Category Archives: Uncategorized

POLIO – Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC); WHO/OCHA Emergencies

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Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 29 July 2020
:: As of March 2020, the programme started a spotlight focus on women leaders that have contributed to the efforts of global polio eradication. The “Women Leaders in Polio Eradication” series aims to highlight women’s leadership and their roles across the polio programme, providing insight into their work and life.
:: Eye on Eradication is a new monthly publication produced by Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Hub for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Each month, the publication will focus on a different topic related to our collective efforts to eradicate polio from the last two polio-endemic countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Take a look at the first edition.

Summary of new WPV and cVDPV viruses this week (AFP cases and environmental samples):
:: Afghanistan: 10 cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
:: Pakistan: 12 WPV1 positive environmental samples, two cVDPV2 cases and five cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
:: Ghana: three cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
:: Chad: Four cVDPV2 cases
:: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo): two cVDPV2 cases
:: Guinea: eight cVDPV2 cases

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WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 1 Aug 2020]

Democratic Republic of the Congo – No new digest announcements identified
Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 1 Aug 2020]
Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified
Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Burkina Faso [in French] – No new digest announcements identified
Burundi – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
Malawi – No new digest announcements identified
Measles in Europe – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
HIV in Pakistan – No new digest announcements identified
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 1 Aug 2020]

Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – Page not responding at inquiry
Kenya – No new digest announcements identified
Mali – No new digest announcements identified
Namibia – viral hepatitis – No new digest announcements identified
Tanzania – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Syrian Arab Republic
:: Syrian Arab Republic: North East Syria: Al Hol camp (as of 26 July 2020)
:: Recent Developments in Northwest Syria – Situation Report No. 18 – As of 25 July 2020

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
East Africa Locust Infestation
::  Desert Locust situation update – 29 July 2020

COVID-19
::  Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report 38: occupied Palestinian territory, issued 30 July 2020, information for period: 5 March – 30 July 2020

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WHO & Regional Offices [to 1 Aug 2020]

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WHO & Regional Offices [to 1 Aug 2020]
1 August 2020 News release
COVID-19 Emergency Committee highlights need for response efforts over long term
[See Milestones above for detail]

1 August 2020 Statement
Statement on the fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
[See Milestones above for detail]

31 July 2020 Statement
World Breastfeeding Week 2020 Message

27 July 2020 Statement
WHO statement on heated tobacco products and the US FDA decision regarding IQOS

 

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Weekly Epidemiological Record, 31 July 2020, vol. 95, 31 (pp. 361–368)
Progress in hepatitis B control – South-East Asia Region, 2016–2019
COVID-19 update

 

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WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region AFRO
:: Tackling COVID-19 fear and stigma 23 July 2020
Hesitancy to get tested, avoiding contact tracers or wariness of what the neighbours will say: the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a variety of reactions among some Ouagadougou residents that have complicated timely response.
:: Striving to keep health worker infections at bay 23 July 2020
Accra – Evelyn Narki Dowuona bears a great responsibility at Ga East Municipal Hospital in the Ghanaian capital Accra, where, as in much of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the risks of health care work. Drawing on more than 10 years of nursing experience, the quality and safety manager ensures that measures to curb infection are strictly observed.
“We want to cause no harm to the patients while giving them care. We also want to ensure that our staff are safe in their working environment,” she says.

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
No new digest content identified

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

WHO European Region EURO
:: Cooperation and coordination to improve maternal and infant health in the Russian Federation 31-07-2020
:: Russian experts to support COVID-19 laboratory capacity in Tajikistan 31-07-2020

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: Africa closes in on one million COVID-19 cases
Brazzaville/Cairo, 30 July 2020 – COVID-19 infections in Africa will exceed one million cases in the coming days as the pandemic surges in several hotspot countries. In a little more than 3 weeks, the number of cases on the continent almost doubled to 889 457, with 18 806 deaths…
:: Statement by WHO’s Regional Director on the need for continued vigilance during the COVID-19 pandemic 29 July 2020
:: Safe practices during Eid al-Adha in the context of COVID-19 28 July 2020
:: Member States must take action to ensure the safety and health of migrant and displaced populations, warn WHO and IOM

WHO Western Pacific Region
No new digest content identified

CDC/ACIP [to 1 Aug 2020]

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CDC/ACIP [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html
Latest News Releases
Study highlights importance of CDC mitigation strategies
Friday, July 31, 2020
Today’s MMWR on SARS-CoV-2 transmission at an overnight camp in Georgia found efficient spread of the virus among campers and staff while noting key steps to minimize the risk for SARS-CoV-2 introduction and transmission in camps were not strictly followed.

The camp adopted some mitigation steps found in CDC Suggestions for Youth and Summer Camps to minimize the risk for SARS-CoV-2 introduction and transmission to include cohorting of attendees by cabin and enhanced cleaning and disinfection. However, the camp did not require the 363 campers to wear masks, only the staff.  Additionally, camp attendees engaged in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities that included daily vigorous singing and cheering, which might have contributed to transmission.

Settings, like multi-day, overnight summer camps, pose a unique challenge when it comes to preventing the spread of infectious diseases considering the amount of time campers and staff members spend in close proximity.  Correct and consistent use of cloth masks, rigorous cleaning and sanitizing, social distancing, and frequent hand washing strategies, which are recommended in CDC’s recently released guidance to reopen America’s schools, are critical to prevent transmission of the virus in settings involving children and are our greatest tools to prevent COVID-19.

