Nature Biotechnology
Volume 39 Issue 10, October 2021
https://www.nature.com/nbt/volumes/39/issues/10

Analysis | 17 May 2021
Learning on knowledge graph dynamics provides an early warning of impactful research
Biotechnology-related papers predicted to be of long-term impact are identified in a machine learning framework (DELPHI) that analyzes relationships among a range of features from the scientific literature over time.
James W. Weis, Joseph M. Jacobson

Nature Genetics
Volume 53 Issue 10, October 2021
https://www.nature.com/ng/volumes/53/issues/10

Article | 30 September 2021
A cross-population atlas of genetic associations for 220 human phenotypes
Genome-wide analyses in BioBank Japan, UK Biobank and FinnGen identify ~5,000 new loci associated with 220 human traits. Statistical decomposition of matrices of phenome-wide summary statistics further highlights variants underpinning diseases across populations.
Saori Sakaue, Masahiro Kanai, Yukinori Okada

Nature Medicine
Volume 27 Issue 10, October 2021
https://www.nature.com/nm/volumes/27/issues/10

Perspective | 12 October 2021
Individualized therapy trials: navigating patient care, research goals and ethics
In this Perspective, the authors discuss the ethical challenges of individualized therapy (also called n-of-1) trials and argue that, although customized for the patient, these constitute ‘research’ nonetheless.
Patrick Bodilly Kane, Merlin Bittlinger, Jonathan Kimmelman

Nature Medicine
Volume 27 Issue 10, October 2021
https://www.nature.com/nm/volumes/27/issues/10

Brief Communication | 07 September 2021
Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy
In an observational cohort of pregnant women in Israel, the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine was found to have effectiveness similar to that seen in the general population.
Noa Dagan, Noam Barda, Ran D. Balicer

Nature Reviews Genetics
Volume 22 Issue 10, October 2021
https://www.nature.com/nrg/volumes/22/issues/10

Review Article | 23 July 2021
Advancing the use of genome-wide association studies for drug repurposing
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed important biological insights into complex diseases. The authors review approaches that leverage GWAS to identify opportunities for repurposing existing drugs, including single-loci mapping to drug targets, transcriptome-wide association studies, gene-set association, causal inference by Mendelian randomization and polygenic scoring.
William R. Reay, Murray J. Cairns

Nature Reviews Immunology
Volume 21 Issue 10, October 2021
https://www.nature.com/nri/volumes/21/issues/10

Progress | 09 August 2021
Progress of the COVID-19 vaccine effort: viruses, vaccines and variants versus efficacy, effectiveness and escape
This Progress article provides an update on the COVID-19 vaccine effort in the light of ongoing vaccine efficacy studies and real-world data on vaccine effectiveness, including the impact of virus variants of concern and challenges for global deployment.
John S. Tregoning, Katie E. Flight, Benjamin F. Pierce

Nature Reviews Immunology
Volume 21 Issue 10, October 2021
https://www.nature.com/nri/volumes/21/issues/10

Perspective | 13 September 2021
Immune-mediated inflammatory disease therapeutics: past, present and future
In this Perspective, McInnes and Gravallese highlight the remarkable progress made over the past 20 years in treating immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. The available therapies have progressed from broad-spectrum immune modulators to highly targeted biological and small-molecule agents as our understanding of disease mechanisms has advanced.
Iain B. McInnes, Ellen M. Gravallese

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
Volume 20 Issue 10, October 2021
https://www.nature.com/nrd/volumes/20/issues/10

Comment | 27 May 2021
Envisioning an actionable research agenda to facilitate repurposing of off-patent drugs
Repurposing off-patent drugs has long been proposed as a cost-effective and efficient strategy to develop new treatments, but its potential has not been realized. Here, we highlight some of the barriers that underlie this lack of progress and discuss potential strategies to address them.
Christopher P. Austin, Bobbie Ann Mount, Christine M. Colvis

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
Volume 20 Issue 10, October 2021
https://www.nature.com/nrd/volumes/20/issues/10

Perspective | 20 July 2021
The PROTACtable genome
Targeted protein degradation by proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) is attracting substantial interest as a therapeutic modality that could circumvent some limitations of traditional small-molecule drugs. This article presents a systematic approach to assessing the PROTAC tractability (PROTACtability) of protein targets, which could support decision-making on whether a particular target may be amenable to modulation using a PROTAC.
Melanie Schneider, Chris J. Radoux, Andrew R. Leach

New England Journal of Medicine
October 14, 2021 Vol. 385 No. 16
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Original Articles
Covid-19 Breakthrough Infections in Vaccinated Health Care Workers M. Bergwerk and Others

New England Journal of Medicine
October 14, 2021 Vol. 385 No. 16
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Efficacy of a Cell-Culture–Derived Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine in Children T. Nolan and Other

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 16 Oct 2021]

Research Article
Risk factors for breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection in vaccinated healthcare workers
Moza Alishaq, Hanaa Nafady-Hego, Andrew Jeremijenko, Jameela Ali Al Ajmi, Mohamed Elgendy, Suni Vinoy, Sameera Bihi Fareh, Justine Veronica Plaatjies, Mariam Nooh, Nadya Alanzi, Anvar H. Kaleeckal, Ali Nizar Latif, Peter Coyle, Hamed Elgendy, Abdul-Badi Abou-Samra, Adeel Ajwad Butt
Research Article | published 15 Oct 2021 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258820

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 16 Oct 2021]

Catch-up immunization for adolescents and young adults during pre-travel consultation in Japan
Kei Yamamoto, Michiyo Suzuki, Mugen Ujiie, Shuzo Kanagawa, Norio Ohmagari
Research Article | published 14 Oct 2021 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258357

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 16 Oct 2021]

Knowledge, attitude and practice of influenza vaccination among Lebanese parents: A cross-sectional survey from a developing country
Ramia Zakhour, Hani Tamim, Farah Faytrouni, Joanne Khoury, Maha Makki, Lama Charafeddine
Research Article | published 14 Oct 2021 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258258

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 16 Oct 2021]

Effects of COVID-19 on trade flows: Measuring their impact through government policy responses
Javier Barbero, Juan José de Lucio, Ernesto Rodríguez-Crespo
Research Article | published 13 Oct 2021 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258356

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States
October 05, 2021; vol. 118 no. 40
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/40

Political Sciences
Trust in scientists in times of pandemic: Panel evidence from 12 countries
Yann Algan, Daniel Cohen, Eva Davoine, Martial Foucault, and Stefanie Stantcheva
PNAS October 5, 2021 118 (40) e2108576118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2108576118
Significance
During the COVID-19 pandemic, support for nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and compliant behavior changed substantially over time. Using a large-scale, longitudinal, and representative survey for 12 countries from March to December 2020 (n = 54,000), combined with experimental data, we show that trust in scientists is the critical determinant of societies’ resilience in their fight against the pandemic. Yet, this trust has eroded dramatically in some countries such as France. Individuals and countries for which trust in scientists has declined have experienced fading support for and compliance with NPIs. In countries where trust in government is low, the independence of scientists and scientific institutions is essential to obtain citizen’s support for measures necessary to protect public health.
Abstract
This article analyzes the specific and critical role of trust in scientists on both the support for and compliance with nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We exploit large-scale, longitudinal, and representative surveys for 12 countries over the period from March to December 2020, and we complement the analysis with experimental data. We find that trust in scientists is the key driving force behind individual support for and compliance with NPIs and for favorable attitudes toward vaccination. The effect of trust in government is more ambiguous and tends to diminish support for and compliance with NPIs in countries where the recommendations from scientists and the government were not aligned. Trust in others also has seemingly paradoxical effects: in countries where social trust is high, the support for NPIs is low due to higher expectations that others will voluntary social distance. Our individual-level longitudinal data also allows us to evaluate the effects of within-person changes in trust over the pandemic: we show that trust levels and, in particular, trust in scientists have changed dramatically for individuals and within countries, with important subsequent effects on compliant behavior and support for NPIs. Such findings point out the challenging but critical need to maintain trust in scientists during a lasting pandemic that strains citizens and governments.

