Africa: COVID-19 – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment
https://africacdc.org/covid-19-vaccination/

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

 

 

Russia: Sputnik V – “the first registered COVID-19 vaccine”
https://sputnikvaccine.com/newsroom/pressreleases/
Press Releases
Latest Updates [Selected]
[No new digest content identified; last announcement at 28.03.2022]

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

 

 

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
https://www.mohfw.gov.in/

 

 

Government of India – Press Information Bureau
Latest Press Releases
COVID – 19 Vaccination Update – Day 484
:: India’s cumulative vaccination coverage crosses 191.30 Crore
:: More than 13 lakh Vaccine doses administered today till 7 pm
Posted On: 14 MAY 2022 9:22PM by PIB Delhi

 

 

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

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

[We did not identify official announcements about China’s COVID response in general, or in Shanghai, Beijing or other China locations, leading us to include these reports/observations from the general media below. See China CDC below for additional announcements]

 

 

The World Tries to Move Beyond Covid. China May Stand in the Way.
Xi Jinping has redoubled his country’s efforts to control the virus, even as a growing number of leaders call on Beijing to change course.
By Alexandra Stevenson
The New York Times, May 13, 2022
5/13/2022 2:06AM

Locked down Shanghai aims to eliminate Covid over the next week
Text by: Oliver FARRY | Lou KISIELA | Antoine MOREL | Yan CHEN
France 24, 13/05/2022
Shanghai has been under complete lockdown for six weeks now. Around 26 million inhabitants have been confined to their homes and the government has been adamant in its pursuit of zero Covid cases.
However, the goal of zero cases has yet to be reached. The World Health Organization says China’s strategy is unsustainable but Chinese President Xi Jinping is not letting up. This week, health measures were further tightened in China’s economic capital.
“We have to transfer you. You have been named as a contact case. Open up or we will knock the door in!” said one of the health workers to a resident of a building that was condemned due to the presence of a Covid case.

China tightens curbs on overseas travel as part of Covid-19 battle
:: Immigration authorities say they will tighten restrictions on ‘non-essential’ travel and passport approvals
:: The measures were announced following last week’s meeting of the top leadership, where they doubled down on the zero-Covid policy
Phoebe Zhang and Guo Rui
South China Morning Post, Published: 13 May, 2022

Can Xi Jinping vanquish Covid without crushing China’s economy?
The Big Read Chinese economy
In a crucial political year, a series of open-ended lockdowns have heaped pressure on struggling businesses
Sun Yu in Zhengzhou and Tom Mitchell in Singapore
Financial Times, May 12 2022

Xi’s strongman tactics need flexibility to tackle Covid
The economic fallout of China’s lockdowns looks set to be profound
Opinion
The editorial board
Financial Times, May 11, 2022

China Censors WHO Chief’s Call to End Covid-19 Strategy Dubbed Unsustainable
Move to muffle global health body’s criticism shows Xi Jinping’s zero tolerance for public debate
By Rachel Liang
Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2022
SINGAPORE—China’s censors blocked rare public criticism of its zero-Covid strategy by the World Health Organization from social media Wednesday, as officials in Shanghai insisted there would be no change to policies that have locked tens of millions of people in their homes for weeks.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said China’s inflexible approach to Covid-19 needs to adapt to the evolving nature of the virus.

“When we talk about the zero-Covid strategy, we don’t think that it is sustainable considering the behavior of the virus now and what we anticipate in the future,” Mr. Tedros told a briefing on Tuesday, adding that the WHO has been discussing the issue with Chinese experts.

The remarks pit the global health agency against Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who has hitched his reputation to the strategy of strict border controls, widespread lockdowns and mass quarantining of infected people. Mr. Xi last week reiterated China’s unwavering commitment to its Covid-19 approach and pledged to “resolutely fight” any questioning of official policies.

An article that included a video clip of Mr. Tedros’s remarks posted on the United Nations’ WeChat account was widely shared on the microblogging platform. The clip was quickly removed and the article was tagged as “violating laws and regulations”—meaning it could still be read but not shared. On Weibo, China’s Twitter, searches for #Tedros no longer worked as of Wednesday evening local time.
The incident helps illustrate the vanishing space for debate over China’s coronavirus controls, even for global organizations.

There was no acknowledgment of the WHO’s comments in major state-run media Wednesday, though a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry called for Mr. Tedros to avoid making what he called irresponsible comments.

At Shanghai’s daily Covid-19 briefing, Wu Huanyu, deputy director of the city’s center for disease control, reaffirmed that China will stick to the policy now dubbed “dynamic zero.”

“Shanghai has a large population of older people, who are more vulnerable to Covid,” he said. “Dynamic zero is achievable.”…

GPEI Polio

Polio this week as of 11 May 2022
Headlines
:: Ahead of the WHO World Health Assembly (WHA) taking place from 22-28 May 2022, the GPEI has prepared two reports which will inform Member State discussions, namely on polio eradication, and on polio transition planning and post-certification. The reports are available on this page.

 

Summary of new polioviruses this week:
– Djibouti: five cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
– DR Congo: 11 cVDPV2 cases
– Mozambique: one cVDPV2 case
– Nigeria: one cVDPV2 case and one positive environmental sample
– Yemen: six cVDPV2 positive environmental samples

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

Northern Ethiopia
Ethiopia – Northern Ethiopia Humanitarian Update Situation Report, 12 May 2022
HIGHLIGHTS
Humanitarian partners continue to move additional aid supplies into Tigray via the Semera-Abala-Mekelle road bringing 250 trucks since 1 April.
Only 1.5 million people or 24 per cent of the total caseload assisted with food in Tigray since mid-October. 115 trucks of food required a day to reach all in need by end of May.
Amhara authorities continued with the relocation of displaced people, at a slower pace, relocating over 20,000 people from Kobo and over 4,000 people from Sekota since mid-March.
Over 10.4 million people out of the 11.6 million target caseload reached with food assistance in Amhara under the current food distribution which started on 22 December 2021.
About 90,000 people in Afar assisted with water trucking with the support of 23 trucks operating at displacement sites and Woredas with water shortage during the reporting period.

Ukraine
Ukraine: Situation Report – Last updated: 12 May 2022
Eastern Ukraine continues to face the fiercest fighting. Attacks were also reported in southern, south-eastern and central parts of Ukraine.
On 8 May, over 170 civilians were evacuated from Mariupol (Donetska oblast) and surrounding areas as part of the third evacuation operation coordinated by the UN and ICRC.
As of 3 May, the International Organization for Migration estimates that slightly over 8 million people have been displaced within Ukraine.
On 7 May, the World Food Programme reported that it has supported over 3.4 million people across Ukraine with food and cash assistance since 24 February.
As of 6 May, the UN Children’s Fund has supported 1.3 million people with access to safe water.

WHO & Regional Offices [to 14 May 2022]
https://www.who.int/news
13 May 2022
Departmental news
WHO launches new Mortality Database visualization portal

13 May 2022
Departmental news
TB laboratory manuals issued to support the implementation of WHO-recommended diagnostics

12 May 2022
News release
WHO and MPP announce agreement with NIH for COVID-19 health technologies

12 May 2022
Departmental news
New report shows progress and missed opportunities in the control of NCDs at the national level

10 May 2022
Statement
World leaders urged to make firm commitments at Second Global COVID-19 Summit by ACT-Accelerator agency leads

::::::

WHO Director General Speeches [selected]
https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches
Selected
12 May 2022
Speech
WHO Deputy Director-General’s speech – Partnering to build sustainable Health Eco-System in Africa, African-European Collaboration

12 May 2022
Speech
WHO Director-General’s live speech at 2nd Global COVID Summit – 12 May 2022

10 May 2022
Speech
WHO Director-General’s remarks at the Special Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe — 10 May 2022

10 May 2022
Speech
WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the WHO press conference – 10 May 2022

::::::

 

WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region
:: Southern Africa faces uptick in COVID-19 cases
12 May 2022 Brazzaville – Southern Africa is facing an upsurge in COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive week as the winter season in the region approaches. The uptick has broken a two-month-long decline in overall infections recorded across the continent.
The sub-region recorded 46 271 cases in the week ending on 8 May 2022, marking a 32% increase over the week before.