For research on disease transmission in a congregate setting SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Serologic Responses from a Sample of U.S. Navy Service Members — USS Theodore Roosevelt, April 2020.

CMS and CDC announce provider reimbursement available for counseling patients to self-isolate at time of COVID-19 testing
Thursday, July 30, 2020

MMWR News Synopsis Friday, July 31, 2020
Progress Toward Hepatitis B Control — South-East Asia Region, 2016–2019

Rebound in Routine Childhood Vaccine Administration Following Decline During the COVID-19 Pandemic — New York City, March 1 – June 27, 2020

Symptom Duration and Risk Factors for Delayed Return to Usual Health Among Outpatients with COVID-19 in a Multistate Health Care Systems Network — United States, March–June 2020 (Early release July 24, 2020)

China CDC

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China CDC
http://www.chinacdc.cn/en/
No new digest content identified.

 

National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China
http://en.nhc.gov.cn/
News
August 1: Daily briefing on novel coronavirus cases in China
2020-08-01
On July 31, 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps on the Chinese mainland reported 45 new cases of confirmed infections (6 imported cases, 4 in Shanghai municipality and 2 in Guangdong province; 39 indigenous cases, 31 in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and 8 in Liaoning province), no new cases of suspected infections, and no deaths…

Foreign Ministry: WHO experts had in-depth exchanges with Chinese counterparts
2020-07-31
As previously agreed, two WHO experts came to China in mid-July to have preparatory discussions for scientific cooperation on COVID-19 origin-tracing, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a regular press conference on 29 July. During quarantine, the WHO experts had multiple video meetings with their Chinese counterparts, where they had an in-depth review of the latest global research on the population, environmental, molecular and zoonotic sources of the virus and its transmission routes. They also discussed future research plans.
Wang noted that China and WHO share the basic understanding that origin-tracing of COVID-19 is a scientific matter and should be left to scientists to find out through international scientific research and cooperation. It is also an ongoing process that may involve multiple countries and localities, and WHO will conduct similar trips to other countries and regions if necessary. “We hope that all relevant countries will take the same, positive approach and cooperate with WHO”, said Wang.

Announcements

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Announcements

 

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/frontiers-group/news-press/
News
No new digest content identified.

 

BARDA – U.S. Department of HHS [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.phe.gov/about/barda/Pages/default.aspx
BARDA News
July 31, 2020: HHS, DOD Partner With Sanofi and GSK on Commercial-Scale Manufacturing Demonstration Project to Produce Millions of COVID-19 Investigational Vaccine Doses
[See Milestones above for detail]

 

BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
No new digest content identified.

 

Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.gatesmri.org/
The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute is a non-profit biotech organization. Our mission is to develop products to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases—three major causes of mortality, poverty, and inequality in developing countries. The world has unprecedented scientific tools at its disposal; now is the time to use them to save the lives of the world’s poorest people
No new digest content identified.

 

CARB-X [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://carb-x.org/
CARB-X is a non-profit public-private partnership dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research to tackle the global rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria.
No new digest content identified.

 

CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://cepi.net/
Latest News
No new digest content identified.

 

EDCTP [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.edctp.org/
The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as other poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on phase II and III clinical trials
Latest news
No new digest content identified.

 

Emory Vaccine Center [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
Vaccine Center News
No new digest content identified.

 

European Medicines Agency [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News & Press Releases
News: Global regulatory workshop on COVID-19 real-world evidence and observational studies
Last updated: 31/07/2020
Vaccines surveillance and vigilance, collaboration on pregnancy studies and building international patient cohorts were the main topics discussed during the 3rd workshop on observational studies of real-world data in the context of COVID-19. The workshop, organised under the umbrella of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA), was co-chaired by Health Canada and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and took place on 22 July 2020. The main findings of the workshop are summarised in a report.

 

 

News: Global regulatory workshop on COVID-19 therapeutics #2: agreement on acceptable endpoints for clinical trials
Last updated: 31/07/2020

 

 

News: Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 20-23 July 2020
CHMP, Last updated: 24/07/2020

 

European Vaccine Initiative [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/
Latest News
No new digest content identified.

 

FDA [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
Press Announcements
July 31, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes First Tests that Estimate a Patient’s Antibodies from Past SARS-CoV-2 Infection

July 31, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup July 31, 2020

July 30, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup July 30, 2020

July 29, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup July 29, 2020

July 29, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Posts New Template for At-Home and Over-the-Counter Diagnostic Tests for Use in Non-Lab Settings, Such as Homes, Offices or Schools

July 28, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup July 28, 2020

July 27, 2020 – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup July 27, 2020

 

Fondation Merieux [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
News, Events
No new digest content identified.

 

Gavi [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.gavi.org/
News releases
31 July 2020
92 low- and middle-income economies eligible to get access to COVID-19 vaccines through Gavi COVAX AMC
[See Milestones above for detail]

27 July 2020
Gavi helps immunise 65 million children in 2019, though COVID-19 puts progress under pressure
:: New analysis of WHO/UNICEF data by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, shows the gap in vaccine coverage between Gavi-supported lower-income countries and wealthier countries has shrunk to record lows
:: Coverage for newer vaccines, such as those that tackle pneumonia and diarrhoea, now higher in Gavi-supported countries than the global average
:: COVID-19 pandemic makes the task of reaching those children still missing out on vaccines even more urgent

 

GHIT Fund [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
GHIT was set up in 2012 with the aim of developing new tools to tackle infectious diseases that No new digest content identified.