Risk Management and Healthcare Policy
https://www.dovepress.com/risk-management-and-healthcare-policy-archive56
[Accessed 16 Oct 2021]

Original Research
Prevalence, Trends and Conditions for the DTP3 Vaccine: A 25-Year Historical Perspective
Araújo Veras AAC, Arruda Vidal S, Costa de Macêdo V, de Carvalho Lima M, Cabral de Lira PI, da Fonseca Lima EJ, Batista Filho M
Risk Management and Healthcare Policy ²⁰²¹, 14:4301-4310
Published Date: 14 October 2021

Tropical Medicine & International Health
Volume 26, Issue 10 Pages: i-iv, 1139-1323 October 2021
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/13653156/current

RESEARCH ARTICLES
Acceptance and willingness to pay for COVID-19 vaccines among pregnant women in Vietnam
Long Hoang Nguyen, Men Thi Hoang, Lam Duc Nguyen, Ly Thi Ninh, Ha Thi Thu Nguyen, Anh Duy Nguyen, Linh Gia Vu, Giang Thu Vu, Linh Phuong Doan, Carl A. Latkin, Bach Xuan Tran, Cyrus S.H. Ho, Roger C.M. Ho
Pages: 1303-1313
First Published: 09 August 2021

Vaccine
Volume 39, Issue 41 Pages 6015-6182 (1 October 2021)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/39/issue/41

Discussion Full text access
Standardizing shared vaccination responsibilities among specialists to improve vaccination rates of immunosuppressed patients
Shubha Bhat, Freddy Caldera, Francis A. Farraye
Pages 6015-6016

Vaccine
Volume 39, Issue 41 Pages 6015-6182 (1 October 2021)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/39/issue/41

Discussion Full text access
The next frontier in vaccine safety and VAERS: Lessons from COVID-19 and ten recommendations for action
John G. Rizk, Charles E. Barr, Youssef Rizk, John C. Lewin
Pages 6017-6018

Vaccine
Volume 39, Issue 41 Pages 6015-6182 (1 October 2021)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/39/issue/41

Research article Full text access
Prenatal maternal COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy outcomes
Tamar Wainstock, Israel Yoles, Ruslan Sergienko, Eyal Sheiner
Pages 6037-6040

Vaccine
Volume 39, Issue 41 Pages 6015-6182 (1 October 2021)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/39/issue/41

Research article Abstract only
Factors affecting non-coverage of measles-rubella vaccination among children aged 9–59 months in Tanzania
Abdallah Mkopi, Sally Mtenga, Charles Festo, Grace Mhalu, … Honorati Masanja
Pages 6041-6049

Vaccine
Volume 39, Issue 41 Pages 6015-6182 (1 October 2021)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/39/issue/41

Research article Open access
Vaccine complacency and dose distribution inequities limit the benefits of seasonal influenza vaccination, despite a positive trend in use
Abraham Palache, Steven Rockman, Beverly Taylor, Meral Akcay, … Paula Barbosa
Pages 6081-6087

Vaccine
Volume 39, Issue 41 Pages 6015-6182 (1 October 2021)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/39/issue/41

Research article Full text access
The impact of COVID-19 vaccination delay: A data-driven modeling analysis for Chicago and New York City
Vinicius V.L. Albani, Jennifer Loria, Eduardo Massad, Jorge P. Zubelli

Vaccine
Volume 39, Issue 41 Pages 6015-6182 (1 October 2021)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/39/issue/41

Research article Open access
Access to HPV vaccination in Japan: Increasing social trust to regain vaccine confidence
Keiko Kunitoki, Masafumi Funato, Makiko Mitsunami, Takahiro Kinoshita, Michael R. Reich
Pages 6104-6110

Vaccine
Volume 39, Issue 41 Pages 6015-6182 (1 October 2021)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/39/issue/41

Research article Full text access
A hub-and-spoke design for ultra-cold COVID-19 vaccine distribution
Xinglu Xu, Mark D. Rodgers, Weihong (Grace) Guo
Pages 6127-6136

Vaccines
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines

Open Access Article
Cognitive Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions: An Application of the Protection Motivation Theory Using a Probability Community Sample
by Kwok Kit Tong et al.
Vaccines 2021, 9(10), 1170; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9101170 – 12 Oct 2021
Abstract
COVID-19 vaccines, as one of the effective ways of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, can lower COVID-19 risk and protect against severe disease and death; however, substantial individual differences in vaccination intentions have hindered the realization of a high vaccination rate among the [..

Vaccines
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines

Open Access Article
Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Portuguese-Speaking Countries: A Structural Equations Modeling Approach
by Álvaro Francisco Lopes de Sousa et al.
Vaccines 2021, 9(10), 1167; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9101167 (registering DOI) – 12 Oct 2021
Abstract
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) has caused concerns due to the possible fluctuations that may occur directly impacting the control of the pandemic. In this study, we aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with COVID-19 VH in Portuguese-speaking countries. We developed a […

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…
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/about-medrxiv
[Accessed 16 Oct 2021]

Selected Content
Evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections among immunocompromised patients fully vaccinated with BNT162b2
Manuela Di Fusco, Mary M Moran, Alejandro Cane, Daniel Curcio, Farid Khan, Deepa Malhotra, Andy Surinach, Amanda Miles, David Swerdlow, John M McLaughlin, Jennifer L Nguyen
medRxiv 2021.10.12.21264707; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.12.21264707

Effects of Side-Effect Risk Framing Strategies on COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions in the United States and the United Kingdom: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Nikkil Sudharsanan, Caterina Favaretti, Violetta Hachaturyan, Till Baernighausen, Alain Vandormael
medRxiv 2021.10.12.21264877; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.12.21264877

Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections in 620,000 U.S. Veterans, February 1, 2021 to August 13, 2021
Barbara A Cohn, Piera M Cirillo, Caitlin C Murphy, Nickilou Y Krigbaum, Arthur W Wallace
medRxiv 2021.10.13.21264966; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.13.21264966

Breastfeeding infants receive neutralizing antibodies and cytokines from mothers immunized with a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine
Vignesh Narayanaswamy, Brian Pentecost, Corina N Schoen, Dominique Alfandari, Sallie S Schneider, Ryan Baker, Kathleen F Arcaro
medRxiv 2021.10.12.21264890; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.12.21264890

A Third Dose of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Increases Neutralizing Antibodies Against Variants of Concern in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients
Andrew H. Karaba, Xianming Zhu, Tao Liang, Kristy H. Wang, Alex G. Rittenhouse, Olivia Akinde, Yolanda Eby, Jessica E. Ruff, Joel N. Blankson, Aura T. Abedon, Jennifer L. Alejo, Andrea L. Cox, Justin R. Bailey, Elizabeth A. Thompson, Sabra L. Klein, Daniel S. Warren, Jacqueline M. Garonzik-Wang, Brian J. Boyarsky, Ioannis Sitaras, Andrew Pekosz, Dorry L. Segev, Aaron A.R. Tobian, William A. Werbel
medRxiv 2021.08.11.21261914; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.11.21261914

Comparative immunogenicity and effectiveness of mRNA-1273, BNT162b2 and Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 vaccines
Vivek Naranbhai, Wilfredo F. Garcia-Beltran, Christina C. Chang, Cristhian Berrios Mairena, Julia C. Thierauf, Grace Kirkpatrick, Maristela L. Onozato, Ju Cheng, Kerri J. St. Denis, Evan C. Lam, Clarety Kaseke, Rhoda Tano-Menka, Diane Yang, Maia Pavlovic, Wendy Yang, Alexander Kui, Tyler E. Miller, Michael G. Astudillo, Jennifer E. Cahill, Anand S. Dighe, David J. Gregory, Mark C. Poznansky, Gaurav D. Gaiha, Alejandro B. Balazs, A. John Iafrate
medRxiv 2021.07.18.21260732; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.18.21260732