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: 10 May 2022 Technical Note: acute, severe hepatitis of unknown origin in children
This technical note follows the previous reports regarding the event of acute, severe hepatitis of unknown origin in children disseminated by the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) on 23 April 2022 (two reports), 25 April 2022, and 29 April 2022. This event was first reported by the United Kingdom…

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

WHO European Region EURO
:: Two million confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in the European Region 12-05-2022
:: Setting up a behavioural insights unit – WHO launches a set of considerations to support countries 12-05-2022
:: “What stays with me is the feeling of helplessness” – on International Nurses Day, a young nurse recalls her time on a COVID-19 ward at the beginning of the pandemic 12-05-2022

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: Palestinian Ministry of Health launches polio vaccination campaign to boost immunity in Bethlehem and Jerusalem 13 May 2022
:: Somalia launches WHO emergency health response plan for drought 11 May 2022
:: Environmental surveillance for poliovirus introduced in Iraq 10 May 2022

WHO Western Pacific Region
No new digest content identified.

 

::::::

Disease Outbreak News (DONs)
Latest WHO Disease Outbreak News (DONs), providing information on confirmed acute public health events or potential events of concern.

13 May 2022 | Lassa fever – Guinea

12 May 2022 | Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Qatar

9 May 2022 | Avian Influenza A(H3N8) – China

 

::::::

WHO Events
https://www.who.int/news-room/events/1
[Selected]
Virtual Meeting of the Global Multisectoral and Multi-stakeholder Platform to end TB
17 May 2022 13:00 – 16:00 CET

Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly WHA 75
22-28 May 2022
:: Provisional agenda A75/1 Rev.1

 

::::::

New WHO Publications
https://www.who.int/publications/i
Selected Titles
13 May 2022
Practical manual of processing stool samples for diagnosis of childhood TB

13 May 2022
Line probe assays for detection of drug-resistant tuberculosis: interpretation and reporting manual for…

13 May 2022
Vaccines against influenza: WHO position paper – May 2022

13 May 2022
Manual for selection of molecular WHO recommended rapid diagnostic tests for detection of tuberculosis…

12 May 2022
Emergency in Ukraine: external situation report #11, published 12 May 2022: reporting period: 5–11 May…

10 May 2022
Health systems resilience toolkit: a WHO global public health good to support building and strengthening…

10 May 2022
The WHO global task force on TB impact measurement, May 2022

9 May 2022
Estimating global and country-specific excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic
Overview
Estimating the true mortality burden of COVID-19 for every country in the world is a difficult, but crucial, public health endeavor. Attributing deaths, direct or indirect, to COVID-19 is problematic. A more attainable target is the “excess deaths”, the number of deaths in a particular period, relative to that expected during “normal times”, and we estimate this for all countries on a monthly time scale for 2020 and 2021. The excess mortality requires two numbers, the total deaths and the expected deaths, but the former is unavailable for many countries, and so modeling is required for these countries, and the expected deaths are based on historic data and we develop a model for producing expected estimates for all countries. We allow for uncertainty in the modeled expected numbers when calculating the excess.
We describe the methods that were developed to produce World Health Organization (WHO) excess death estimates. To achieve both interpretability and transparency we developed a relatively simple overdispersed Poisson count framework, within which the various data types can be modeled. We use data from countries with national monthly data to build a predictive log-linear regression model with time-varying coefficients for countries without data. For a number of countries, subnational data only are available, and we construct a multinomial model for such data, based on the assumption that the fractions of deaths in specific sub-regions remain approximately constant over time. Our inferential approach is Bayesian, with the covariate predictive model being implemented in the fast and accurate INLA software. The subnational modeling was carried out using MCMC in Stan or in some nonstandard data situations, using our own MCMC code. Based on our modeling, the 95% interval estimate for global excess mortality, over 2020–2021, is 13.3–16.6 million.

CDC/ACIP [U.S.] [to 14 May 2022]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html
Latest News Releases
[No new digest content identified]

ACIP Meetings
Next ACIP Meeting
May 19, 2022. 11:00am – 4:00pm ET
Webcast Link
Federal Register
No meeting agenda posted.

MMWR  Weekly: Current Volume (71) May 13, 2022 / No. 19
PDF of this issuepdf icon
Progress Toward Polio Eradication — Worldwide, January 2020–April 2022

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)– CDC
Approximately 15 announcements/reports/data summaries.
:: 5/13/22Overall US COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Administration Update as of Fri, 13 May 2022 06:00:00 EST
:: 5/13/22Wearing Masks in Travel and Public Transportation Settings
:: 5/12/22COVID Data Tracker Recent Updates – 2022-05-12 – The Vaccine Effectiveness page was updated to highlight the most current relevant studies and findings, allowing for easier interpretation. The page includes a summary table of CDC-authored vaccine effectiveness studies published in the previous month, as well as key findings from the studies by age group.

Africa CDC [to 14 May 2022]
http://www.africacdc.org/
News
Press Releases
Africa CDC Releases New Country Research on Scale-Up of COVID Vaccines
10 May 2022
A newly released analysis finds that scale-up speed, a focus on at-risk populations and the choice of COVID-19 vaccine brands are critical to structuring successful programs in the African context.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention today released the results of a new 27-country analysis on the health and economic impact of COVID-19 vaccination.  The retrospective study on the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccine programmes demonstrated that earlier start dates and rapid scale-up delivered greater health benefits – measured in terms of hospitalizations and deaths averted – and were more cost-effective when compared with programs that started later and scaled more slowly. Furthermore, the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines vary widely depending on the pace of roll-out, the population targeted, and the type of vaccines used in the campaigns. The analysis also drew on research from Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa.

The analysis demonstrated that vaccine programs deliver the best value for money when focused on the most vulnerable, including the elderly, pregnant women, health workers and those with comorbidities. This is especially true in countries with a low overall risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19, such as nations with younger populations or that have already had significant exposure to the virus. In Kenya, researchers found that scaling up to 30% of the population, but focusing on the elderly, was far more effective than reaching 70% coverage of the general population. Nigerian researchers found the same result when modelling targeted scale-up to 25% of the population.

“The evidence is clear – countries should aim to vaccinate those most at risk, as quickly as possible, with the most cost-effective vaccines available to them,” said Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, Deputy Director of the Africa CDC. “This is how we can save the most lives and deliver the highest value for money.”…

Link to full report: https://africacdc.org/download/epidemiological-and-economic-impact-of-covid-19-vaccine-rollout-scenarios-in-africa/

Organization Announcements

Editor’s Note:

Careful readers will note that the number and range of organizations now monitored in our Announcements section below has grown as the impacts of the pandemic have spread across global economies, supply chains and programmatic activity of multilateral agencies and INGOs.

