications gaps and challenges posed by infodemics at national and local levels to reduce COVID-19 transmission, counter misinformation and threats to frontline workers, and improve COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, where applicable. This will require reinforcing messages that a comprehensive public health response is needed, including the continued use of PHSM alongside increasing vaccination coverage. Given the rapidly evolving situation and to promote trust and adherence, States Parties should explain clearly and transparently the rationale for the changes of policies and PHSM, with a view to balance risks and benefits of such changes. These communications need to be tailored to different population groups, including those considered as most vulnerable. Link to WHO risk communications resources.

[10] MODIFIED: Support timely uptake and monitoring of WHO recommended therapeutics by addressing challenges with accessibility and appropriate use. Local production and technology transfer can contribute to global equitable access to therapeutics. States Parties are advised to establish COVID-19 therapeutics resistance monitoring systems, using appropriate testing strategies and strengthening their surveillance system. In addition, States Parties are requested to support pharmacovigilance cohort studies and reporting systems to detect adverse events following administration of new therapeutics. Therapeutics and COVID-19: living guideline

[11] NEW: Conduct epidemiological investigations of SARS-CoV-2 transmission at the human-animal interface and targeted surveillance on potential animal hosts and reservoirs. Real time monitoring and data sharing on SARS-Cov-2 infection, transmission and evolution in animals will assist global understanding of the virus epidemiology and ecology, the potential for evolution of new variants in animal populations, their timely identification, and assessment of their public health risks. Statement from the Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Evolution in Animals

COVAX

Posted on by

COVAX

 

COVAX delivers its 1 billionth COVID-19 vaccine dose
16 January 2022
On 15 January 2022, a shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccines to Rwanda included the billionth dose supplied via COVAX.
Together with our partners, COVAX is leading the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history, with deliveries to 144 countries to date.
But the work that has gone into this milestone is only a reminder of the work that remains. As of 13 January 2022, out of 194 Member States, 36 WHO Member States have vaccinated less than 10% of their population, and 88 less than 40%.
COVAX’s ambition was compromised by hoarding/stockpiling in rich countries, catastrophic outbreaks leading to borders and supply being locked. And a lack of sharing of licenses, technology and know how by pharmaceutical companies meant manufacturing capacity went unused.
COVAX is working with governments, manufacturers and partners to ensure that when countries receive vaccines they can get them to people quickly.
With updated vaccines in the pipeline, now is the moment for all citizens to demand that governments & pharmaceutical companies share health tools globally & bring an end to the death & destruction cycles of this pandemic, limit new variants and drive a global economic recovery.

ICMRA COVID-19 Omicron variant workshop

Posted on by

ICMRA COVID-19 Omicron variant workshop
12 January 2022 [published 20 Jan 2022]
Co-chairs: Peter Marks (FDA, US) and Marco Cavaleri (EMA, EU)

Welcome by Emer Cooke, ICMRA chair (EMA)
The ‘COVID-19 Omicron variant’ workshop is the third ICMRA vaccines workshop, following the workshop organised in June 2021 entitled ‘Vaccine development: future steps’. The objective of this workshop was to reach international regulatory alignment on dealing with Omicron variant, on the criteria for the selection of adapted vaccines and fostering a strategic discussion between all public health authorities on the long term needs against SARS-CoV-2…

Closing remarks and next steps
While current vaccines are losing protection against Omicron with respect to infection and mild disease, there is still considerable protection from hospitalisation and severe COVID-19, especially after a booster dose. It is becoming increasingly clear that a booster dose is needed to extend vaccine protection.

 

Particularly from the perspective of a global strategy, additional boosters of current vaccines administered with short intervals to restore protection over time would not be the preferable approach to protect public health and a longer-term strategy should be defined. 

With respect to updated vaccine composition, other alternatives should be considered besides a monovalent omicron vaccine as it is not yet defined what would be the preferable approach.

In principle, clinical data are needed for approving a new updated vaccine. Clinical studies should demonstrate that the immune response, measured as neutralising antibodies, with the updated vaccine is superior to the immune response achieved with the prototype vaccine against the variant included in the updated vaccine. Cross-neutralisation of other variants of concern would be additional relevant evidence with respect to the breadth of coverage provided by the updated vaccine. These criteria have to be considered as a minimum requirement to support variant vaccine approval.

Global coordination of changes in vaccine composition to cover potential variants of concern will be important.

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

Posted on by

::::::

 

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: 21 Jan 2022
Confirmed cases :: 340 543 962
Confirmed deaths :: 5 570 163
Vaccine doses administered: 9 571 502 663

 

::::::

Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 – 18 January 2022
Overview
Globally, the number of new COVID-19 cases increased in the past week (10-16 January 2022), while the number of new deaths remained similar to that of the previous week. Across the six WHO regions, over 18 million new cases were reported this week, a 20% increase, as compared to the previous week. Over 45 000 new deaths were also reported. As of 16 January, over 323 million confirmed cases and over 5.5 million deaths have been reported worldwide.