The impact of mandatory COVID-19 certificates on vaccine uptake: Synthetic Control Modelling of Six Countries
Melinda C. Mills, Tobias Rüttenauer
medRxiv 2021.10.08.21264718; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.08.21264718

Efficacy and Safety of NVX-CoV2373 in Adults in the United States and Mexico
Lisa M. Dunkle, Karen L. Kotloff, Cynthia L. Gay, Germán Áñez, Jeffrey M. Adelglass, Alejandro Q. Barrat Hernández, Wayne L. Harper, Daniel M. Duncanson, Monica A. McArthur, Diana F. Florescu, R. Scott McClelland, Veronica Garcia-Fragoso, Robert A. Riesenberg, David B. Musante, David L. Fried, Beth E. Safirstein, Mark McKenzie, Robert J. Jeanfreau, Jeffrey K. Kingsley, Jeffrey A. Henderson, Dakotah C. Lane, Guillermo M. Ruíz-Palacios, Lawrence Corey, Kathleen M. Neuzil, Robert W. Coombs, Alex L. Greninger, Julia Hutter, Julie A. Ake, Katherine Smith, Wayne Woo, Iksung Cho, Gregory M. Glenn, Filip Dubovsky, for the 2019nCoV-301 Study Group
medRxiv 2021.10.05.21264567; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.05.21264567

Think Tanks et al
 
 
Brookings [to 16 Oct 2021]
http://www.brookings.edu/
Report
Amid the pandemic, Black and Latino men have experienced the largest drop in life expectancy
Andre M. Perry, Ariel Gelrud Shiro, Anthony Barr, and Carl Romer
Monday, October 11, 2021
 
 
Center for Global Development [to 16 Oct 2021]
http://www.cgdev.org/page/press-center
Accessed 16 Oct 2021
Four Pandemic Asks for IDA20 Replenishment at the World Bank
October 13, 2021
The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the largest single source of concessional financing for development in lower-income countries, is under-utilized in the world’s fight against pandemics, and can deploy its resources and expertise to play a much more significant role in the COVID-19 response and beyond as part of its upcoming replenishment, known as IDA20.
Amanda Glassman

The Roots of Policy Incoherence: Domestic Policy, Global Public Goods, and International Development
Publication
October 12, 2021
Governments make policy to affect three domains: domestic outcomes, outcomes in foreign countries, and shared global challenges. This note sets out how the conceptual and analytical incoherence of policy set in developed countries across these three domains undermines their own effectiveness—most notably on international development and shared global challenges.
 
 
Chatham House [to 16 Oct 2021]
https://www.chathamhouse.org/
Accessed 16 Oct 2021
[No new digest content identified]

 
 
CSIS
https://www.csis.org/
Accessed 16 Oct 2021
Transcript
Allied Infrastructure Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
October 15, 2021

Transcript
What Next? Looking Beyond the Covid-19 Summit
October 14, 2021

 
 
Kaiser Family Foundation
https://www.kff.org/search/?post_type=press-release
[No new digest content identified]

ODI [Overseas Development Institute] [to 16 Oct 2021]
https://odi.org/en/publications/
Publications
What MDBs (and their shareholders) can do for vaccine equity
06 October 2021
In late 2020 the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) announced large-scale financing packages to help the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in low- and middle-income countries. But despite the urgency of doing this to bring the global pandemic to an end, the uptake of these financing packages has so far been slow. Why are committed funds sitting idle at the same time that vaccination programmes are a priority in many countries battling new waves of Covid-19 infections? And at the same time as many activists and world leaders call on G7 leaders to ramp up their contributions to the global vaccination effort?

In this long-read we review some of the factors and bottlenecks that can plausibly explain this low uptake of MDB financing for vaccine purchases from governments in low-and middle-income countries. More importantly, we outline what management and shareholders of MDBs should do to ramp up the use of these financing facilities or deploy resources to support the health response against Covid-19. The fundamental issue has been between the country-based lending model of MDBs and the need to finance and procure a global public good (a low-cost vaccine). MDBs thus need a clearer mandate and dedicated grant financing for global public goods, including vaccine procurement.

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

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

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

.
David R. Curry, MS
Executive Director

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Malaria

WHO recommends groundbreaking malaria vaccine for children at risk
Historic RTS,S/AS01 recommendation can reinvigorate the fight against malaria
6 October 2021 News release
The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending widespread use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission. The recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019.

“This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”

Malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 260 000 African children under the age of five die from malaria annually. In recent years, WHO and its partners have been reporting a stagnation in progress against the deadly disease.

“For centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “We have long hoped for an effective malaria vaccine and now for the first time ever, we have such a vaccine recommended for widespread use. Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults.”

WHO recommendation for the RTS,S malaria vaccine
Based on the advice of two WHO global advisory bodies, one for immunization and the other for malaria, the Organization recommends that:

WHO recommends that in the context of comprehensive malaria control the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine be used for the prevention of P. falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by WHO.  RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age for the reduction of malaria disease and burden.

Summary of key findings of the malaria vaccine pilots
Key findings of the pilots informed the recommendation based on data and insights generated from two years of vaccination in child health clinics in the three pilot countries, implemented under the leadership of the Ministries of Health of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Findings include:
Feasible to deliver: Vaccine introduction is feasible, improves health and saves lives, with good and equitable coverage of RTS,S seen through routine immunization systems. This occurred even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reaching the unreached: RTS,S increases equity in access to malaria prevention.
Data from the pilot programme showed that more than two-thirds of children in the 3 countries who are not sleeping under a bednet are benefitting from the RTS,S vaccine.
Layering the tools results in over 90% of children benefitting from at least one preventive intervention (insecticide treated bednets or the malaria vaccine).
Strong safety profile: To date, more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in 3 African countries – the vaccine has a favorable safety profile.
No negative impact on uptake of bednets, other childhood vaccinations, or health seeking behavior for febrile illness. In areas where the vaccine has been introduced, there has been no decrease in the use of insecticide-treated nets, uptake of other childhood vaccinations or health seeking behavior for febrile illness.
High impact in real-life childhood vaccination settings: Significant reduction (30%) in deadly severe malaria, even when introduced in areas where insecticide-treated nets are widely used and there is good access to diagnosis and treatment.
Highly cost-effective: Modelling estimates that the vaccine is cost effective in areas of moderate to high malaria transmission.

Next steps for the WHO-recommended malaria vaccine will include funding decisions from the global health community for broader rollout, and country decision-making on whether to adopt the vaccine as part of national malaria control strategies.

Financial support
Financing for the pilot programme has been mobilized through an unprecedented collaboration among three key global health funding bodies: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Unitaid.

Note to editors:
The malaria vaccine, RTS,S, acts against P. falciparum, the most deadly malaria parasite globally, and the most prevalent in Africa.
The Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme is generating evidence and experience on the feasibility, impact and safety of the RTS,S malaria vaccine in real-life, routine settings in selected areas of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
Pilot malaria vaccine introductions are led by the Ministries of Health of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
The pilot programme will continue in the 3 pilot countries to understand the added value of the 4th vaccine dose, and to measure longer-term impact on child deaths.
The Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme is coordinated by WHO and supported by in-country and international partners, including PATH, UNICEF and GSK, which is donating up to 10 million doses of the vaccine for the pilot.
The RTS,S malaria vaccine is the result of 30 years of research and development by GSK and through a partnership with PATH, with support from a network of African research centres.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided catalytic funding for late-stage development of RTS,S between 2001 and 2015.

::::::

GSK welcomes WHO recommendation for broad roll-out of its RTS,S/AS01e (RTS,S) malaria vaccine
Issued: 6 October, London UK
Based on the recommendation of its global advisory bodies for immunization and malaria, WHO has recommended the wider use of GSK’s RTS,S malaria vaccine in children living in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high malaria transmission.
Malaria vaccine pilot programmes in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have shown high impact in real-life childhood vaccination settings, strong community demand and that RTS,S can be effectively delivered through routine child immunization platforms.
Recommendation follows shortly after new data show that RTS,S, in combination with seasonal administration of antimalarials, lowers clinical episodes of malaria, hospital admissions with severe malaria, and deaths by around 70%.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plc welcomes and applauds the WHO recommendation for the broader deployment of GSK’s RTS,S malaria vaccine to reduce childhood illness and deaths from malaria in children living in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by WHO. RTS,S is the first and only malaria vaccine to have been shown in pivotal long-term clinical trials to significantly reduce malaria in children. The vaccine is the result of over 30 years of research led by GSK, with PATH and other partners.