Airfinity    [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.airfinity.com/insights

INSIGHTS & COMPANY NEWS

Airfinity’s Q1 COVID-19 vaccine revenue forecast more accurate than market consensus

Published by Airfinity

May 11, 2022

   Airfinity’s Q1 COVID-19 vaccine revenue forecast beat market consensus figures to more accurately predict earnings last quarter.

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group    [to  14 May 2022]

https://alleninstitute.org/news-press/

News

New research to understand how the brain handles optical illusions and makes predictions

May 9, 2022

3 new projects launch on OpenScope, a shared neuroscience observatory

BMGF – Gates Foundation  [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center

Press Releases and Statements

Press release

May 12, 2022

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Commits up to US$125 Million to Help End the Acute Phase of COVID-19 and Prevent the Next Pandemic

[See COID Perspectives above for detail]

Press release

May 09, 2022

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Appoints New Members to Goalkeepers Advisory Group to Accelerate Progress Toward Global Goals

Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute    [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.gatesmri.org/news

The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute is a non-profit biotech organization. Our mission is to develop products to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases—three major causes of mortality, poverty, and inequality in developing countries. The world has unprecedented scientific tools at its disposal; now is the time to use them to save the lives of the world’s poorest people

No new digest content identified.

CARB-X   [to  14 May 2022]

Home

News

No new digest content identified.

Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy – GE2P2 Global Foundation   [to  14 May 2022]

https://centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.net/

News/Analysis/Statements

:: Past weekly editions of Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review are available here.

:: Informed Consent: A Monthly Review – MAY 2022is now posted here

CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations  [to  14 May 2022]

http://cepi.net/

Latest News

CEPI funds project led by Victoria Biomedical Research Institute (Kenya) to assess mix-and-match COVID-19 vaccine boosters in adolescents and adults living with HIV

   CEPI will provide up to US$12.5 million to assess this “mix and match” booster approach

COVID-19

11 May 2022

CEPI partners with consortium of Bharat Biotech, University of Sydney and ExcellGene to develop ‘variant-proof’ COVID-19 vaccine

   Funding of up to US$19.3 million will support the international multidisciplinary consortium to support the development of a ‘variant-proof’ SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate

COVID-19

10 May 2022

DARPA – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [U.S.] [to  14 May 2022

https://www.darpa.mil/news

News

No new digest content identified.

Duke Global Health Innovation Center  [to  14 May 2022]

Home

Our Blog

No new digest content identified.

EDCTP    [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.edctp.org/

The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as other poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on phase II and III clinical trials

News

No new digest content identified.

Emory Vaccine Center    [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/

Vaccine Center News

No new digest content identified.

European Vaccine Initiative  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.euvaccine.eu/

Latest News, Events

No new digest content identified.

Evidence Aid   [to  14 May 2022]

Evidence Aid aims to save lives and livelihoods in disasters by providing decision-makers with the best available evidence and by championing its use.

http://www.evidenceaid.org/

Emergency health care for migrants: challenges in its provision Added May 11, 2022

Health risks among migrants with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity or expression Added May 9, 2022

Mental health and work experiences of interpreters in the mental health care of refugees

Fondation Merieux  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.fondation-merieux.org/

News, Events 

No new digest content identified.

Gavi [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.gavi.org/

News Releases

12 May 2022

DFC financing up to US$ 1 billion for Gavi COVID-19 vaccine and ancillary supply purchase and delivery

• Global Health and Prosperity Initiative, which supports the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening health resilience in developing countries.

[See COVID Perspectives above for detail]

GHIT Fund   [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press

Press Releases

No new digest content identified.

Global Fund  [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/

News & Stories

13 May 2022

Global Fund Applauds New Zealand’s Commitment to COVID-19 Response Mechanism

   The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria applauds the decision by New Zealand to    contribute NZ$8 million to the Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM). The new funding will help provide lifesaving diagnostic tests, treatment…

13 May 2022

Global Fund Thanks European Union and Team Europe for Their Contribution to COVID-19 Response Mechanism

   The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria thanks the European Union and Team Europe for their contribution to the Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM). The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announc…

13 May 2022

Global Fund Board Calls for Global Mobilization Ahead of Crucial Seventh Replenishment and Gets Ready for Implementation of New Strategy

   The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria held its 47th Board meeting this week in Geneva. A few months ahead of the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment Conference to be hosted by the United States, the Board renewed its ca…

12 May 2022

Global Fund, United States and Unitaid Launch “Test-and-Treat” Programs at Second Global COVID-⁠19 Summit

   The Global Fund, the United States and Unitaid, together with FIND and other ACT-Accelerator partners, are launching over US$120 million in support to countries for test-and-treat programs to prevent hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 for thos…

Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness [GloPID-R] [to  14 May 2022]

Latest News

News

No new digest content identified

Hilleman Laboratories   [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.hilleman-labs.org/

News & Insights

No new digest content identified

HHMI – Howard Hughes Medical Institute    [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.hhmi.org/news

Press Room                

Research   May 11 2022

Structure of ‘Gliding Bird’ Plant Protein Could Lead to Better Crops

   When pathogens attack, the NPR1 protein steps in to control a plant’s immune response. Scientists have now figured out what the protein looks like and how it works – a possible boon for agriculture.

Human Vaccines Project   [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/

News

HVP COVID Report

May 12, 2022

Anna Blakney: What is the Future of RNA Vaccines?

IAVI  [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.iavi.org/

Latest News

FEATURES

May 11, 2022

Meet the IAVI scientist who developed a new HIV test for resource-limited settings

   Dr. Catherine Namugga Kibirige, research associate, research team, IAVI Human Immunology Laboratory – Imperial College London

ICRC  [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.icrc.org/en/whats-new

What’s New   [Selected]     

Syria: In societies shattered by conflict, civilians pay a high price for years

   A statement from Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), following a trip to Syria this week: Damascus (ICRC) – It takes years, sometimes decades, for societies shattered by conflict to recover.

13-05-2022 | News release

Sahel: A food crisis fueled by conflict is set to worsen during lean period

   More than 10.5 million people in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Mauritania are at risk of facing hunger during the upcoming agricultural lean period — the time between harvests when food stocks are most depleted — as conflict worsens an ongoing foo

12-05-2022 | News release

International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities [ICMRA]

http://www.icmra.info/drupal/en/news

Selected Statements, Press Releases, Research

No new digest content identified.

IFFIm

http://www.iffim.org/

Press Releases/Announcements

No new digest content identified.

IFRC   [to  14 May 2022]

http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/

Press Releases [Selected]

13/05/2022

Red Cross extends support to families separated by violence and conflict

12/05/2022

Global COVID-19 Summit: “World leaders must step up and ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to vaccines, tests and treatments.”

10/05/2022

Syria remains in crisis – the world, and donors, must not turn away now

Institut Pasteur   [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.pasteur.fr/en/press-area

Press Documents

Press release

11.05.2022

Hepatitis: 3D structure determination of the ‘gateway’ to the liver

   Scientists from CNRS, the Institut Pasteur (France), the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie and the Vrije…

IOM / International Organization for Migration [to  14 May 2022]  

http://www.iom.int/press-room/press-releases

News – Selected

News

10 May 2022

Needs Growing for Over 8 Million Internally Displaced in Ukraine

News

10 May 2022

Mobility Restrictions Chill Cross-border Movements Despite Rising Vaccination Rates Helping Countries Re-open Borders

ISC / International Science Council  [to  14 May 2022]

https://council.science/current/

ISC is a non-governmental organization with a unique global membership that brings together 40 international scientific Unions and Associations and over 140 national and regional scientific organizations including Academies and Research Councils.