Despite a slowdown of the increase in case incidence at the global level, all regions reported an increase in the incidence of weekly cases with the exception of the African Region, which reported a 27% decrease. The South-East Asia region reported the largest increase in new cases last week (145%), followed by the Eastern Mediterranean Region (68%). New weekly deaths increased in the South-East Asia Region (12%) and Region of the Americas (7%) while remaining approximately the same as the previous week in the other regions.

WHO Director General Speeches [selected]

Posted on by

WHO Director General Speeches [selected]
https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches
Selected
18 January 2022
Speech
WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 — 18 January 2022
:: The volcanic eruption near Tonga and subsequent tsunami requires an urgent response. With telecommunications down, WHO is on the ground in Tonga helping coordinate the response by channelling information between UN agencies, humanitarian partners and the Tongan government.
:: Omicron continues to sweep the world. Last week, there were more than 18 million reported cases. Make no mistake, Omicron is causing hospitalizations and deaths, and even the less severe cases are inundating health facilities.
:: Next week, the WHO Executive Board, which is made up of 34 Member States, will meet to discuss the world’s health challenges. WHO will be working to accelerate progress on negotiations around a pandemic accord, as well as sustainable financing.

WHO SAGE Roadmap for prioritizing uses of COVID-19 vaccines

Posted on by

WHO SAGE Roadmap for prioritizing uses of COVID-19 vaccines
21 January 2022
An approach to optimize the global impact of COVID-19 vaccines, based on public health goals, global and national equity, and vaccine access and coverage scenarios
Overview
Given the urgency and wide-ranging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, SAGE has developed an approach to help inform deliberation around the range of recommendations that may be appropriate under different epidemiologic and vaccine supply conditions. To assist in developing recommendations for use of vaccines against COVID-19, SAGE proposes a Roadmap for Prioritizing Uses of COVID-19 Vaccines that considers priority populations for vaccination based on epidemiologic setting and vaccine supply scenarios. This Roadmap builds on the WHO SAGE values framework for the allocation and prioritization of COVID-19 vaccination.
PDF: https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1406385/retrieve
Preamble
This interim guidance constitutes a major revision of the WHO SAGE roadmap for prioritizing uses of COVID-19 vaccines, first issued October 2020, and updated in November 2020 and July 2021. It is based on work conducted by the SAGE Working Group on COVID-19 Vaccines and SAGE members, from October 2021 to January 2022, including consultation with RITAG1 chairs, and dedicated discussions at extraordinary meetings of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization on 7 December 2021 and 19 January 2022 (1).

This revised Roadmap takes into account increasing vaccine availability, vaccine coverage rates, and the evolving epidemiological situation including COVID-19 variants of concern. Scenarios in which vaccination coverage exceeds 50% of the population are considered, as are topics such as vaccine use in children and adolescents and prioritization of additional and booster doses in relation to vaccination coverage rates. To assist countries in developing recommendations for optimized use of vaccines against COVID-19, priority-use groups for vaccination (both primary series and booster doses) are identified based on epidemiological scenarios, public health goals, and vaccine coverage scenarios (in accordance with WHO SAGE values framework for the allocation and prioritization of COVID-19 vaccination (2)).

This Roadmap is complementary to the Strategy to achieve global Covid-19 vaccination by mid-2022 (3) issued in September 2021, which was developed by WHO in collaboration with its COVAX partners and key regional and national stakeholders, and which specifies national vaccine coverage categories. The Roadmap emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the distribution of increasingly available vaccine supply to optimize impact on health, socioeconomic conditions, and equity, and focuses on in-country vaccine policies….
Selected Chart

†Priority-use groups: The extent of risk of severe disease and death is the main determinant for assignment of a subgroup (or subpopulation) to a priority-use group. This criterion aligns with a specification of the human well-being principle in the WHO SAGE values framework for the allocation and prioritization of COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, other specifications of that principle, including reducing societal and economic disruption and protecting essential health services, as well as of the national equity and reciprocity principles, are also used to justify assignment of some of the subgroups to a priority-use group.

*Additional dose: Persons with moderate to severe immunocompromising conditions should receive an expanded primary vaccination series through an additional dose about 1–3 months after completion of the primary series (see Interim recommendations for an extended primary series with an additional vaccine dose for COVID-19 vaccination in immunocompromised persons (4). Such persons are also a high priority-use group for a subsequent (booster) dose.

**Booster dose: The optimal interval between completion of a primary series and administration of a booster dose has yet to be determined, and depends on epidemiological setting, vaccine product, targeted age groups, background seroprevalence, and circulation of specific variants of concern. As a general principle, dependent on vaccine product, an interval of 4–6 months since completion of the primary series could be considered for countries experiencing significant loss of vaccine effectiveness against severe disease in the context of an impending or ongoing major surge of cases, while a longer interval could be considered for those countries currently not experiencing, or at low risk of, an increasing incidence of cases.