 

Global Fund [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
COVID-19 Information
28 July 2020
Situation Report
… The Global Fund is providing up to US$1 billion and operational flexibility to help countries fight COVID-19, shore up health systems and mitigate the impacts on lifesaving HIV, TB and malaria programs. Emergency funding is available through the US$500 million COVID-19 Response Mechanism and additional grant flexibilities of up to US$500 million…
…The COVID-19 Guidance Note on Community, Rights and Gender is also available in Spanish, French and Russian…

 

Hilleman Laboratories [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
No new digest content identified.

 

Human Vaccines Project [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
No new digest content identified.

 

IAVI [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
Features
July 31, 2020
Contributing to HIV Vaccine Research in Africa: USAID-Funded Science Capacity Building Partnership with IAVI

 

 

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

 

 

International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association [IGBA]
https://www.igbamedicines.org/
News
No new digest content identified.

 

 

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

 

IFRC [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Bahamas
Red Cross in Bahamas preparing for Hurricane Isaias, while balancing COVID-19 response and Hurricane Dorian recovery
Panama/Port of Spain, 31 July 2020 — The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is working alongside the Bahamas Red Cross to prepare for Hurricane Isaias. A hurricane warning is in effect in the Bahamas with storm surg …
31 July 2020

 

 

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement urges all nations to end the nuclear era
Geneva, 31 July 2020 –Seventy-five years ago, on the morning of August 6, 1945, a B-29 warplane released a terrifying new weapon on Hiroshima. The nuclear bomb wiped out the city, instantly killing an estimated 70,000 people and leaving tens of thousan …
31 July 2020

Europe
Red Cross calls on people to check on neighbours and loved ones during dangerous heatwave
As temperatures soar across Europe, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is calling on the public to check on neighbours and loved ones who might struggle to cope with the searing heat.
29 July 2020

Asia Pacific, Philippines
Philippines: Red Cross urges greater vigilance as COVID-19 cases fill hospitals
Manila, 28 July 2020 – Red Cross is urging everyone in the Philippines to be even more vigilant as COVID-19 cases continue to jump by more than a thousand each day following the easing of quarantine restrictions. More than 80,000 people in the country …
28 July 2020

 

IVAC [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
Updates
Joint Statement on COVID-19 Vaccines & Older Adults
July 2020
As WHO, CEPI, and Gavi meet and consider how best to manage the planning and deployment of a COVID-19 vaccine, we feel the voice of older adults, one of the most vulnerable, important, and essential groups should feature prominently in the COVAX process.

In keeping with COVAX’s stated goal of equity, we recommend:
[1] Prioritizing development of a COVID-19 vaccine that elicits a strong immune response in older adults, going beyond the stated minimum efficacy in the target product profile efficacy. To this end, recruitment of older adults in the development process is essential.
[2] Including a broader range of stakeholders with expertise in older adults both within and outside of the immunization and health sector on COVAX working groups to represent important perspectives relevant to low- and middle-income countries, particularly for vulnerable populations.
[3] Supporting efforts to evaluate current preparedness of health systems and other channels to safely deliver a COVID-19 vaccine specifically to adults and those most vulnerable.
[4] Gavi should consider support for influenza vaccines for older populations now to gain experience immunizing older groups and other vulnerable populations to protect them against further impact due to COVID-19. Global partners should also prioritize support for certain countries to strengthen their program.

These key recommendations are proposed as being part of the solution, and we strongly believe many hands and minds across sectors and disciplines are required to successfully deploy vaccines to older adults.
Download Joint Statement Here

 

IVI [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.ivi.int/
Selected IVI News & Announcements
No new digest content identified.

 

JEE Alliance [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.

 

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.msf.org/
Latest [Selected Announcements]
Libya
Libya: “They were shot and killed as they fled arbitrary detention”
Project Update 31 Jul 2020

Greece
MSF forced to close COVID-19 centre on Lesbos
Press Release 30 Jul 2020

Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic
Diagnostic company Cepheid charging four times more than it should for COVID-19 tests
Press Release 28 Jul 2020
MSF urges Cepheid to stop profiteering off the COVID-19 pandemic and lower the price of desperately-needed COVID-19 tests.

 

National Vaccine Program Office – U.S. HHS [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.hhs.gov/vaccines/about/index.html
NVAC Meetings
September 23-24, 2020 Meeting (Virtual)
February 4-5, 2021 NVAC Meeting
June 16-17, 2021 NVAC Meeting

 

NIH [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
Selected News Releases
NIH delivering new COVID-19 testing technologies to meet U.S. demand
Friday, July 31, 2020
The National Institutes of Health is investing $248.7 million in new technologies to address challenges associated with COVID-19 testing (which detects SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus). NIH’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative has awarded contracts to seven biomedical diagnostic companies to support a range of new lab-based and point-of-care tests that could significantly increase the number, type and availability of tests by millions per week as early as September 2020. With national demand estimated to be millions more tests per day above current levels, these technologies are expected to make a significant contribution to expanding the nation’s testing capacity.

Experimental COVID-19 vaccine protects upper and lower airways in nonhuman primates
July 28, 2020 — NIH-led study of mRNA vaccine supports advance to Phase 3 human trials.
Two doses of an experimental vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)  induced robust immune responses and rapidly controlled the coronavirus in the upper and lower airways of rhesus macaques exposed to SARS-CoV-2, report scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.  SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.
The candidate vaccine, mRNA-1273, was co-developed by scientists at the NIAID Vaccine Research Center and at Moderna, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts

NIH to invest $58M to catalyze data science and health research innovation in Africa
July 27, 2020 — The new five-year program will leverage existing data and technologies to develop solutions for the continent’s most pressing clinical and public health problems.