News  Blogs  Podcasts Events

Blogs

Whose right is it anyway? Copyright and scholarly publishing

09.05.2022

   The question of who owns the copyright to scientific publications, such as journal articles, is complex and contested. Jenice Jean Goveas looks at the issue and considers some of the recent initiatives designed to support authors to retain rights to their published work.

International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS)

Home

News/Events [Selected]

No new digest content identified.

IVAC  [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html

Updates; Events

No new digest content identified.

IVI   [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.ivi.int/

IVI News & Announcements

IVI, LG Electronics, Korean donors, AHRI and EPHI join hands to vaccinate 100,000 people at risk of cholera in Ethiopia

2 ECCP projects to contribute to the government’s efforts towards control and prevention of cholera and diarrheal diseases

   May 13, 2022, SEOUL, Korea — The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), in collaboration with LG Electronics, the Ethiopian government led by Armaur Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), will vaccinate 40,000 people against cholera in May to support prevention of the disease in Ethiopia. In a separate but coordinated project funded by other Korean donors, IVI and Ethiopian partners will immunize an additional 60,000 people against the diarrheal disease in Ethiopia…

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security   [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/news/center-news/

Center News

New peer-reviewed analysis examines Uganda’s preparedness and response efforts for Ebola
May 11, 2022

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.msf.org/

Latest [Selected Announcements]

No new digest content identified.

National Academy of Medicine – USA  [to  14 May 2022]

Programs

News [Selected]

No new digest content identified.

National Academy of Sciences – USA  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/

News

NIH Should Create an Office of Autoimmune Disease Research Says New Report

May 9, 2022

   To enhance and coordinate its research on autoimmune diseases the National Institutes of Health should create an Office of Autoimmune Disease-Autoimmunity Research and a plan that spans all institutes and centers to provide an overall NIH strategy for autoimmune disease research.

Automated Research Workflows Are Speeding Pace of Scientific Discovery – New Report Offers Recommendations to Advance Their Development

May 9, 2022

   Automated research workflows – which integrate computation laboratory automation and tools from artificial intelligence – have the potential to increase the speed of research activities and accelerate scientific discovery. A new report recommends ways to advance their development.

National Vaccine Program Office – U.S. HHS  [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.hhs.gov/vaccines/about/index.html

Upcoming Meetings/Latest Updates                          

NVAC 2022 Meetings – June 15-16, 2022

NIH  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.nih.gov/

News Releases 

Vaccine for rare but deadly mosquito-borne viruses shows promise in clinical trial

May 12, 2022 — The injection was found to be safe, well-tolerated and induced a neutralizing antibody response in adult volunteers [eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV), and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV)],

Unique binding of Delta variant may explain high transmissibility

May 11, 2022 — NIH findings could lead to ways to combat future SARS-CoV-2 variants.

OECD  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/publicationsdocuments/bydate/

Newsroom/Library

No new digest content identified.

OXFAM [to 14 May 2022]

https://www.oxfam.org/en/

Press Releases         

Oxfam reaction to Covid summit commitments

13 May 2022

   In response to the commitments made at President Biden’s Second COVID-19 Summit today, especially the licensing of publicly owned medical technologies, such as the stabilized spike protein for use by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) through the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), Robbie Silverman, Oxfam America’s Senior Manager of Private Sector Advocacy, made the following statement:

   “Today’s announcement that the US will share its technology with the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool sets a welcome and bold example for the sharing of essential technologies we all need. Now we need to see this kind of leadership from the US at the WTO.

   “We hope today’s announcement encourages similar moves on other US-funded technologies and spur major vaccine manufacturers to heed the US’s example. Much more can be done to ensure that everyone, everywhere is protected in this ongoing pandemic. The US should also urgently step up its funding commitments at least to the full $5 billion requested. 

   “Even with this little bit of progress, we still urgently need a WTO TRIPS waiver that waives intellectual property for vaccines, tests, and treatments to ensure that all countries have the technology and resources to vaccinate, test and treat people…”

Governments falling woefully short on goal to vaccinate 70% in each country by September

12 May 2022

   World leaders have not done enough to achieve their goal of vaccinating 70% of people in each country by September, campaigners with the People’s Vaccine Alliance warned ahead of the second virtual summit on COVID-19 hosted by US President Biden along with Belize, Germany, Indonesia, and Senegal. The World Health Organization’s target of reaching 70% by mid-year is even further out of reach.

Poverty and extreme inequality worsen in southern Africa as COVID-19 battered countries embark on a dangerous austerity path

10 May 2022

PATH  [to  14 May 2022]                                   

https://www.path.org/media-center/

Press Releases

PATH welcomed as new member of the Digital Public Goods Alliance

PATH looks forward to supporting even greater alignment in advancing digital public goods to increase donor and country confidence in the value of adapting and scaling specific digital tools… Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA)

Published: May 2022

Type: Press Release

PATH commits to action plan against COVID-19 at the second US Global COVID-19 Summit

PATH joins global leaders in pledging concrete commitments to advance the goals of the Second Global COVID-19 Summit: to vaccinate the world, save lives now, and build better health security.

PATH’s commitments at the US COVID-19 Summit

To support these goals, PATH is proud to announce additional commitments, namely:

• PATH will help vaccinate the world by supporting COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. We will provide training, mentorship, and supervision to health workers tasked with vaccination and deploy and scale digital tools to track vaccination and generate demand through targeted social media campaigns. This includes a US$5 million investment to reach an estimated 20 million vaccine-hesitant individuals in 2 years.
• We will also support the development of a new affordable COVID-19 vaccine that could be manufactured in Brazil, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• To save lives now, we will work with key partners to improve oxygen delivery in 10 countries through research, innovation, policy and advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and implementation support. We will also support the creation of healthy and sustainable markets for oxygen systems to expand access to this lifesaving medicine.
• We will stand up interoperable digital systems in four countries to provide country governments with the information they need to identify and manage outbreaks, vaccination coverage, vaccine supplies and track vaccination records.
• We will advance the affordability and reliability of COVID-19 diagnostics by performing market analyses, supporting the development of new technologies, navigating regulatory processes and requirements, and performing research that drives decision-making for health system stakeholders.
• We will build better health security by using our expertise to equip world leaders with the information they need to design a better architecture for global health security.
• Finally, we will work across our global team of advocates to hold leaders accountable to their commitments and to secure political support for the establishment of a new global health security and pandemic preparedness fund as well as other policies and funding to prevent and respond to future pandemics.

Rockefeller Foundation  [to 14 May 2022]

Home

Selected Reports/Press Releases

No new digest content identified.

Sabin Vaccine Institute  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases

Statements and Press Releases

No new digest content identified.