Thomas Breuer, Chief Global Health Officer, GSK, said: “GSK is proud that RTS,S, our ground-breaking malaria vaccine, developed over decades by our teams and partners, can now be made available to children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with moderate to high malaria transmission. This long-awaited landmark decision can reinvigorate the fight against malaria in the region at a time when progress on malaria control has stalled. Both real world evidence and clinical trial data show that RTS,S, alongside other malaria prevention measures, has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives.”…

GSK believes that beating malaria is a shared responsibility and demands a range of tools – from accessible testing and treatment to preventative measures like a vaccine, complemented by bed nets as well as trained health workers to support prevention and treatment in the community.

GSK continues active research in malaria as part of its extensive Global Health research and development programme, and also works with partners such as Comic Relief and AMREF Health Africa to increase public health awareness, train health workers in underserved communities to better diagnose and treat malaria, and increase access to testing and medications.

::::::

GAVI, Unitaid and the Global Fund welcome WHO recommendation for world’s first malaria vaccine
WHO recommendation for wider use of the RTS,S malaria vaccine is largely based on data gathered during malaria vaccine pilots which took place in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and global health agency Unitaid have together committed nearly US$ 70 million to fund the pilots
Following the WHO recommendation, global stakeholders, including Gavi, will consider whether and how to finance a new malaria vaccination programme

Geneva, 6 October 2021 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, global health agency Unitaid and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria welcome the WHO recommendation for wider routine use of the RTS,S malaria vaccine. The recommendation is based on data gathered through the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) which took place in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi over a two-year period and a clinical trial around the seasonal delivery of the vaccine in Mali and Burkina Faso, countries that experience high seasonal variation in malaria transmission.

The RTS,S pilots achieved and maintained good coverage levels, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. As of September 2021, over two years after the start of vaccinations, more than 2.3 million RTS,S doses have been administered across the three countries and more than 800,000 children have been reached with at least one dose of the vaccine. The pilots provided an opportunity to evaluate the feasibility of delivering four doses of RTS,S in real-life settings, where the vaccine was successfully rolled into existing immunisation programmes, widely accepted by both caregivers and healthcare workers, and reduced hospitalisations from severe malaria by 30%.

A further clinical trial led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine assessed the impact of seasonal delivery of the malaria vaccine alongside seasonal malaria chemoprevention in Mali and Burkina Faso, countries that experience high seasonal variation of malaria transmission. The findings indicated a decrease of more than 70% in severe malaria cases in children when the vaccine was administered in combination with preventive antimalarials.

“Today marks a historic achievement in our fight against malaria,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “Malaria still kills over 250,000 children every year. The vaccine is an important additional tool to help control this disease alongside other interventions, such as bed nets, and especially when delivered seasonally in combination with antimalarial medication. I applaud the countries and communities who participated in the trials and pilots to provide this critical new tool for African countries.”

Ministries of Health led the implementation of the vaccine, which was delivered through routine immunisation programmes, with WHO playing a coordinating role, working in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, PATH and UNICEF. Following its investment of around US$ 700 million in the development of RTS,S, GSK has donated up to 10 million doses for the pilot programme. Gavi, the Global Fund and Unitaid have together committed nearly US$ 70 million to fund the pilot, which was designed to address several outstanding questions related to the public health use of the vaccine following the Phase 3 trial showing efficacy of RTS,S.

“We welcome this new tool in the fight against malaria,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “In countries where the Global Fund invests, we have reduced malaria deaths by 45% since 2002 with testing, treatment and prevention tools such as mosquito nets. In the vaccine pilots, the RTS,S vaccine was most effective when used together with these existing tools. Significant additional resources will be necessary to enable wide deployment of the vaccine alongside other innovations, and as part of a sustained and comprehensive response in the countries that need it the most.”

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, progress against malaria was stalling,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “This vaccine is a welcome new tool that, when used in combination with existing interventions like bed nets, has the potential to drive down malaria and extend protection to children across Africa. Pilot implementation has demonstrated how we can equitably reach children with this life-saving vaccine – now we need to ensure adequate and affordable supply to truly reignite the fight against malaria.”

The data collected through MVIP achieved similar rates of efficacy as seen in the Phase 3 clinical trial conducted from 2009 to 2014. The trial found that among children aged 5–17 months who received four doses of RTS,S, the vaccine prevented approximately 4 in 10 (39%) cases of malaria over 4 years of follow-up, and about 3 in 10 (29%) cases of severe malaria. Significant reductions were also seen in overall hospital admissions as well as in admissions due to malaria or severe anaemia. In addition, the vaccine reduced the need for blood transfusions, which are required to treat life-threatening malaria anaemia, by 29%.

Following the WHO recommendation, global stakeholders, including Gavi, will consider whether and how to finance a new malaria vaccination programme in sub-Saharan Africa. Ahead of this important decision, an innovative financing agreement between Gavi, MedAccess and GSK guarantees continued production of the RTS,S antigen for the malaria vaccine. The partnership aims to address vaccine supply challenges and reduce barriers to initial roll-out in the event that the Gavi Board makes a decision in favour of a Gavi-supported malaria vaccination programme.

The vaccine will be a complementary malaria control tool to be added to the core package of WHO-recommended measures for malaria prevention. This includes the routine use of insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor spraying with insecticides, malaria chemoprevention strategies, and the timely use of malaria testing and treatment.

::::::

PATH applauds WHO recommendation for broader use of first malaria vaccine
Vaccine shown to be cost-effective and trusted by caregivers and health care workers
October 6, 2021 by PATH

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

::::::

COVID – PHEIC

Editor’s Note:
As readers absorb the WHO-UN world COVID vaccination targets announcement just below with its summary of imperatives, we urge a careful reading of the underlying technical document referenced in the concluding Note to Editors : The Global COVID-19 Vaccination – Strategic Vision for 2022 Technical Document [15 September 2021].

This 92-page technical document represents important work to be sure, but our initial assessment is that it lacks any material discussion of scenarios/outcomes beyond 2022 – indeed there seems to be literally no instance where 2023-2025 or beyond is discussed or analyzed [except for a reference to an IMF projection on 2025 economic impacts].

We invite anyone to correct our understanding, but it is entirely unclear what the 2023-25 scenarios may be if, indeed, the 70% vaccination target is achieved at some point during 2022. This is startling…

We repeat our interest in access to modelling which engages scenarios and articulates imperatives around a COVID-19 pandemic end-game through at least a 2025 horizon. If we have missed such modeling in progress, we would be delighted to be advised of it and will include it in our coverage.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

WHO, UN set out steps to meet world COVID vaccination targets
7 October 2021 News release
Working with COVAX, African Vaccine Acquisition Trust and other partners – world can and must meet WHO targets to vaccinate 40% of the population of all countries by the end-2021 and 70% by mid-2022
Vaccine supply gaps to COVAX must be closed immediately for countries to reach the 40% year-end target
United Nations Secretary-General and WHO Director-General call on countries and  manufacturers to make good on their commitments without further delays

The World Health Organization has today launched the Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination by mid-2022 (the Strategy) to help bring an end to what has become a two-track pandemic:  people in poorer countries continue to be at risk while those in richer countries with high vaccination rates enjoy much greater protection.

WHO had set a target to vaccinate 10% of every country, economy and territory by the end of September but by that date 56 countries had not been able to do so, the vast majority of these are countries in Africa and the Middle East.

The new strategy outlines a plan for achieving WHO’s targets to vaccinate 40% of the population of every country by the end of this year and 70% by mid-2022.