Phase 3 clinical trial of investigational vaccine for COVID-19 begins
July 27, 2020 — Multi-site trial to test candidate developed by Moderna and NIH.
A Phase 3 clinical trial designed to evaluate if an investigational vaccine can prevent symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults has begun. The vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, was co-developed by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The trial, which will be conducted at U.S. clinical research sites, is expected to enroll approximately 30,000 adult volunteers who do not have COVID-19..

 

PATH [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
Selected Announcements
Lifesaving umbilical cord product receives pre-qualification from West African Health Organization
July 30, 2020 by PATH
Chlorxy-G Gel, a 7.1% chlorhexidine digluconate gel manufactured in Nigeria, receives approval for introduction in 15 countries

 

Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
Statements and Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

 

UNAIDS [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
30 July 2020
Celebrating the life of Inviolata Mbwavi, Kenyan AIDS activist

29 July 2020
Guyana community organization serves sex workers on the edge during COVID-19

28 July 2020
#TogetherWeWin: inspiring examples of solidarity during the COVID-19 outbreak in eastern Europe and central Asia

 

UNICEF [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Selected Press releases/Announcements
Press release
07/30/2020
UNICEF and faith groups release new guidance on how to support communities in times of COVID-19
Guidance advises faith leaders and communities on how to practice faith safely, fight misinformation, and support children and vulnerable populations

Press release
07/29/2020
A third of the world’s children poisoned by lead, new groundbreaking analysis says
UNICEF and Pure Earth call for urgent action to abolish dangerous practices including the informal recycling of lead acid batteries

Statement
07/28/2020
Five children killed and nine injured in an attack on a village in West Darfur, Sudan
Statement from Mohammed Ould Bouasria, Acting UNICEF Representative in Sudan

Press release
07/27/2020
UNICEF: An additional 6.7 million children under 5 could suffer from wasting this year due to COVID-19
As part of its Reimagine campaign, UNICEF calls for accelerated action to prevent and treat malnutrition caused by pandemic as humanitarian community appeals for $2.4 billion to improve maternal and child nutrition

 

Unitaid [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://unitaid.org/
Featured News
28 July 2020
Unitaid celebrates progress against hepatitis C through simpler medicines and tests
Geneva – On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, Unitaid celebrates the progress made in the fight against Hepatitis C in the past few years. Notably, thanks to quality medicines and tests that are simpler to administer, affordable and adapted to the needs of people in low- and middle-income countries.
Close to 400,000 people continue dying of Hepatitis C globally each year. Antiviral medicines can cure more than 95 percent of people with the infection, but access to diagnosis and treatment has typically been low. Less than a decade ago, Hepatitis C was difficult and expensive to treat even in high-income countries, and new medicines where out of reach for people in lower-income countries…

 

Vaccination Acceptance Research Network (VARN) [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://vaccineacceptance.org/news.html#header1-2r
Announcements
No new digest content identified.

 

Vaccine Confidence Project [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
Latest News & Archive
Public sentiments and emotions around COVID-19
1 Aug 2020

 

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
No new digest content identified.

 

Wellcome Trust [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
Opinion | 29 July 2020
How can we make social media a healthier platform for health information?
Carla Ross, Research and Evidence Lead, Wellcome
It’s time to see health misinformation differently. We’re calling for the health and research sector to step up and play its role in creating a healthier internet.

 

The Wistar Institute [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Releases
Jul. 28, 2020
The Wistar Institute and Cheyney University Forge Strategic Collaboration to Expand Life Science Research Training and Business Development Opportunities in Pennsylvania
Collaboration extends impact of Wistar’s biomedical science and workforce development programs and Cheyney University’s educational and entrepreneurial communities

 

WFPHA: World Federation of Public Health Associations [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.wfpha.org/
Latest News
No new digest content identified.

 

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2020/
No new digest content identified.

 

 

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ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine] [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://alliancerm.org/press-releases/
Press Releases
Alliance for Regenerative Medicine Calls for Multi-Stakeholder Pan-European Initiative to Fast-Track Real World Evidence in Support of Patient Access to Advanced Therapies
July 29, 2020

 

BIO [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://www.bio.org/press-releases
Press Releases
No new digest content identified.

 

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
News; Upcoming events
No new digest content identified.

 

IFPMA [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications
IFPMA Points to Consider for Virtual GMP Inspections – an Industry perspective
29 July 2020

 

ICBA – International Council of Biotechnology Associations [to 1 Aug 2020]
https://internationalbiotech.org/
News
No new digest content identified.

 

PhRMA [to 1 Aug 2020]
http://www.phrma.org/
Selected Press Releases, Statements
No new digest content identified.

Journal Watch

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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

Infection control practices in children during COVID-19 pandemic: Differences from adults

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American Journal of Infection Control
August 2020 Volume 48, Issue 8, p859-974
http://www.ajicjournal.org/current

 

State of the Science Review
Infection control practices in children during COVID-19 pandemic: Differences from adults
İlker Devrim, Nuri Bayram
p933–939
Published online: May 25, 2020
Highlights
:: High rate of asymptomatic children may increase the spreading of the disease.
:: Healthcare workers in the pediatric hospitals are under great risk for exposure.
:: Infection control precautions play crucial role to prevent the transmissions to HCWs.
:: Personal protective equipment use is a very important strategy for protection of HCWs.