UNAIDS [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.unaids.org/en

Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements

12 May 2022

Grass-roots providers stay mobile in Ukraine

11 May 2022

Review recommends law reform on HIV testing to help Angola reduce new HIV infections among young people and ensure treatment

11 May 2022

Report highlights that women and marginalized people need urgent access to health-care services in Ukraine

UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/media-centre.htmlS

Selected News Releases, Announcements

Message from the United Nations humanitarian, refugee, and development chiefs on the situation in Syria and the region

Statement by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Achim Steiner

10 May 2022

UNICEF  [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases

Press Releases, News Notes, Statements  [Selected]

Remarks

12 May 2022

“Children in Ukraine need an end to this war – their futures hang in the balance”

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/children-ukraine-need-end-war-their-futures-hang-balance

As delivered NEW YORK, 12 May 2022  – “Mr President, Excellencies and colleagues, I would like to express my appreciation to Ambassadors De La Fuente and Riviere for convening today’s meeting. I would also like to thank the United States for hosting this briefing during your Security Council presidency.  “It has been just one month since UNICEF…

Statement

10 May 2022

World leaders urged to make firm commitments at Second Global COVID-19 Summit by ACT-Accelerator agency leads

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/world-leaders-urged-make-firm-commitments-second-global-covid-19-summit-act

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 10 May 2022 – “This week, world leaders will gather to consider crucial next steps in the global COVID-19 response. We applaud the co-hosts of the Second Global COVID-19 Summit – the United States, Belize, Germany, Indonesia and Senegal – for bringing together governments from across the globe to make concrete commitments to…

Remarks

10 May 2022

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell’s remarks at the Brussels VI Conference: “Supporting the future of Syria and the region”

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-catherine-russells-remarks-brussels-vi-conference

BRUSSELS/NEW YORK, 10 May 2022 – ” Excellencies, colleagues, and friends, thank you very much for inviting me here today.   “Syria today is one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a child.   “An entire generation is struggling to survive.   “Nearly 90 per cent of people in Syria live in poverty.  More than 6.5 million children need urgent…

Unitaid  [to  14 May 2022]

Home

Featured News

13 May 2022

Unitaid welcomes new agreements from CHAI to accelerate access to affordable COVID-19 antiviral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in low- and middle-income countries

   Geneva – Unitaid welcomes the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) announcement on agreements with leading generic manufacturers to make nirmatrelvir/ritonavir available to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) at under US$25 per treatment course. The agreements also settle on production guarantee and allocation capacity for 4.5 million treatment courses per month for LMICs.

   Pfizer’s oral COVID-19 treatment — a combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets sold under the name Paxlovid — was strongly recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) last month, based on evidence on prevention of hospitalization and death for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients at high risk of developing severe forms of the disease, when administered in early stages of the infection.

   These agreements represent an important step in the global COVID-19 response, building on the groundwork Unitaid and partners of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator’s therapeutics pillar have laid to ensure equitable, rapid and affordable access to new treatment options. Focused efforts are aimed at introducing those treatments in LMICs alongside adequate testing to realize the promise of test-and-treat strategies in decentralized settings…

12 May 2022

Global Fund, United States and Unitaid Launch “Test-and-Treat” Programs at Second Global COVID-⁠19 Summit

[See Milestones above for detail]

Vaccine Equity Cooperative [nee Initiative]   [to  14 May 2022]

News

News

No new digest content identified.

Vaccination Acceptance & Demand Initiative [Sabin)  [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.vaccineacceptance.org/

Announcements, Blog

No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Confidence Project  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/

News, Research and Reports

No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center

News

No new digest content identified.

Wellcome Trust  [to  14 May 2022]

https://wellcome.ac.uk/news

News. Opinion, Reports

No new digest content identified.

The Wistar Institute   [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases

Press Releases

No new digest content identified.

WFPHA: World Federation of Public Health Associations  [to  14 May 2022]

HOME

Latest News – Blog

Joint Statement on the Special Session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for Europe [Ukraine]

May 11, 2022

   Joint Statement on the Special Session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for EuropeThe World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), the European Public Health Association…

World Bank [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all

Selected News, Announcements

Menstrual Health and Hygiene

Context Priority Areas Country Examples Resources Context Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) is essential to the well-being and empowerment of women and adolescent girls.  On any given day, over 800…

Date: May 12, 2022 Type: Brief

Remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass at the 2nd Global COVID-19 Summit

Good morning, afternoon, and evening to colleagues around the world.   This Summit is timely.  COVID-19 and its consequences remain ever present.   The World Bank Group is working hard to…

Date: May 12, 2022 Type: Speeches and Transcripts

Responding to COVID-19 by Advancing Social Safety Nets in Liberia

   The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated poverty and threatened livelihoods in Liberia. The need to respond to this challenge spurred the expansion and digitization of the government’s ongoing cash transfer program. The Liberia Social Safety Nets Project launched the government’s first-ever urban cash transfer program. It provided emergency cash transfers for close to 15,000 households living in vulnerable communities in the Greater Monrovia area, which had recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Liberia. These households received the cash transfers in their mobile wallet accounts. Importantly, up to 70 percent of cash recipients were women.

Date: May 10, 2022 Type: Result Brief

World Customs Organization – WCO  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.wcoomd.org/

Latest News

No new digest content identified.

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)   [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.oie.int/en/

Press Releases, Statements

No new digest content identified.

WTO – World Trade Organisation [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news_e.htm

WTO News and Events [Selected]

DG Okonjo-Iweala shares views with international agency heads on key issues ahead of MC12

12 May 2022

   In meetings this week with the heads of leading UN System international agencies, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that cooperation on trade would be critical to addressing global challenges such as high food prices and the ongoing pandemic and urged them to support WTO members’ efforts to deliver results at the upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), to be held between 12-15 June 2022 in Geneva.

WTO Members welcome Quad document as basis for text-based negotiations on pandemic IP response

10 May 2022

[See Milestones above for detail]

DG Okonjo-Iweala urges WTO members to “meet the many challenges of our time”

9 May 2022

Speaking to a meeting of the General Council on 9 May, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called on WTO members to step up efforts to deliver substantive outcomes at the organization’s upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva on 12-15 June.

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ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine]  [to  14 May 2022]

Press Releases

Selected Press Releases

No new digest content identified.

BIO    [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.bio.org/press-releases

Press Release

BIO Response to Second Global COVID-19 Summit

Scientists stand ready, once again, to help world leaders increase access to critical vaccines and therapies 

May 12, 2022

   The White House today hosted world leaders and key public and private sector partners at the second Global COVID-19 Summit, a virtual event. Following the conversation, Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), made the following remarks:

   “For the last two years, the scientists within the life sciences industry have worked tirelessly to develop therapeutics and vaccines to fight COVID-19 and save lives. In addition to creating these lifesaving treatments, we have worked with key partners – including governments, NGOs, and more – to promote greater vaccine equity and access around the world.

   “We have made a lot of progress in this effort. In 2021 alone, companies produced more than 11 billion doses of COVID vaccines, enough to give two shots to every adult on the planet. We anticipate that number jumping to 18.6 billion by the end of this year.

   “However, as has been made clear at today’s Second COVID-19 Summit, there is still work to be done to help overcome global vaccine hesitancy and to ensure countries around the globe have the health care infrastructure they need to get more shots in arms.

   “BIO is encouraged by the recommitment of global leaders, including the United States, to strengthen COVID-19 response efforts. The scientists within the life sciences industry stand ready, once again, to help achieve this critical goal of increasing access to vaccines and therapeutics.”

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network  [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.dcvmn.org/

News; Upcoming events

No new digest content identified.

ICBA – International Council of Biotechnology Associations   [to  14 May 2022]

https://internationalbiotech.org/news/

News

No new digest content identified.

IFPMA   [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/

Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications

Open Letter on ACT-A Therapeutics and Ongoing Roadblocks to Enhancing Access

10 May 2022

[See COVID Perspectives above for detail]

IFPMA statement on Quad’s Outcome Document on TRIPS

10 May 2022

[See COVID Perspectives above for detail]

International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association [IGBA]

https://www.igbamedicines.org/

News

No new digest content identified.

International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations – IAPO  [to  14 May 2022]

https://www.iapo.org.uk/news/topic/6

Press and media [Selected]

No new digest content identified.

PhRMA    [to  14 May 2022]

http://www.phrma.org/

Latest News [Selected]

No new digest content identified.

