Vaccines and Global Health :: Ethics and Policy
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Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review 3 March 2018 Center for Vaccine Ethics & Policy (CVEP) This weekly digest targets news, events, announcements, articles and research in the vaccine and global health ethics and policy space and is aggregated from key governmental, NGO, international organization and industry sources, key peer-reviewed journals, and other media channels. This summary proceeds from the broad base of themes and issues monitored by the Center for Vaccine Ethics & Policy in its work: it is not intended to be exhaustive in its coverage. Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review is also posted in pdf form and as a set of blog posts at https://centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.net. This blog allows full-text searching of over 8,000 entries. Comments and suggestions should be directed to David R. Curry, MS Editor and Executive Director Center for Vaccine Ethics & Policy [email protected] Request an email version: Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review is published as a single email summary, scheduled for release each Saturday evening before midnight (EST/U.S.). If you would like to receive the email version, please send your request to [email protected]. 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. Contents [click on link below to move to associated content] A. Milestones :: Perspectives :: Featured Journal Content B. Emergencies C. WHO; CDC [U.S., Africa, China] D. Announcements E. Reports/Research/Analysis E. Journal Watch F. Media Watch Milestones :: Perspectives NIH [to 3 March 2018] http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases February 28, 2018 NIAID unveils strategic plan for developing a universal influenza vaccine Developing a universal influenza vaccine — a vaccine that can provide durable protection for all age groups against multiple influenza strains, including those that might cause a pandemic — is a priority for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Writing in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, NIAID officials detail the Institute’s new strategic plan for addressing the research areas essential to creating a safe and effective universal influenza vaccine. They describe the scientific goals that will be supported to advance influenza vaccine development. The strategic plan builds upon a workshop NIAID convened in June 2017 that gathered scientists from academia, industry and government who developed criteria for defining a universal influenza vaccine, identified knowledge gaps, and delineated research strategies for addressing those gaps. The cornerstone of both seasonal and pandemic influenza prevention and control is the development of vaccines against specific influenza strains that pose a potentially significant risk to the public. Seasonal influenza vaccines are made anew each year to best match the strains projected to circulate in the upcoming season. However, this approach has limitations and difficulties. To reduce the public health consequences of both seasonal and pandemic influenza, vaccines must be more broadly and durably protective. Advances in influenza virology, immunology and vaccinology make the development of a universal influenza vaccine more feasible than a decade ago, according to the authors. To develop a universal influenza vaccine, NIAID will focus resources on three key areas of influenza research: improving the understanding of the transmission, natural history and pathogenesis of influenza infection; precisely characterizing how protective influenza immunity occurs and how to tailor vaccination responses to achieve it; and supporting the rational design of universal influenza vaccines, including designing new immunogens and adjuvants to boost immunity and extend the duration of protection. The authors state that a coordinated effort of guided discovery, facilitated product development and managed progress through iterative clinical testing will be critical to achieving the goal of a universal influenza vaccine. NIAID will establish and support a consortium of scientists to meet designated goals for a universal influenza vaccine and will expand the Institute’s research resources by establishing long-term human cohorts, supporting improved animal models of influenza infection and expanding capacity for conducting human challenge studies. The authors emphasize that broad collaboration and coordination in many disciplines and involving government, academia, philanthropies and the private sector will be vital to achieving the goal of developing a universal influenza vaccine. NIAID intends for the plan to serve as the foundation for its research investment strategy to achieve this important public health goal. Article AS Fauci et al. A universal influenza vaccine: The strategic plan for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (link is external). Journal of Infectious Diseases DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy103 (2018). :::::: :::::: Cost effectiveness methodology for vaccination programmes – Open consultation U.K. Department of Health and Social Care Published 26 February 2018 Summary Consultation on the 2016 report into the cost effectiveness methodology for immunisation programmes and procurement (CEMIPP). Consultation description The report sets out recommendations from the independent CEMIPP group that was set up by the government to consider whether the method for appraising cost effectiveness of vaccination programmes should change. We are looking for views from organisations and committees that appraise cost effectiveness within the health and care sector, as well as specialists with an interest in health economics, including: :: health economists based in academia :: public health practitioners :: epidemiologists :: charities and patient groups :: clinicians and vaccine industry professionals Documents :: Cost effectiveness methodology for vaccination programmes: consultation on the CEMIPP report PDF, 450KB, 19 pages :: Review of cost effectiveness methodology for immunisation programmes and procurements: 2016 report PDF, 232KB, 26 pages :::::: :::::: World leaders join new drive to beat noncommunicable diseases 1 March 2018 | Geneva - WHO is announcing today a new high-level commission, comprised of heads of state and ministers, leaders in health and development and entrepreneurs. The group will propose bold and innovative solutions to accelerate prevention and control of the leading killers on the planet – noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like heart and lung disease, cancers, and diabetes. The WHO Independent Global High-level Commission on NCDs is co-chaired by President Tabaré Vázquez of Uruguay; President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka; President Sauli Niinistö of Finland; Veronika Skvortsova, Minister of Healthcare of the Russian Federation; and Sania Nishtar, former Federal Minister of Pakistan. Seven in 10 deaths globally every year are from NCDs, the main contributors to which are tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets, and physical inactivity. More than 15 million people between the ages of 30 and 70 years die from NCDs annually. Low- and lower- middle income countries are increasingly affected, with half of premature deaths from NCDs occurring in those countries. Many lives can be saved from NCDs through early diagnosis and improved access to quality and affordable treatment, as well as a whole-of-government approach to reduce the main risk factors. “NCDs are the world’s leading avoidable killers but the world is not doing enough to prevent and control them,” says Dr Vázquez. “We have to ask ourselves if we want to condemn future generations from dying too young, and living lives of ill health and lost opportunity. The answer clearly is ‘no.’ But there is so much we can do to safeguard and care for people, from protecting everyone from tobacco, harmful use of alcohol, and unhealthy foods and sugary drinks, to giving people the health services they need to stop NCDs in their tracks.” Mr Michael R. Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Commission member, said: “For the first time in history, more people are dying of noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, than infectious diseases. This loss of human life spares no one — rich or poor, young or old - and it imposes heavy economic costs on nations. The more public support we can build for government policies that are proven to save lives - as this Commission will work to do - the more progress we'll be able to make around the world." The new Commission was established by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and runs until October 2019. It will provide actionable recommendations to contribute to the Third United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on NCDs scheduled for the second half of 2018. This will include the submission of its first report to Dr Tedros in early June. “Everybody deserves the right to a healthy life,” says Dr Tedros. “We can beat the drivers of the NCD epidemic, which are among the world’s main obstacles to health. I am looking to the Commission to show us new ways to unblock the barriers to good health, and identify innovative, bold and practical actions steps to scale up prevention and treatment of NCDs and provide health for all.” Co-chair Dr Nishtar says the