Rhode Island Human Papillomavirus Vaccine School Entry Requirement Using Provider-Verified Report

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American Journal of Preventive Medicine
August 2020 Volume 59, Issue 2, p149-308
http://www.ajpmonline.org/current

 

Research Briefs
Rhode Island Human Papillomavirus Vaccine School Entry Requirement Using Provider-Verified Report
Erika L. Thompson, Melvin D. Livingston III, Ellen M. Daley, Debbie Saslow, Gregory D. Zimet
p274–277
Published online: May 16, 2020

Nonrelocatable Occupations at Increased Risk During Pandemics: United States, 2018

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American Journal of Public Health
August 2020 110(8)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

 

VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
Nonrelocatable Occupations at Increased Risk During Pandemics: United States, 2018
Environment, Occupational Health, Other Environment, Socioeconomic Factors, Health Policy, Community Health
Marissa G. Baker
110(8), pp. 1126–1132

The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Watershed Moment to Strengthen Food Security Across the US Food System

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American Journal of Public Health
August 2020 110(8)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

 

The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Watershed Moment to Strengthen Food Security Across the US Food System
Chronic Disease, Other Chronic Disease, Nutrition/Food, Infections, Socioeconomic Factors, Epidemiology, Other Infections
Carmen Byker Shanks, Melanie D. Hingle, Courtney A. Parks and Amy L. Yaroch
110(8), pp. 1133–1134

Free Vaccinations for All Is, Morally and Economically, the Right Way to Prepare for Pandemic and Seasonal Respiratory Infections

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American Journal of Public Health
August 2020 110(8)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

 

Free Vaccinations for All Is, Morally and Economically, the Right Way to Prepare for Pandemic and Seasonal Respiratory Infections
Global Health, Immunization/Vaccines, Infections, Prevention, Community Health, Other Infections
Ryan P. Gilley and Peter H. Dube
110(8), pp. 1143–1144

Should Clinicians Use Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine Alone or in Combination With Azithromycin for the Prophylaxis or Treatment of COVID-19? Living Practice Points From the American College of Physicians (Version 1)

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Annals of Internal Medicine
21 July 2020 Volume 173, Issue 2
http://annals.org/aim/issue

 

Special Article
Should Clinicians Use Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine Alone or in Combination With Azithromycin for the Prophylaxis or Treatment of COVID-19? Living Practice Points From the American College of Physicians (Version 1)
FREE
Amir Qaseem, MD, PhD, MHA, Jennifer Yost, RN, PhD, Itziar Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta, PharmD, PhD, … et al.
Clinicians must have access to the best available evidence to inform point-of-care decisions about the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, with or without azithromycin, in patients with COVID-19. This article provides advice from the American College of Physicians for clinicians and will be updated as new evidence becomes available.

The current landscape of pre-exposure prophylaxis service delivery models for HIV prevention: a scoping review

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BMC Health Services Research
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/content
(Accessed 1 Aug 2020)

 

The current landscape of pre-exposure prophylaxis service delivery models for HIV prevention: a scoping review
Strengthening HIV prevention is imperative given the continued high HIV incidence worldwide. The introduction of oral PrEP as a new biomedical HIV prevention tool can be a potential game changer because of its…
Authors: Jef Vanhamel, Anke Rotsaert, Thijs Reyniers, Christiana Nöstlinger, Marie Laga, Ella Van Landeghem and Bea Vuylsteke
Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2020 20:704
Content type: Research article
Published on: 31 July 2020

Mapping the situation of research on coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19): a preliminary bibliometric analysis during the early stage of the outbreak

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BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 1 Aug 2020)

 

Mapping the situation of research on coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19): a preliminary bibliometric analysis during the early stage of the outbreak
The novel coronavirus, named as 2019-nCoV or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has recently appeared in China and has spread worldwide, presenting a health threat to the global community. Therefore, it is i…
Authors: Sa’ed H. Zyoud and Samah W. Al-Jabi
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2020 20:561
Content type: Research article
Published on: 1 August 2020

Identifying and combating the impacts of COVID-19 on malaria

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BMC Medicine
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/content
(Accessed 1 Aug 2020)

 

Identifying and combating the impacts of COVID-19 on malaria
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of infections, hundreds of thousands of deaths and major societal disruption due to lockdowns and other restrictions introduced to limit disease spread. Relativel…
Authors: Stephen J. Rogerson, James G. Beeson, Moses Laman, Jeanne Rini Poespoprodjo, Timothy William, Julie A. Simpson and Ric N. Price
Citation: BMC Medicine 2020 18:239
Content type: Opinion
Published on: 30 July 2020

Refugees and COVID-19: achieving a comprehensive public health response

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Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 98, Number 8, August 2020, 509-580
https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/98/8/en/

 

EDITORIALS
Refugees and COVID-19: achieving a comprehensive public health response
— Qais Alemi, Carl Stempel, Hafifa Siddiq & Eunice Kim
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.20.271080
Millions of refugees worldwide are exposed to violence, family separation, culture loss and exile. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exposes these populations to a new threat, one that could prove to be more devastating than the events forcing them to flee their homelands.