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

AMA Journal of Ethics
Volume 24, Number 4: E249-341 Apr 2022
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/issue/health-equity-us-latinx-communities

 

Health Equity in US Latinx Communities
Latinx communities in the US include over 60 million people with a plurality of political beliefs, cultural practices, and wealth. This diversity is also expressed in population health data: some health indicators suggest advantages of Latinx community membership while other data demonstrate inequitable disease burden and maldistribution of environmental and occupational risk. Legacies of colonial conquest of the Americas persist in discrimination and marginalization today and are embodied by members of our Latinx communities.

American Journal of Public Health
April 2022 112(52)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

 

Supplement 2 2022 = Global Opioid Crisis

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 14 May 2022)

 

Continued effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination among urban healthcare workers during delta variant predominance
Data on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) among healthcare workers (HCWs) during periods of delta variant predominance are limited.
Authors: Fan-Yun Lan, Amalia Sidossis, Eirini Iliaki, Jane Buley, Neetha Nathan, Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha and Stefanos N. Kales
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2022 22:457
Content type: Research Published on: 12 May 2022

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpregnancychildbirth/content
(Accessed 14 May 2022)

 

Multi-site observational maternal and infant COVID-19 vaccine study (MOMI-vax): a study protocol
Pregnant women were excluded from investigational trials of COVID-19 vaccines. Limited data are available to inform pregnant and postpartum women on their decisions to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Authors: Flor M. Munoz, Richard H. Beigi, Christine M. Posavad, Barbra A. Richardson, Helen Y. Chu, Karin Bok, James Campbell, Cristina Cardemil, Emily DeFranco, Robert W. Frenck, Mamodikoe Makhene, Jeanna M. Piper, Jeanne Sheffield, Ashley Miller and Kathleen M. Neuzil
Citation: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2022 22:402
Content type: Study protocol Published on: 12 May 2022

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 14 May 2022)

 

COVID-19 outbreak in a state prison: a case study on the implementation of key public health recommendations for containment and prevention
People incarcerated in US prisons have been disproportionately harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. That prisons are such efficient superspreading environments can be attributed to several known factors: small, co…
Authors: Catherine Duarte, Drew B. Cameron, Ada T. Kwan, Stefano M. Bertozzi, Brie A. Williams and Sandra I. McCoy
Citation: BMC Public Health 2022 22:977
Content type: Research Published on: 14 May 2022

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 14 May 2022)

 

Landscape of clinical trial activity focusing on Indigenous health in Australia: an overview using clinical trial registry data from 2008-2018
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (hereafter respectfully referred to as Indigenous Australians) represent about 3% of the total Australian population. Major health disparities exist between Indige…
Authors: Ge Xu, Danai Modi, Kylie E. Hunter, Lisa M. Askie, Lisa M. Jamieson, Alex Brown and Anna Lene Seidler
Citation: BMC Public Health 2022 22:971
Content type: Research Published on: 14 May 2022

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 14 May 2022)

 

Experience of discrimination during COVID-19 pandemic: the impact of public health measures and psychological distress among refugees and other migrants in Europe
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately hard impact on refugees and other migrants who are often exposed to the virus with limited means to protect themselves. We tested the hypothesis that during t…
Authors: Mattia Marchi, Federica Maria Magarini, Antonio Chiarenza, Gian Maria Galeazzi, Virginia Paloma, Rocío Garrido, Elisabeth Ioannidi, Katerina Vassilikou, Margarida Gaspar de Matos, Tania Gaspar, Fabio Botelho Guedes, Nina Langer Primdahl, Morten Skovdal, Rebecca Murphy, Natalie Durbeej, Fatumo Osman…
Citation: BMC Public Health 2022 22:942
Content type: Research Published on: 11 May 2022

EMBO Reports
Volume 23 Issue 4 5 April 2022
https://www.embopress.org/toc/14693178/current

 

Opinion 11 April 2022 Open Access
The Russian invasion of Ukraine: a humanitarian tragedy and a tragedy for science
Halyna R Shcherbata
The Invasion of Ukraine prompts us to support our Ukranian colleagues but also to keep open communication with the Russian scientists who oppose the war.

EMBO Reports
Volume 23 Issue 4 5 April 2022
https://www.embopress.org/toc/14693178/current

 

Opinion 11 April 2022 Free to Read
Concerns about academic freedom caused by the Russia–Ukraine War
Orestis Delardas, Konstantinos S Kechagias, Konstantinos Katsikas Triantafyllidis, Panagiotis Giannos
Russia’s war against Ukraine has raised concerns not about the fate of Ukrainian science and scientists but also academic freedom and international cooperation in science.

EMBO Reports
Volume 23 Issue 4 5 April 2022
https://www.embopress.org/toc/14693178/current

 

Science & Society 11 April 2022 Free to Read
Western science funders’ response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: European funding agencies are halting their collaborations with the Russian research establishment
Philip Hunter
In the wake of economic sanctions, Western funding agencies are increasingly halting scientific collaboration with Russia.

Immunity
May 10, 2022 Volume 55 Issue 5 p735-924
https://www.cell.com/immunity/current

 

Featured Article
Inducing broad-based immunity against viruses with pandemic potential
Alessandro Sette, Erica Ollmann Saphire
Saphire and Sette discuss potential approaches for vaccine development against the broad array of SARS-CoV-2 variants and other viruses of pandemic potential. Approaches that elicit both humoral and cellular responses are considered and are expected to be synergistic with each other, providing humanity with the best chance to defend against the next pandemic.

Immunity
May 10, 2022 Volume 55 Issue 5 p735-924
https://www.cell.com/immunity/current

 

Reviews
Mucosal immune responses to infection and vaccination in the respiratory tract
Robert C. Mettelman, E. Kaitlynn Allen, Paul G. Thomas
Thomas and colleagues present an overview of pulmonary immunity, covering innate and adaptive responses following infection and vaccination, with a particular focus on responses to influenza and SARS-CoV-2. They also highlight exciting recent advances and the importance of continuing research efforts into human respiratory health.

Immunity
May 10, 2022 Volume 55 Issue 5 p735-924
https://www.cell.com/immunity/current

 

Immunological defense of CNS barriers against infections
Leonel Ampie, Dorian B. McGavern
Neuroanatomical barriers are defended by the immune system to safeguard the CNS parenchyma from pathogens. Ampie and McGavern review the anatomy and development of CNS barriers as well as their immunological composition during steady state and in response to infections. They also explore how to protect these barriers via vaccination and then discuss the immunology and neuropathogenesis of a contemporary CNS challenge (i.e., SARS-CoV-2).

Immunity
May 10, 2022 Volume 55 Issue 5 p735-924
https://www.cell.com/immunity/current

 

Immunity to enteric viruses
Ainsley Lockhart, Daniel Mucida, Roham Parsa
Pathogenic enteric viruses are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly among children in developing countries. In this review, Mucida and colleagues discuss natural and vaccine-acquired immunity to enteric viruses, highlighting specialized features of the intestinal immune system. A deeper mechanistic understanding of enteric anti-viral immunity can lead to better vaccines for existing and emerging viruses.