“Science has played its part by delivering powerful, life-saving tools faster than for any outbreak in history,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “But the concentration of those tools in the hands of a few countries and companies has led to a global catastrophe, with the rich protected while the poor remain exposed to a deadly virus. We can still achieve the targets for this year and next, but it will take a level of political commitment, action and cooperation, beyond what we have seen to date.”

“This is a costed, coordinated and credible path out of the COVID-19 pandemic for everyone, everywhere,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Without a coordinated, equitable approach, a reduction of cases in any one country will not be sustained over time. For everyone’s sake, we must urgently bring all countries to a high level of vaccination coverage.”

To achieve the global vaccination targets, there should be a three-step approach to vaccination, with all older adults, health workers, and high-risk groups of all ages, in every country vaccinated first, followed by the full adult age group in every country and lastly extended vaccination of adolescents.

Vaccinating 70% of the global population requires at least 11 billion vaccine doses.   By the end of September, just over 6 billion doses had already been administered worldwide.  With global vaccine production now at nearly 1.5 billion doses per month, there is sufficient vaccine from a supply perspective to achieve the global vaccination targets provided that there is equitable distribution of those doses.

Substantial financing has already been invested to procure most of the required vaccine doses for low- and lower-middle-income countries through COVAX, the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) and bilateral contracts.  There needs to be additional investment to secure the remaining vaccine doses for these countries as well as investment to support in-country delivery.

The Strategy outlines the priority actions needed from the different actors to achieve the targets.
All Countries must:
Establish updated national COVID-19 vaccine targets and plans defining dose requirements to guide manufacturing investment and vaccine redistribution, and financial and programmatic resource needs to guide internal planning and external support;
Monitor vaccine demand and uptake carefully to rapidly adapt services and ensure continuity of vaccine supplies;
Commit to equitable distribution of vaccines in line with the WHO three-step approach;
Revise national vaccination strategies, policies and prioritization as needed to harness emerging evidence to maximize the impact of existing, modified and new vaccines.

Countries with high vaccine coverage must:
Swap vaccine delivery schedules, with COVAX and AVAT to enhance coverage in countries in need;
Fulfil and accelerate vaccine dose-sharing and donation commitments to COVAX in the near term, for those with existing pledges;
Establish new dose-sharing commitments to facilitate progress toward the 70% coverage target in every country.

Vaccine-producing countries must:
Allow the free cross-border flow of finished vaccines and raw materials;
Enable diversified vaccine production, both geographically and technologically, including through non-exclusive, and transparent licensing and sharing of know-how to allow transfer of technology and scale-up of manufacturing.

COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers must:
Prioritize and fulfil COVAX and AVAT contracts as a matter of urgency;
Provide full transparency on the overall monthly production of COVID-19 vaccines and clear monthly schedules for supplies to COVAX, AVAT and low and low-middle income countries, to enable proper global and national-level planning and optimal use of scarce supplies;
Actively engage and work with countries that have high coverage and that have contracted high volumes of vaccines to allow the prioritization of COVAX and AVAT contracts, including through delivery schedule swaps, and facilitate rapid and early dose-sharing;
Commit to share know-how more rapidly, facilitate technology transfer and provide transparent non-exclusive voluntary licenses, to ensure that future vaccine supply is reliable, affordable, available, and deployed to every country in volumes and timing that achieves equitable access.

Civil society, community organizations, and the private sector must:
Advocate locally, nationally and internationally for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments, calling for and monitoring in particular the specific actions required of manufacturers, governments and multilateral actors;
Mobilize and empower communities, including through social media and community networks, to generate strong vaccine demand and address misinformation and misperceptions that contribute to vaccine hesitancy;
Provide support to the in-country delivery of vaccination programmes and services.

Global and regional multilateral development banks and institutions must:
Enable countries to more rapidly access the capital and external support needed for in-country vaccine delivery, prioritizing low-income settings and especially targeting support to the technical, logistics and human resources required;
Engage fully with COVAX/ACT-Accelerator and AVAT, with integrated operations and real-time sharing of information to truly support equitable access;
Support international procurement and allocation mechanisms to enable all countries to equitably, efficiently and rapidly achieve the COVID-19 vaccine targets;
Support vaccine distribution plans and a campaign to convey the life-saving importance of approved COVID-19 vaccinations.

For their part, WHO, Gavi, UNICEF and CEPI must work in close collaboration with World Bank, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, Africa CDC, AVAT, and other key partners to monitor progress, identify changes needed to resolve bottlenecks, coordinate information and prioritize actions; continue to co-lead and manage the COVAX Pillar of ACT-Accelerator; support the equitable allocation of available vaccines, particularly to low-, lower-middle-income and lagging countries; directly support countries to develop and sustain rapid, effective, high-quality COVID-19 vaccine delivery programmes that can achieve the global targets; address key research, policy, safety and regulatory issues that will optimize vaccine impact including effective supply, dosing and vaccine schedules, mixing and matching of products, protection against variants, and other issues; and monitor and report monthly on progress towards the global COVID-19 vaccination goals.

Note to Editors:
The Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination by mid-2022 can be read in its entirety here.
See also:
:: The Global COVID-19 Vaccination – Strategic Vision for 2022 Technical Document
:: Slide deck on the Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination by mid-2022

Following the WHO declaration of novel coronavirus as a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020, the main global immunization partners developed a global COVID-19 vaccination strategy through the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) Vaccines Pillar (COVAX). The ACT-A prioritized strategy and budget can be read here. The 2022 Global Vaccination Strategy is intended to complement that strategy.

The immediate goal of the global COVID-19 vaccination strategy is to minimize deaths, severe disease and overall disease burden; curtail the health system impact; fully resume socio-economic activity, and reduce the risk of new variants.

The 2022 Global COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy is based on a technical analysis that established a Conceptual COVID-19 Goal Framework which specifies a sequence of socio-economic and health goals, which could be achieved with various levels of vaccination scope and other interventions. The Conceptual Goal Framework structures the technical analyses of vaccination requirements to achieve ever broader health, social and economic goals and builds upon WHO’s broader COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) first published in 2020 and subsequently updated in 2021. The SPRP’s strategic objectives inform and align with the health and socioeconomic dimensions of the Global COVID-19 Vaccine Strategic Vision Goal Framework.

::::::

WHO, WIPO, WTO Workshop on Innovation in, and Access to, COVID 19 Technologies: Intellectual property licensing, technology transfer, and sharing of know-how and clinical trial information
5 October 2021 Departmental news
On September 27, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) jointly organized a Workshop on Innovation in, and Access to, COVID-19 Technologies. The workshop focused on intellectual property licensing, technology transfer, and sharing of know-how and clinical trial information. It aimed at strengthening the capacity of policymakers and experts coming from WHO, WIPO and WTO members to address the COVID-19 pandemic. This capacity-building activity was conceived to help members update their knowledge and understanding of how intellectual property (IP), know-how and technology transfer work in actuality.

The activity was agreed in a June 15, 2021 meeting among the Directors General of WHO, WIPO and WTO  in which they underscored their commitment to universal, equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other health technologies.

In three panels, speakers addressed the following themes: realizing global equitable access for vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and other COVID-19 health technologies; mechanisms and processes to support technology transfer and IP licensing; and enabling factors and policies for technology transfer…

More than 200 participants from a broad range of members of WHO, WIPO and WTO participated in this training. The program, the full summary of key issues addressed by the workshop, as well as presentations shown during the event are posted on the meeting webpage as they become available.

::::::

Interim statement on booster doses for COVID-19 vaccination
4 October 2021 Statement
WHO, with support of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization and its COVID-19 Vaccines Working Group, continues to review the emerging evidence on the need for and timing of a booster dose for the currently available COVID-19 vaccines which have received Emergency Use Listing (EUL). This statement reflects the current understanding of vaccine performance and supply, as of the time of update…

Rationale for the administration of booster doses
The current primary goal of immunization in the COVID-19 pandemic remains to protect against hospitalization, severe disease and death. Hence, booster doses may only be needed if there is evidence of insufficient protection against these disease outcomes over time.