Refugees are vulnerable to COVID-19,1 as they live in conditions that disproportionately increase their risk of contagion. For example, in densely populated refugee camps, social distancing is challenging and if basic sanitation is lacking, proper hand hygiene is close to impossible.2 Projections in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, which hosts over 600 000 Rohingya refugees, suggest that a COVID-19 outbreak could exhaust medical resources and overwhelm camp hospitals within 58 days, which would lead to a rise in deaths from other infectious diseases, such as malaria.2 Although limited evidence exists on whether infectious diseases increase the risk of COVID-19, the World Health Organization anticipates that people who have both COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, may have poorer treatment outcomes, especially if tuberculosis treatment is interrupted.3 This prediction is alarming, considering that tuberculosis and malaria are highly prevalent in refugee populations, as are noncommunicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes,4,5 known to increase susceptibility to severe COVID-19. This situation is compounded by language barriers that refugees face in host communities and their limited access to health care for obtaining health information, testing and treatment, which some may even avoid out of fears of being deported.4…

The International Health Regulations (2005), the threat of populism and the COVID-19 pandemic

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Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/

 

Commentary Open Access
The International Health Regulations (2005), the threat of populism and the COVID-19 pandemic
The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare weaknesses and major challenges in the international approach to managing public health emergencies. Populist sentiment is spreading globally as democratic nations are increasing their support for or electing governments that are perceived to represent “traditional” native interests. Measures need to be taken to proactively address populist sentiment when reviewing the IHR (2005) effectiveness in the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss how populism can impact the IHR (2005) and conversely how the IHR (2005) may be able to address populist concerns if the global community commits to helping states address public health threats that emerge within their borders.
Authors: Kumanan Wilson, Sam Halabi and Lawrence O. Gostin
Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:70
Content type: Commentary
Published on: 28 July 2020

A Proposed Lottery System to Allocate Scarce COVID-19 Medications – Promoting Fairness and Generating Knowledge

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JAMA
July 21, 2020, Vol 324, No. 3, Pages 209-310
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

Viewpoint
A Proposed Lottery System to Allocate Scarce COVID-19 Medications – Promoting Fairness and Generating Knowledge
Douglas B. White, MD, MAS; Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH
free access has active quiz has audio
JAMA. 2020;324(4):329-330. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.11464
This Viewpoint proposes creation of state-level central lotteries for allocating drugs like remdesivir to hospitalized patients with COVID-19, which, if paired with demographic and outcome registry data, would enable equitable treatment allocation and facilitate actionable intelligence about the drugs’ treatment effectiveness through a natural experiment.
Audio Clinical Review: Remdesivir and Dexamethasone for the Treatment of COVID-19

Trends in HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Prescribing in the United States, 2012-2018

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JAMA
July 21, 2020, Vol 324, No. 3, Pages 209-310
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

 

Research Letter
Trends in HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Prescribing in the United States, 2012-2018
Hyun Jin Song, MPharm, PhD; Patrick Squires, PharmD; Debbie Wilson, PhD; et al.
JAMA. 2020;324(4):395-397. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.7312
This study uses national pharmacy claims data to describes trends in prescriptions for HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) overall and by specialty between 2012 and 2018.

 

The Dual Epidemics of COVID-19 and Influenza-Vaccine Acceptance, Coverage, and Mandates

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JAMA
July 21, 2020, Vol 324, No. 3, Pages 209-310
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

 

COVID-19: Beyond Tomorrow
The Dual Epidemics of COVID-19 and Influenza-Vaccine Acceptance, Coverage, and Mandates
Lawrence O. Gostin, JD; Daniel A. Salmon, MPH, PhD
free access
JAMA. 2020;324(4):335-336. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10802
This Viewpoint proposes policy responses to boost influenza vaccination uptake and reduce the anticipated morbidity and mortality of an influenza–COVID-19 co-epidemic in fall 2020.

Cognitive Bias and Public Health Policy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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JAMA
July 21, 2020, Vol 324, No. 3, Pages 209-310
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/currentissue

 

Cognitive Bias and Public Health Policy During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Scott D. Halpern, MD, PhD; Robert D. Truog, MD; Franklin G. Miller, PhD
free access
JAMA. 2020;324(4):337-338. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.11623
This Viewpoint reviews common cognitive biases that led health centers and the public to favor patient- over population health–oriented policy responses to the initial COVID-19 pandemic, and proposes messaging to better articulate the rationale for more effective population health responses.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Rapid Implementation of Adolescent and Young Adult Telemedicine: Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation

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Journal of Adolescent Health
August 2020 Volume 67, Issue 2, p145-308
https://www.jahonline.org/issue/S1054-139X(20)X0007-3

 

Original Articles
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Rapid Implementation of Adolescent and Young Adult Telemedicine: Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation
Angela Barney, Sara Buckelew, Veronika Mesheriakova, Marissa Raymond-Flesch
p164–171
Published online: May 14, 2020

Tailored Messages Addressing Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Concerns Improves Behavioral Intent Among Mothers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Journal of Adolescent Health
August 2020 Volume 67, Issue 2, p145-308
https://www.jahonline.org/issue/S1054-139X(20)X0007-3

 

Tailored Messages Addressing Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Concerns Improves Behavioral Intent Among Mothers: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Catherine A. Panozzo, Katharine J. Head, Melanie L. Kornides, Kristen A. Feemster, Gregory D. Zimet
p253–261
Published online: March 18, 2020

The truth is out there, somewhere

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The Lancet
Aug 01, 2020 Volume 396 Number 10247 p291-360, e12
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

 