Infectious Diseases of Poverty
http://www.idpjournal.com/content
[Accessed 14 May 2022]

 

Immunogenicity and safety of heterologous versus homologous prime-boost schedules with an adenoviral vectored and mRNA COVID-19 vaccine: a systematic review
Authors: Jingjing Lv, Hui Wu, Junjie Xu and Jiaye Liu
Content type: Scoping Review 13 May 2022

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 9, No 5 (2022) May 2022
https://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/88

 

Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and willingness for vaccination among frontline police personnel in Mumbai, India
Shibal Bhartiya, Babasaheb V. Tandale, Shailesh D. Pawar, Meenakshi Wadhwani, Nishant Kumar
DOI: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20221229

JAMA Network
COVID-19 Update May 14, 2022

 

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

The Lancet
May 14, 2022 Volume 399 Number 10338 p1845-1916
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

 

Comment
Offline: Bill Gates and the fate of WHO
Richard Horton
On the same day that Gates made his pitch, WHO published a white paper on Strengthening the Global Architecture for Health Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Resilience. It was timed to provoke debate in advance of the World Health Assembly later this month. WHO has reviewed over 300 recommendations made by recent international commissions and panels, synthesising their ideas into ten proposals. WHO suggests the formation of a Global Health Emergency Council, led by heads of state, to “break the cycle of panic and neglect that has characterized the response to previous global health emergencies”. The agency recommends revision of the International Health Regulations, stronger independent monitoring of national preparedness programmes, formation of a new global health emergency workforce (akin to GERM, but without decision-making power), and the creation of new financing instruments. These are important reforms that deserve support. But there is one assumption threaded through the white paper that should be subject to scrutiny—the idea that WHO itself should be at “the centre” of emergency preparedness. The existential anxiety within WHO is palpable. Repeated warnings about duplication and competition are designed to dissuade member states from “creating a parallel structure, which could lead to further fragmentation”. For example, according to WHO, the Global Health Emergency Council should be aligned (read subservient) to the constitution and governance of WHO and be supported (read controlled) by WHO’s Secretariat in Geneva. A new Standing Committee on Health Emergencies to complement the work of the Council would exist only as a subcommittee of WHO’s Executive Board. WHO concludes, “Finally, it is clear that at the heart of the HEPR [health emergency preparedness and response] architecture, the world needs a strengthened WHO, with the authority, financing and accountability to effectively fulfil its unique mandate as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work.” WHO’s white paper is an ambitious land grab for power.

On the same day that Gates made his pitch, WHO published a white paper on Strengthening the Global Architecture for Health Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Resilience. It was timed to provoke debate in advance of the World Health Assembly later this month. WHO has reviewed over 300 recommendations made by recent international commissions and panels, synthesising their ideas into ten proposals. WHO suggests the formation of a Global Health Emergency Council, led by heads of state, to “break the cycle of panic and neglect that has characterized the response to previous global health emergencies”. The agency recommends revision of the International Health Regulations, stronger independent monitoring of national preparedness programmes, formation of a new global health emergency workforce (akin to GERM, but without decision-making power), and the creation of new financing instruments. These are important reforms that deserve support. But there is one assumption threaded through the white paper that should be subject to scrutiny—the idea that WHO itself should be at “the centre” of emergency preparedness. The existential anxiety within WHO is palpable. Repeated warnings about duplication and competition are designed to dissuade member states from “creating a parallel structure, which could lead to further fragmentation”. For example, according to WHO, the Global Health Emergency Council should be aligned (read subservient) to the constitution and governance of WHO and be supported (read controlled) by WHO’s Secretariat in Geneva. A new Standing Committee on Health Emergencies to complement the work of the Council would exist only as a subcommittee of WHO’s Executive Board. WHO concludes, “Finally, it is clear that at the heart of the HEPR [health emergency preparedness and response] architecture, the world needs a strengthened WHO, with the authority, financing and accountability to effectively fulfil its unique mandate as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work.” WHO’s white paper is an ambitious land grab for power.

Neither Gates nor WHO seem to understand the nature or true scale of this pandemic. First, SARS-CoV-2 thrived on inequality. There is no serious discussion about the way this virus exploited deep disparities across societies and why attacking these disparities must be part of preparedness planning. Second, COVID-19 is a disease that normalised inequity—for testing, vaccines, and now antivirals. There is no sense of urgency to advance equity. And third, COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease. There is no recognition that preventing a pandemic means redefining the relationship between humans, wildlife, and the viruses that pass among us. One final warning. Do not assume that governments will be willing to invest in preparedness, despite the catastrophe we have endured. Countries are already resisting calls to invest in the next replenishment round for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. If governments are unwilling to support an initiative with one of the best track records in global health, it is questionable whether they will make speculative investments to prevent a future pandemic. The disagreeable truth is that we are living at a very dangerous moment, one in which careless self-satisfaction is the reward we have given ourselves for this illusory triumph.

New England Journal of Medicine
May 12, 2022 Vol. 386 No. 19
https://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

 

Original Articles
Effect of mRNA Vaccine Boosters against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Infection in Qatar L.J. Abu-Raddad and Others

New England Journal of Medicine
May 12, 2022 Vol. 386 No. 19
https://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

 

Editorials
Audio Interview: Forecasting the Future of Covid
List of authors. Eric J. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., Lindsey R. Baden, M.D., Marc Lipsitch, D.Phil., and Stephen Morrissey, Ph.D.

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 14 May 2022]

 

Research Article
Efficacy versus abundancy: Comparing vaccination schemes
Omar El Deeb, Maya Jalloul
Research Article | published 12 May 2022 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267840

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 14 May 2022]

 

It’s Time to be disgusting about COVID-19: Effect of disgust priming on COVID-19 public health compliance among liberals and conservatives
Kellen Mermin-Bunnell, Woo-kyoung Ahn
Research Article | published 12 May 2022 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267735

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 14 May 2022]

 

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices among Indonesian urban communities regarding HPV infection, cervical cancer, and HPV vaccination
Hariyono Winarto, Muhammad Habiburrahman, Maya Dorothea, Andrew Wijaya, Kartiwa Hadi Nuryanto, Fitriyadi Kusuma, Tofan Widya Utami, Tricia Dewi Anggraeni
Research Article | published 12 May 2022 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266139

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 14 May 2022]

 

COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria: A rapid review of vaccine acceptance rate and the associated factors
Oluwatosin Olu-Abiodun, Olumide Abiodun, Ngozi Okafor
Research Article | published 11 May 2022 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267691

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States
May 10, 2022 vol. 119 no. 19
https://www.pnas.org/toc/pnas/119/19

 

Research Article May 3, 2022
Determining containment policy impacts on public sentiment during the pandemic using social media data
Stringent containment and closure policies have been widely implemented by governments to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Yet, such policies have significant impacts on people’s emotions and mental well-being. Here, we study the effects of pandemic …
Prakash Chandra Sukhwal and Atreyi Kankanhalli

Risk Management and Healthcare Policy
https://www.dovepress.com/risk-management-and-healthcare-policy-archive56
[Accessed 14 May 2022]

 

Original Research
Parental Willingness to Vaccinate Their Children Against SARS-CoV-2 in Jordan: An Explanatory Cross-Sectional Study
Alsulaiman JW, Mazin M, Al-Shatanawi TN, Kheirallah KA, Allouh MZ
Risk Management and Healthcare Policy ²⁰²², 15:955-967
Published Date: 10 May 2022

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 19 Pages 2647-2818 (26 April 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/19

 

Short communication Open access
Vaccine-induced humoral response against SARS-CoV-2 dramatically declined but cellular immunity possibly remained at 6 months post BNT162b2 vaccination
Hideaki Kato, Kei Miyakawa, Norihisa Ohtake, Yutaro Yamaoka, … Akihide Ryo
Pages 2652-2655

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 19 Pages 2647-2818 (26 April 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/19

 