The degree of waning of immunity and need for booster doses of vaccine may differ between vaccine products, target populations, circulating SARS CoV-2 virus, in particular variants of concern (VoC), and intensity of exposure. For some vaccines, restricted booster indications have been included into the product label of some jurisdictions.

In a period of continued global vaccine supply shortage equity considerations at country, regional and global level remain an essential consideration to assure vaccination of high priority groups in every country. Improving coverage of the primary vaccination series should be prioritized over booster vaccination…

Conclusions
Introducing booster doses should be firmly evidence-driven and targeted to the population groups in greatest need. The rationale for implementing booster doses should be guided by evidence on waning vaccine effectiveness, in particular a decline in protection against severe disease in the general population and in high-risk populations, or due to a circulating VoC. To date, the evidence remains limited and still inconclusive on any widespread need for booster doses following a primary vaccination series.

In the context of ongoing global vaccine supply constraints, broad-based administration of booster doses risks exacerbating inequities in vaccine access by driving up demand and diverting supply while priority populations in some countries, or in subnational settings, have not yet received a primary vaccination series.  The focus remains on urgently increasing global vaccination coverage with the primary series driven by the objective to protect against severe disease.

SAGE will deliberate on the evidence for a booster dose during an upcoming Extraordinary SAGE meeting in November 2021.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

COVID-19 VACCINE PRODUCTION AND TARIFFS ON VACCINE INPUTS
World Trade Organization
08 October 2021 :: 35 pages
INFORMATION NOTE
Key points:
Among the top 27 vaccine manufacturing economies, Switzerland has the lowest verage applied most-favoured-nation (MFN) tariff at 1.5 per cent for vaccine production inputs.
Iran and Cuba have the highest applied MFN tariff at 11.9 per cent and 10.3 per cent, respectively.
Using criteria of at least 5 per cent tariff for the product group as a “choke point” level, Argentina, India and Iran have all 13 product groups of vaccine inputs which can be considered sensitive/critical at varying levels, depending on the share of these product groups relative to total imported vaccine inputs.
Of the 27 top manufacturers, 23 have at least 5 choke points.
In Kazakhstan, the average tariff for the product group “vaccine ingredients” is almost 29 per cent, and this product group accounts for nearly one quarter of imported vaccine inputs.
Among the different product groups, “vaccine ingredients” are the building blocks for vaccines and yet it is a tariff choke point for 17 manufacturing economies. On average, the lowest tariff is for “heat marker vaccine vial monitor”, with the exception of Iran, which levies a tariff of 32 per cent (the highest average product group duty imposed by an individual economy).
Tariffs on critical products to manufacture vaccines remain high, especially in some developing countries, and might impede the flow across borders. This is especially important when a high percentage of these inputs must be imported from other economies.
Member cooperation at the WTO could support the elimination or significant reduction of tariffs on these vaccine inputs to reduce costs and to expand output from vaccine manufacturers meeting acute global needs.

WTO issues papers on vaccine inputs tariffs and bottlenecks on critical COVID-19 products
8 October 2021
The WTO Secretariat has published two information notes on issues relating to the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines.

The first one is a new study that focuses on COVID-19 vaccines production and tariffs on vaccine inputs. Based on the Joint Indicative List of Critical COVID-19 Vaccine Inputs for Consultation (Version 1.0), this new report explores the most-favoured nation (MFN) tariffs and imports of these products by the 27 top vaccine manufacturing economies in order to identify possible “sensitive” or choke points. Any product group with an average tariff of at least 5% was deemed a possible “choke point”.

The report concludes that tariffs on critical products to manufacture vaccines remain high, especially in some developing countries, and might impede the flow across borders and/or increase the cost of vaccine manufacturing. It calls for members’ cooperation under the WTO to support the elimination and/or significant reduction of tariffs on these vaccine inputs to reduce costs and expand output from vaccine manufacturers meeting acute global needs. The paper can be found here.

The second paper updates the “Indicative list of trade-related bottlenecks and trade-facilitating measures on critical products to combat COVID-19” that was previously published on 20 July 2021. This revised version is based on issues identified and suggestions made by stakeholders at various events and consultations convened by the WTO, as well as with vaccine manufacturers in the context of meetings organized by the Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19, which was established by the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the WTO.

One common theme that emerges in this update is that essential goods and inputs need to flow efficiently and expeditiously to support the rapid scaling up of COVID-19 production capacity worldwide. As manufacturers scale-up production and establish new sites in different countries, the production network is not only becoming larger, but also increasingly complex and international. Because the delay of a single component may significantly slow down or even bring to a halt vaccine manufacturing, it follows that inputs need to flow expeditiously, and each node within the supply chain network needs to operate seamlessly with the others.

Intended to be a living document, the revision of the “Indicative List of Trade-Related Bottlenecks and Trade-Facilitating Measures on Critical Products to Combat COVID-19” can be downloaded here. Based on this paper, the WTO Secretariat has also issued the infographic “The Global Race to Vaccinate” , which shows the various steps involved in vaccination after manufacture.

See also the infographic “Developing & delivering COVID-19 vaccines around the world“.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

COVID Vaccines – OCHA:: HDX

COVID-19 Data Explorer: Global Humanitarian Operations
COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out
09 Oct 2021 | COVAX (WHO,GAVI,CEPI), UNDESA, Press Reports | DATA
Global COVID-19 Figures: 236M total confirmed cases; 4.8M total confirmed deaths
Global vaccines administered: 6.44B
Number of Countries: 29 [29 week ago]
COVAX Allocations Round 4-6 (Number of Doses): 120M [120M week ago]
COVAX Delivered (Number of Doses): 98M [95M week ago]
Other Delivered (Number of Doses): 160M [140M week ago]
Total Delivered (Number of Doses): 260M [240M week ago]
Total Administered (Number of Doses): 230M [220M week ago]

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

World Bank Vaccine Operations Portal
https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/news/coronavirus-covid19/world-bank-support-for-country-access-to-covid-19-vaccines
As of September 30, 2021, the World Bank approved operations to support vaccine rollout in 61 countries amounting to $5.8 billion. See the latest project financing, project documents and procurement information in this list. More information will be shared here as it becomes available. 

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19 [IMF, World Bank Group, WHO, WTO]
A joint initiative from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization, and World Trade Organization to accelerate access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics by leveraging multilateral finance and trade solutions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Website accessed 09 Oct 2021: https://data.covid19taskforce.com/data The global view below is complemented by country-specific dashboards here.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

::::::

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

Weekly Epidemiological and Operational updates
Last update: 09 Oct 2021
Confirmed cases :: 236 599 025 [233 503 524 week ago]
Confirmed deaths :: 4 831 486 [4 777 503 week ago]
Vaccine doses administered: 6 262 445 422 [6 143 369 655 week ago]

:::::::

Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 – 5 October 2021
Overview
Globally, the number of weekly COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to decline. This is a trend that has been observed since August. Over 3.1 million new cases and just over 54 000 new deaths were reported during the week of 27 September to 3 October 2021. Cases this week decreased by 9% as compared to the previous week, while deaths remained similar. All regions reported a decline in the number of new cases this week apart from the European Region which remained similar to the week before. The largest decrease in new weekly cases was reported from the African Region (43%), followed by the Eastern Mediterranean Region (21%), the South-East Asia Region (19%), the Region of the Americas (12%) and the Western Pacific (12%). The cumulative number of confirmed cases reported globally is now over 234 million and the cumulative number of deaths is just under 4.8 million.

In this edition, we provide updates on the impacts of the phenotypic characteristics (transmissibility, disease severity, risk of reinfection, and impacts on diagnostics and vaccine performance) of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (VOCs) and the geographic distribution of VOCs.