Editorial
The truth is out there, somewhere
The Lancet
The tidal wave of information on the internet concerning the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in difficulties in discerning truth from fiction. This so-called infodemic, defined by WHO as an “overabundance of information—some accurate and some not—that makes it harder for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when needed”, has become a major threat to public health. Infection rates will rise if people are confused about restrictions and patients may be harmed if they use unproven treatments or bogus remedies.
An urgent call for action to gauge, map, and develop a means of combating this problem was explored at a WHO-organised conference held across April, June, and July. The meeting, which focused on so-called infodemiology—the science behind managing infodemics—brought together experts from a range of disciplines, including epidemiology, public health, applied mathematics, and data science…

Why vaccine rumours stick—and getting them unstuck

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The Lancet
Aug 01, 2020 Volume 396 Number 10247 p291-360, e12
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

 

Perspectives
Book
Why vaccine rumours stick—and getting them unstuck
Bruce Gellin
…Heidi Larson’s compelling new book Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start—and Why They Don’t Go Away looks at the dynamics of the evolving debate through the lens of an anthropologist who has been studying vaccine confidence for decades. Largely written before COVID-19 surfaced, this book is timely as the world has its eyes longingly set on a COVID-19 vaccine.
As Larson notes, ”the quality of life that most of us enjoy today is dependent on vaccines. In many ways it is one of the biggest worldwide social experiments in collectivism and cooperation in modern times. The challenge is that it depends on a social contract whose fabric is eroding in a broader context of anti-globalization, nationalism, and populism. Vaccines can, as they have in the past, serve as a form of soft diplomacy to keep at least a fundamental level of global cooperation alive and well.”
…Larson’s book draws from a vast array of findings from her Vaccine Confidence Project that has established an information surveillance system for early detection of public concerns around vaccines. From this large body of work, Larson explores several important themes in Stuck: rumour, dignity, distrust, risk, emotional contagion, choice, the power of beliefs over facts, and the power of stories over data. Her analysis of these issues covers a broad range of events, settings, and countries, including Ebola virus vaccine trials in west Africa, routine MMR vaccination in the Somali community in Minnesota, USA, human papillomavirus vaccination in Japan and Columbia, dengue vaccine introduction in the Philippines, and the ramifications of a CIA-inspired sham hepatitis vaccination campaign in Pakistan as part of the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
…But Larson asks that we do more because it isn’t only about getting the facts right. As she frames the core problem: “we don’t have a misinformation problem, we have a relationship problem”. The misinformation can be deleted, but the underlying distrust that has caused it and allowed it to stick remains. Rather than countering and dismissing rumours, Larson encourages the health community and other stakeholders to listen to these rumours and recognise what people are saying. These analyses can reveal deeper issues such as the feeling of being disenfranchised and not being heard. It is from these insights, she argues, “lie the cues to building new and more trusting relationships”…

Digital tools against COVID-19: taxonomy, ethical challenges, and navigation aid

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Lancet Digital Health
Aug 2020 Volume 2 Number 8e380-e440
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/issue/current

 

Health Policy
Digital tools against COVID-19: taxonomy, ethical challenges, and navigation aid
Urs Gasser, Marcello Ienca, James Scheibner, Joanna Sleigh, Effy Vayena
Summary
Data collection and processing via digital public health technologies are being promoted worldwide by governments and private companies as strategic remedies for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic and loosening lockdown measures. However, the ethical and legal boundaries of deploying digital tools for disease surveillance and control purposes are unclear, and a rapidly evolving debate has emerged globally around the promises and risks of mobilising digital tools for public health. To help scientists and policy makers to navigate technological and ethical uncertainty, we present a typology of the primary digital public health applications that are in use. These include proximity and contact tracing, symptom monitoring, quarantine control, and flow modelling. For each, we discuss context-specific risks, cross-sectional issues, and ethical concerns. Finally, recognising the need for practical guidance, we propose a navigation aid for policy makers and other decision makers for the ethical development and use of digital public health tools.

Applications of digital technology in COVID-19 pandemic planning and response

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Lancet Digital Health
Aug 2020 Volume 2 Number 8e380-e440
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/issue/current

 

Viewpoint
Applications of digital technology in COVID-19 pandemic planning and response
Sera Whitelaw, Mamas A Mamas, Eric Topol, Harriette G C Van Spall
Summary
With high transmissibility and no effective vaccine or therapy, COVID-19 is now a global pandemic. Government-coordinated efforts across the globe have focused on containment and mitigation, with varying degrees of success. Countries that have maintained low COVID-19 per-capita mortality rates appear to share strategies that include early surveillance, testing, contact tracing, and strict quarantine. The scale of coordination and data management required for effective implementation of these strategies has—in most successful countries—relied on adopting digital technology and integrating it into policy and health care. This Viewpoint provides a framework for the application of digital technologies in pandemic management and response, highlighting ways in which successful countries have adopted these technologies for pandemic planning, surveillance, testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and health care.