Review article Open access
Healthcare professional’s promotional strategies in improving Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake in adolescents: A systematic review
Margaret Efua Sackey, Kathleen Markey, Annmarie Grealish
Pages 2656-2666

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 19 Pages 2647-2818 (26 April 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/19

 

Review article Abstract only
Cost-effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccination in girls living in Latin American countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Romina A. Tejada, Talía Malagón, Eduardo L. Franco
Pages 2667-2678

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 19 Pages 2647-2818 (26 April 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/19

 

Research article Open access
Vaccine effectiveness of the 7-valent and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in Canada: An IMPACT study
Leah J. Ricketson, Julie A. Bettinger, Manish Sadarangani, Scott A. Halperin, … James D. Kellner
Pages 2733-2740

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 19 Pages 2647-2818 (26 April 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/19

 

Research article Open access
Disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake among health care workers
Wigdan Farah, Laura Breeher, Vishal Shah, Caitlin Hainy, … Melanie D. Swift
Pages 2749-2754

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 19 Pages 2647-2818 (26 April 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/19

 

Research article Open access
Understanding COVID-19 vaccine uptake during pregnancy: ‘Hesitance’, knowledge, and evidence-based decision-making
Leigh Ann Simmons, Mackenzie D.M. Whipps, Jennifer E. Phipps, Nikita S. Satish, Geeta K. Swamy
Pages 2755-2760

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 19 Pages 2647-2818 (26 April 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/19

 

Research article Full text access
Hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines on social media in Canada
Bobbi Rotolo, Eve Dubé, Maryline Vivion, Shannon E. MacDonald, Samantha B. Meyer
Pages 2790-2796

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 19 Pages 2647-2818 (26 April 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/19

 

Research article Full text access
Why do Hong Kong parents have low intention to vaccinate their children against COVID-19? testing health belief model and theory of planned behavior in a large-scale survey
Jian-Bin Li, Eva Yi Hung Lau, Derwin King Chung Chan
Pages 2772-2780

Vaccine
Volume 40, Issue 19 Pages 2647-2818 (26 April 2022)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/40/issue/19

 

Japanese Society for Vaccinology paper
Proposal for the revision of the guidelines for Non-clinical studies of vaccines for the prevention of infectious diseases in Japan
Yumiko Nomura, Kiyohito Noda, Yuusuke Oohashi, Shin Okuda, … Nobuhiko Okabe
Pages 2810-2818
Highlights
• We identified the current challenges in the development of vaccines and propose revision of the guidelines for the non-clinical studies of vaccines.
• The results of repeated-dose toxicity studies can be used to decide whether safety pharmacology studies are required.
• The studies to evaluate toxicity due to systemic effects may not be necessary for both intramuscular and subcutaneous administration.
• Women of childbearing potential could be included in clinical trials with appropriate pregnancy avoidance prior to the reproductive toxicity studies.

Pre-Print Servers

 

Gates Open Research
https://gatesopenresearch.org/browse/articles
[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…

Acceptability of a behavioural intervention to mitigate the psychological impacts of COVID-19 restrictions in older people with long-term conditions: a qualitative study
Leanne Shearsmith, Peter Coventry, Claire Sloan, Andrew Henry, Lauren Burke, Eloise Ryde, Elizabeth Newbronner, Della Bailey, Samantha Gascoyne, Rebecca Woodhouse, Dean McMillan, David Ekers, Simon Gilbody, Carolyn A. Chew-Graham
medRxiv 2022.05.10.22274892; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.10.22274892

Social clustering of unvaccinated children: measles-mumps-rubella vaccination coverage in schools in the Netherlands
Don Klinkenberg, Albert Jan Van Hoek, Irene Veldhuijzen, Susan Hahné, Jacco Wallinga
medRxiv 2022.05.12.22273875; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.12.22273875

The Proportion of Randomized Controlled Trials That Inform Clinical Practice: A Longitudinal Cohort Study of Trials Registered on ClinicalTrials.gov
Nora Hutchinson, Hannah Moyer, Deborah Zarin, Jonathan Kimmelman
medRxiv 2022.05.12.22275021; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.12.22275021

Early detection of fraudulent COVID-19 products from Twitter chatter
Abeed Sarker, Sahithi Lakamana, Ruqi Liao, Aamir Abbas, Yuan-Chi Yang, Mohammed Ali Al-Garadi
medRxiv 2022.05.09.22274776; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.09.22274776

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Uptake Among Healthcare Workers in Trinidad & Tobago
Chavin D. Gopaul, Dale Ventour, Davlin Thomas
medRxiv 2022.05.09.22274854; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.09.22274854

Assessing the impacts of timing on the health benefits, cost-effectiveness and relative affordability of COVID-19 vaccination programmes in 27 African Countries
Yang Liu, Carl AB Pearson, Andrés Madriz Montero, Sergio Torres-Rueda, Elias Asfaw, Benjamin Uzochukwu, Tom Drake, Eleanor Bergren, Rosalind M Eggo, Francis Ruiz, Nicaise Ndembi, Justice Nonvignon, Mark Jit, Anna Vassall
medRxiv 2022.05.09.22274846; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.09.22274846

Unrealistic optimism in the eye of the storm: Positive bias towards the consequences of COVID-19 during the second and third waves of the pandemic
Ada Maksim, Sławomir Śpiewak, Natalia Lipp, Natalia Dużmańska-Misiarczyk, Grzegorz Gustaw, Krzysztof Rębilas, Paweł Strojny
medRxiv 2022.05.10.22274918; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.10.22274918

Too much to mask: determinants of sustained adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures among older Syrian refugees in Lebanon
Nisreen Salti, Stephen J. McCall, Berthe Abi Zeid, Noura El Salibi, Marwan Alawieh, Zeinab Ramadan, Hala Ghattas, Sawsan Abdulrahim
medRxiv 2022.05.10.22274919; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.10.22274919

10.4 Million Children Affected by COVID-19-associated Orphanhood and Caregiver Death: An Imperative for Action
Susan Hillis, Joel-Pascal Ntwali N’konzi, William Msemburi, Lucie Cluver, Andrés Villaveces, Seth Flaxman, H. Juliette T. Unwin
medRxiv 2022.05.08.22274788; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.08.22274788

Antibody responses to AZD1222 vaccination in West Africa
Adam Abdullahi, David Oladele, Steven A. Kemp, James Ayorinde, Abideen Salako, Fehintola Ige, Douglas Fink, Chika Onwuamah, Qosim Osuolale, Rufai Abubakar, Azuka Okuruawe, Gideon Liboro, Oluwatosin Odubela, Gregory Ohihoin, Oliver Ezechi, Olagoke Usman, Sunfay Mogaji, Adedamola Dada, Soraya Ebrahimi, Lourdes Ceron Gutierrez, Sani H. Aliyu, Rainer Doffinger, Rosemary Audu, Richard Adegbola, Petra Mlcochova, Babatunde Lawal Solako, Ravindra K. Gupta
medRxiv 2022.05.04.22274668; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.04.22274668 Revision

Wellcome Open Research [to 14 May 2022]
https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/browse/articles
[Accessed 14 May 2022]

 

Review metrics AWAITING PEER REVIEW
Conceptualising and assessing health system resilience to shocks: a cross-disciplinary view [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]
Sharif A. Ismail, Sadie Bell, Zaid Chalabi, Fouad M. Fouad, Reinhard Mechler, Andrada Tomoaia-Cotisel, Karl Blanchet, Josephine Borghi
Peer Reviewers Invited
Funder
Wellcome
PUBLISHED 13 May 2022