Vaccines: The Week in Review

Status of COVID-19 Vaccines within WHO EUL/PQ evaluation process 29 September 2021

For 23 vaccine candidates, presents Manufacturer, Name of Vaccine, NRA of Record, Platform, EOI Accepted Status, Pre-submission Meeting Held Status, Dossier Accepted for Review, Status of Assessment; Anticipated/Completed Decision Date

[Full scale view available at title link above]

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Status of COVID-19 Vaccines within WHO EUL/PQ evaluation process 29 September 2021
For 23 vaccine candidates, presents Manufacturer, Name of Vaccine, NRA of Record, Platform, EOI Accepted Status, Pre-submission Meeting Held Status, Dossier Accepted for Review, Status of Assessment; Anticipated/Completed Decision Date

[Full scale view available at title ling above]

::::::

COVID Vaccine Developer/Manufacturer Announcements
[relevant press releases/announcement from organizations from WHO EUL/PQ listing above]

AstraZeneca
Press Releases
AZD7442 request for Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19 prophylaxis filed in US
05 October 2021
:: Filing includes data from PROVENT Phase III trial showing 77% reduction in risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 with long-acting antibody combination (non-vaccine)
:: Potential to provide protection for those not expected to mount an adequate immune response following vaccination
AstraZeneca has submitted a request to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for AZD7442, its long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination, for prophylaxis of symptomatic COVID-19.
If granted, AZD7442 would be the first LAAB to receive an EUA for COVID-19 prevention. It is the first LAAB with Phase III data demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 compared to placebo…

BioCubaFarma – Cuba
Últimas Noticias – [Website not responding at inquiry; receiving 403-Forbidden]

CanSinoBIO
News – [Website not responding at inquiry]

Clover Biopharmaceuticals – China
News – No new digest announcements identified

Curevac [Bayer Ag – Germany]
News – No new digest announcements identified

Gamaleya National Center
Latest News and Events – No new digest announcements identified [See Russia/RFID below]

IMBCAMS, China
Home – No new digest announcements identified

Janssen/JNJ
Press Releases
Oct 06, 2021 Belgium
Janssen Announces Novel Mechanism of Action that Shows Promise Against Dengue in Data Published in Nature

Oct 05, 2021 United States
Johnson & Johnson Announces Submission of Emergency Use Authorization Amendment to the U.S. FDA to Support Booster of its Single-Shot COVID-19 Vaccine
:: Submission includes data showing a booster increased protection to 94 percent against moderate to severe/critical COVID-19 in the U.S.
:: Substantial increase in immune response when booster was given at six months
:: The Company’s single-shot vaccine has demonstrated strong and long-lasting protection and durable immune responses in clinical studies

Moderna
Press Releases
October 7, 2021
Moderna to Build State-of-the-Art mRNA Facility in Africa to Manufacture up to 500 Million Doses Per Year
:: Facility to manufacture drug substance with opportunity for fill/finish and packing capabilities
:: Moderna will invest in building mRNA capabilities in Africa
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 7, 2021– Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced it will build a state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Africa with the goal of producing up to 500 million doses of vaccines each year at the 50 µg dose level. The Company anticipates investing up to $500 million in this new facility which is expected to include drug substance manufacturing with the opportunity for fill/finish and packaging capabilities at the site. The Company expects to begin a process for country and site selection soon…

October 6, 2021
Moderna Announces the Launch of Global Fellowship Program for Young Researchers Exploring mRNA Medicines

October 5, 2021
Moderna Announces European Medicines Agency Authorizes Third Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine for Immunocompromised Individuals Aged 12 Years and Older

Novavax
Press Releases –
Novavax Announces Leadership Appointment and Updates Oct 4, 2021
– Denny Kim, M.D. appointed Senior Vice President, Chief Safety Officer
– Raburn Mallory, M.D. promoted to Senior Vice President, Head of Clinical Development
– Marco Cacciuttolo, Ph.D. promoted to Senior Vice President, Process and Analytical Development

Pfizer
Recent Press Releases – No new digest announcements identified

Sanofi Pasteur
Press Releases
Sanofi: Positive results from the first study of high-dose influenza vaccine with a COVID-19 mRNA booster support co-administration recommendations
October 07 2021
:: First study to investigate the safety and immunogenicity of both vaccines when co-administered compared to each vaccine administered separately in adults aged 65 years and older
:: Timely new data for the start of the influenza vaccination campaigns across the Northern Hemisphere

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

Sinopharm/WIBPBIBP
News – No new digest announcements identified

Sinovac
Press Releases – No new digest announcements identified

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

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

::::::

GSK
Press releases for media
06 October 2021 GSK welcomes WHO recommendation for broad roll-out of its RTS,S/AS01e (RTS,S) malaria vaccine
[See Malaria above for detail]

04 October 2021 ViiV Healthcare submits FDA application for first dispersible single tablet regimen containing dolutegravir (DTG) for children living with HIV

Merck
News releases – No new digest announcements identified

SK Biosciences
Press releases
SK bioscience and CEPI Extend Agreement Contract Production of COVID-19 Vaccines by the End of 2022
2021.10. 06
…SK bioscience said, it has entered into extension of its capacity reservation agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), on October 5th in Brussels, Belgium, for extended use of parts of manufacturing capacity in its plant, the L House for the production of COVID-19 vaccines developed by biopharmaceutical companies under the support of CEPI. Further, the two organizations agreed to continue to cooperate closely to overcome the current pandemic situation and support research and development of vaccines against various infectious diseases which have been frequently breaking out recently…

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

UNICEF COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard :: Agreements Table Accessed 09 Oct 2021
An overview of information collected from publicly announced bilateral and multilateral supply agreements [agreements view since last week’s edition]

No new bilateral deals reported since 17 Sep 2021.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

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

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

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

Dashboard on Vaccine Equity [accessed 09 Oct 2021]: https://data.undp.org/vaccine-equity/
See also visualization on Vaccine Access and Vaccine Affordability

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Our World in Data
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations [Accessed 09 Oct 2021]
:: 46.4% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
:: 6.46 billion doses have been administered globally, and 23.06 million are now administered each day.
:: Only 2.5% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

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

::::::

Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee– FDA
https://www.fda.gov/advisory-committees/blood-vaccines-and-other-biologics/vaccines-and-related-biological-products-advisory-committee

Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee October 14-15, 2021 Meeting Announcement
Agenda
…Under Topic 1, the committee will meet in open session to discuss the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the ModernaTX Inc. COVID-19 vaccine for the administration of an additional dose, or “booster” dose, following completion of the primary series, to individuals 18 years of age and older. On October 15, 2021, under Topic II, the committee will meet in open session to discuss the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the Janssen Biotech Inc. COVID-19 vaccine for the administration of an additional dose, or “booster” dose, to individuals 18 years of age and older.

Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee October 26, 2021 Meeting Announcement – 10/26/2021 – 10/26/2021
Agenda
…The committee will meet in open session to discuss Pfizer Inc.’s request to amend its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to allow for the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in children 5 through 11 years of age.

::::::

White House [U.S.]
Briefing Room – Selected Major COVID Announcements
Remarks by President Biden on the Importance of COVID-⁠19 Vaccine Requirements
October 07, 2021 • Speeches and Remarks

Press Briefing by White House COVID-⁠19 Response Team and Public Health Officials
October 06, 2021 • Press Briefings

Statement by President Joe Biden on Dr. Francis Collins Stepping Down as Director of the National Institutes of Health
October 05, 2021 • Statements and Releases

Statement by President Joe Biden on 700,000 American Deaths from COVID-⁠19
October 02, 2021 • Statements and Releases

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

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

European Medicines Agency
News & Press Releases
News: Additional manufacturing site for COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen (new)
Last updated: 07/10/2021
EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has approved an additional manufacturing site for the production of COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen, developed by Janssen-Cilag International NV. The site, located in West Point, Pennsylvania in the United States, and operated by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, will manufacture finished product. The site is expected to support the continued supply of COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen in the European Union…

News: Comirnaty and Spikevax: EMA recommendations on extra doses and boosters (new)
Last updated: 04/10/2021
EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has concluded that an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccines Comirnaty (BioNTech/Pfizer) and Spikevax (Moderna) may be given to people with severely weakened immune systems, at least 28 days after their second dose…

News: EMA receives application for marketing authorisation for Regkirona (regdanvimab) for treating patients with COVID-19 (new)
CHMP, PDCO, PRAC, Last updated: 04/10/2021

::::::

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en
Latest Updates
News
ECDC builds study infrastructure to monitor COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness
News story – 8 Oct 2021

Publication
Core protocol for ECDC studies of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection laboratory-confirmed with SARS-CoV-2, version 1.0
Technical report – 8 Oct 2021

Publication
Interim analysis of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against Severe Acute Respiratory Infection due to laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 among individuals aged 65 years and older, ECDC multi-country study
Technical report – 8 Oct 2021

::::::

Accessed 09 Oct 2021

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

::::::
European Commission
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/home/en
Press release 7 October 2021
Ethiopia: new EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flight reaches Tigray
The second flight of the EU Humanitarian Air Bridge to Tigray, co-organised by the EU, France and Italy, landed in Mekelle airport on 6 October 2021 delivering an additional 10.6 tons of life-saving cargo for the people affected by the conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia.