Achieving coordinated national immunity and cholera elimination in Haiti through vaccination: a modelling study

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Lancet Global Health
Aug 2020 Volume 8 Number 8 e973-e1100
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/issue/current

 

Articles
Achieving coordinated national immunity and cholera elimination in Haiti through vaccination: a modelling study
Elizabeth C Lee, et al
Summary
Background
Cholera was introduced into Haiti in 2010. Since then, more than 820 000 cases and nearly 10 000 deaths have been reported. Oral cholera vaccine (OCV) is safe and effective, but has not been seen as a primary tool for cholera elimination due to a limited period of protection and constrained supplies. Regionally, epidemic cholera is contained to the island of Hispaniola, and the lowest numbers of cases since the epidemic began were reported in 2019. Hence, Haiti may represent a unique opportunity to eliminate cholera with OCV.
Methods
In this modelling study, we assessed the probability of elimination, time to elimination, and percentage of cases averted with OCV campaign scenarios in Haiti through simulations from four modelling teams. For a 10-year period from January 19, 2019, to Jan 13, 2029, we compared a no vaccination scenario with five OCV campaign scenarios that differed in geographical scope, coverage, and rollout duration. Teams used weekly department-level reports of suspected cholera cases from the Haiti Ministry of Public Health and Population to calibrate the models and used common vaccine-related assumptions, but other model features were determined independently.
Findings
Among campaigns with the same vaccination coverage (70% fully vaccinated), the median probability of elimination after 5 years was 0–18% for no vaccination, 0–33% for 2-year campaigns focused in the two departments with the highest historical incidence, 0–72% for three-department campaigns, and 35–100% for nationwide campaigns. Two-department campaigns averted a median of 12–58% of infections, three-department campaigns averted 29–80% of infections, and national campaigns averted 58–95% of infections. Extending the national campaign to a 5-year rollout (compared to a 2-year rollout), reduced the probability of elimination to 0–95% and the proportion of cases averted to 37–86%.
Interpretation
Models suggest that the probability of achieving zero transmission of Vibrio cholerae in Haiti with current methods of control is low, and that bolder action is needed to promote elimination of cholera from the region. Large-scale cholera vaccination campaigns in Haiti would offer the opportunity to synchronise nationwide immunity, providing near-term population protection while improvements to water and sanitation promote long-term cholera elimination.
Funding
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Good Fund, Institute for Disease Modeling, Swiss National Science Foundation, and US National Institutes of Health.

20th Anniversary Update of the Ottawa Decision Support Framework Part 1: A Systematic Review of the Decisional Needs of People Making Health or Social Decisions

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Medical Decision Making (MDM)
Volume 40 Issue 5, July 2020
http://mdm.sagepub.com/content/current

 

Reviews
20th Anniversary Update of the Ottawa Decision Support Framework Part 1: A Systematic Review of the Decisional Needs of People Making Health or Social Decisions
Lauren Hoefel, Annette M. O’Connor, Krystina B. Lewis, Laura Boland, Lindsey Sikora, Jiale Hu, Dawn Stacey
First Published July 13, 2020; pp. 555–581
Abstract
Background. The Ottawa Decision Support Framework (ODSF) has been used for 20 years to assess and address people’s decisional needs. The evidence regarding ODSF decisional needs has not been synthesized.
Objectives. To synthesize evidence from ODSF-based decisional needs studies, identify new decisional needs, and validate current ODSF decisional needs.
Methods. A mixed-studies systematic review. Nine electronic databases were searched. Inclusion criteria: studies of people’s decisional needs when making health or social decisions for themselves, a child, or a mentally incapable person, as reported by themselves, families, or practitioners. Two independent authors screened eligibility, extracted data, and quality appraised studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data were analyzed using narrative synthesis.
Results. Of 4532 citations, 45 studies from 7 countries were eligible. People’s needs for 101 unique decisions (85 health, 16 social) were reported by 2857 patient decision makers (n = 36 studies), 92 parent decision makers (n = 6), 81 family members (n = 5), and 523 practitioners (n = 21). Current ODSF decisional needs were reported in 2 to 40 studies. For 6 decisional needs, there were 11 new (manifestations): 1) information (overload, inadequacy regarding others’ experiences with options), 2) difficult decisional roles (practitioner, family involvement, or deliberations), 3) unrealistic expectations (difficulty believing outcome probabilities apply to them), 4) personal needs (religion/spirituality), 5) difficult decision timing (unpredictable), and 6) unreceptive decisional stage (difficulty accepting condition/need for treatment, powerful emotions limiting information processing, lacking motivation to consider delayed/unpredictable decisions). Limitations. Possible publication bias (only peer-reviewed journals included). Possible missed needs (non-ODSF studies, patient decision aid development studies, 3 ODSF needs added in 2006).
Conclusion. We validated current decisional needs, identified 11 new manifestations of 6 decisional needs, and recommended ODSF revisions.

ENCODE

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Nature
Volume 583 Issue 7818, 30 July 2020
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

 

ENCODE
This week marks the publication of results from phase three of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project. Nine articles in this issue of Nature, along with papers published online and in several other journals, examine the most comprehensive catalogue yet of the candidate functional elements in the human and mouse genomes. In an overview paper, the ENCODE Project Consortium offers a summary of the new elements in the encyclopedia, which have been compiled with data sets from some 6,000 experiments. Much of the work published in this issue examines DNA regions called candidate cis-regulatory elements (cCREs), which may regulate gene transcription. Three papers — from Joseph Ecker, Bing Ren, Barbara Wold and their colleagues — look at cCREs during embryonic development in the mouse. Two papers from Wouter Meuleman, Jeff Vierstra, John Stamatoyannopoulos and colleagues map cCREs and transcription factor footprints in hundreds of human cell and tissue types. Michael Snyder and colleagues map chromatin loops in 24 human cell types; Eric Mendenhall and co-workers map the genome-wide binding of almost one-quarter of all chromatin-associated proteins active in a human liver cell line; and Brenton Graveley and colleagues integrate multiple assays to produce a comprehensive analysis of RNA-binding proteins and their functional elements. Finally, in a Perspective article, the project team puts the multiple phases of ENCODE in context