Press release 2 October 2021
EU Humanitarian Air Bridge delivers life-saving medical aid to Afghanistan

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

Russia: COVID-19 Vaccines – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment
Russia: Sputnik V – “the first registered COVID-19 vaccine”
https://sputnikvaccine.com/newsroom/pressreleases/
Press Releases
RDIF is inviting international scientists and scientific institutions to cooperate on research of real-world data/real-world evidence (RWD/RWE) on safety and efficacy of Sputnik V, Sputnik Light and other vaccines against coronavirus
Moscow, October 7, 2021 – The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) is inviting independent international researchers and scientific institutions to cooperate on real-world studies of safety and efficacy of coronavirus vaccines, including Sputnik V, Sputnik Light and others.
Key study topics:
Real-world studies on safety and efficacy of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light;
Efficacy factor analysis;
Comparative analysis of real-world data on safety and efficacy of Sputnik V, Sputnik Light and other vaccines;
Analysis of the real-world data on safety and efficacy of Sputnik Light as a booster.
Applicants conducting or planning to start scientific research in the abovementioned areas are kindly invited to contact RDIF and describe areas of interest and specific cooperation proposals via vaccineresearch@rdif.ru …

The single-component Sputnik Light vaccine authorized in UAE
Press release, 06.10.2021

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

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

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
<a

Latest Updates
05.10.2021
Guidelines on Operationalization of Maternal Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Government of India – Press Information Bureau
Latest Press Releases
COVID-19 Vaccination Update – Day 267
India’s cumulative vaccination coverage crosses 94.62 crore
More than 60 lakh Vaccine doses administered today till 7 pm
Posted On: 09 OCT 2021 8:44PM by PIB Delhi
In a significant achievement, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 94.62 Crore (94,62,90,307) today. More than 60 lakh (60,66,412) Vaccine Doses have been administered till 7 pm today.  The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight.

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

Emergencies

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

Polio this week as of 06 October 2021
:: The final and official version of the Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026: Delivering on a Promise is now available both on the GPEI website and on the WHO IRIS section. The Executive summary of the strategy has also been made available in all UN languages here. Many of the new tactics and strengthened approaches outlined in this plan are already operational, and the plan will officially replace the current Polio Endgame Strategy in January 2022.

Summary of new WPV and cVDPV viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Madagascar: one cVDPV1 case and 3 cVDPV1 positive environmental samples
:: Nigeria:  17 cVDPV2 cases Guinea: one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample

::::::

Event – Eradicating Polio: What more Is Needed?
WFPHA – World Federation of Public Health Associations
Sep 22, 2021
Polio cases have fallen 99.9% since 1988. In 2020 Africa was certified polio free by the World Health Organization. However, polio will remain a key public health concern until such time as there are no wild… On October 12, 2021, at 10:00 – 11:00 (CEST), “Eradicating Polio: What more Is Needed?” webinar will be held to focus on the barriers, challenges and leverages to reach every child and eradicate polio globally. Register

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

WHO/OCHA Emergencies

Health emergencies list – WHO
“The health emergencies list details the disease outbreaks, disasters and humanitarian crises where WHO plays an essential role in supporting countries to respond to and recover from emergencies with public health consequences.”

Crisis in Northern Ethiopia [Last apparent update: 5 Aug 2021]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yemen crisis [Last apparent update: 12 February 2021]

Syria crisis [Last apparent update: 18 June 2021]

Somalia crisis [Last apparent update: 24 March 2018]

Nigeria crisis
:: Case study: Pilot implementation in Nigeria and Zambia, SBI COVID-19 data collection tool
1 October 2021

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

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

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

Iraq crisis [Last apparent update: 9 Jan 2008]

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

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

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

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

::::::

UN OCHA – Current Emergencies
Current Corporate Emergencies
Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Weekly Humanitarian Update (27 September – 3 October 2021)

Northern Ethiopia
Ethiopia – Northern Ethiopia Humanitarian Update Situation Report, 07 Oct 2021
HIGHLIGHTS
The overall humanitarian situation in Northern Ethiopia continues to deteriorate.
During the week, 80 trucks of humanitarian supplies arrived in Tigray via Afar.
As per a rapid market survey in Tigray, prices of essential commodities spiked dramatically since mid-June, including by 2,300 per cent for benzine in Shire.
Partners reached more than 444,000 people with food assistance in Amhara and about 72,000 internally displaced people in Afar since early August.
The Government of Ethiopia expelled seven UN officials, including senior humanitarian officials.

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

WHO & Regional Offices [to 09 Oct 2021]
https://www.who.int/
15 October 2021 Departmental news
Webinar: “Policies to develop, attract, recruit and retain health workers in rural and remote areas, and promote gender equality for rural women through health workforce policies”

8 October 2021 News release
WHO report highlights global shortfall in investment in mental health

8 October 2021 Departmental news
WHO announces the update of HCV guidelines on testing and treatment

7 October 2021 News release
WHO, UN set out steps to meet world COVID vaccination targets

6 October 2021 Departmental news
2019 Nobel laureate Michael Kremer emphasizes WASH and deworming benefits

6 October 2021 News release
WHO recommends groundbreaking malaria vaccine for children at risk

5 October 2021 Departmental news
WHO, WIPO, WTO Workshop on Innovation in, and Access to, COVID 19 Technologies: Intellectual property licensing, technology transfer, and sharing of know-how and clinical trial information

5 October 2021 Departmental news
New global targets to prevent maternal deaths

4 October 2021 Statement
Interim statement on booster doses for COVID-19 vaccination

4 October 2021 Departmental news
WHO brings vital mental health messages to gamers via digital channels

3 October 2021 Departmental news
Summary Report of Public consultation on the Draft WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety

::::::

WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region AFRO
No new digest content identified

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
No new digest content identified

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: Strengthen mental health services: WHO 9 October 2021

WHO European Region EURO
:: Syrian law student Muhammed, paralyzed by a stray bullet, takes first steps towards a brighter future in Turkey 08-10-2021
:: EU-funded project bolsters COVID-19 response in Eastern Partnership countries 08-10-2021
:: WHO/Europe brings mental health out of the shadows with new Pan-European Coalition 05-10-2021
:: Physical activity promoting policies in the era of COVID-19: is Europe on the right track? 04-10-2021

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: World Mental Health Day 2021: mental health care for all: let’s make it a reality 10 October 2021
:: WHO helps boost national diagnostic capacity in Islamic Republic of Iran by equipping National Influenza Centre with IT devices 3 October 2021

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: 8 October 2021 | Commentary Battling the Pandemic in South-East Asia
ASEAN countries were among the first to be affected by COVID-19. But for 18 months, we managed to keep the virus’s spread below levels experienced in other regions, accounting for less than 5 per cent of global cases and deaths

::::::

New WHO Publications [Selected]
https://www.who.int/publications/i
Selected Titles
8 October 2021
Mental Health ATLAS 2020

7 October 2021
WHO COVID-19 Excess Mortality Estimation Methodology

6 October 2021
A clinical case definition of post COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus, 6 October 2021

6 October 2021
Antigen-detection in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection