DOCSLIB.ORG

COVID-19 International Research Update

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
COVID-19 International Research Update COVID-19 International Research Update Compiled by: Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) Society ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Team::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1. LayaMadduri, IAS, State Project Director, ARIAS Society 2. ParijatChowdhury, Sr. ICT & Infra Specialist, ACCSDP 3. NibhaKumari, Agri Marketing Specialist, ASAMB-APART 4. Baljeet Singh, Market Analyst & Operations Specialist, APART March – April 2020 Page 1 of 43 Table of contents Sl Title Pg 1 WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 04 2 UC Davis launches two clinical studies to treat COVID-19 04 3 USFDA update on COVID-19 05 4 Coronavirus: The woman behind India's first testing kit 05 5 Russian scientists take the first photo of a novel coronavirus and fully decode its genome 05 6 Russia plans to start series production of new vaccine against coronavirus in 1.5 years 05 7 Australian researchers to trial BCG vaccine for COVID-19 06 8 University of Birmingham joins COVID-19 genome sequencing alliance to map spread of coronavirus 07 9 University Of Glasgow Leads Covid-19 Research Response In Scotland 08 10 Germany : DZIF Coronavirus Researchers use “Fast Track” 09 11 WHO says early data show some drugs ‘may have an impact’ on coronavirus, but more research is 11 needed 12 USA: Study will test if hydroxychloroquine can prevent COVID-19 11 13 USA: Florida Research Company Prepares for COVID-19 Vaccine, Treatment Clinical Trials 11 14 Europe : Severe COVID-19 cases to be offered new clinical trial programme 12 15 USA Free access to AI Clinical Research Navigator tool for COVID-19 researchers 13 16 The US Army's Virus Research Lab Gears Up to Fight COVID-19 14 17 Rapid COVID-19 escalation pushes world past 900,000 cases/ COVID-19 detected in cat & dogs 14 18 Germany :COVID-19: Study Reports High Viral Shedding Among Early-Stage Patients 14 19 Australia begins animal trials for COVID-19 vaccine 14 20 DRDO develops bio suits for doctors, paramedics engaged in treating coronavirus patients 15 21 USA : COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows promise 16 22 British Colombia: Trial drug can significantly block early stages of COVID-19 in engineered human 16 tissues 23 University of California: Removing the novel coronavirus from the water cycle 17 24 Common Anti-Parasitic drug may help in stopping novel coronavirus,- Australian Scientists’ research 18 25 Study lists 69 existing drugs to target novel coronavirus 18 26 Researchers announce promising coronavirus vaccine candidate 18 27 Shocking Study Theorizes Compelling Mutated Coronavirus Origins 19 28 Researchers warn possible coronavirus treatment Hydroxychloroquine may be toxic when combined 20 with Diabetes drug 29 COVID-19: Characteristics in children & considerations for Dentists providing their care 20 30 Convalescent plasma transfusion shows promise for severely ill patients with COVID-19 21 31 Researchers have identified potential target for antiviral treatment for COVID-19 21 32 Covid-19: EU to push for coordinated virus-tracking mobile apps 22 33 Coronavirus latest: CERN scientists join the COVID-19 fight 22 34 COVID-19: Genetic network analysis provides 'snapshot' of pandemic origins 23 35 UK doctors to research more severe COVID-19 impact on Indians 23 36 Two-Thirds of Severe Covid-19 Cases Improved on Gilead Drug 24 37 COVID-19 vaccine: Could human challenge trials speed up the process? 24 38 Indian Summer may hold a pleasant surprise; could slow down corona spread 25 39 Marine red algae may hold key to preventing spread of COVID-19: Reliance researchers 26 40 Loss of taste and smell is an important symptom for COVID-19 26 41 Coronavirus can infect cats but pet owners need not worry 26 42 Universiti Malaya leads clinical trials for Tocilizumab in COVID-19 treatment 27 43 New drug promises to change Covid-19 response, gets nod for human trials 27 44 Study finds evidence of COVID-19 in air, on hospital surfaces 27 Page 2 of 43 Sl Title Pg 45 How AI helps scientists find reliable coronavirus research 28 46 US Homeland Security Lists Blockchain As Critical Tool To Combat Covid-19 29 47 COVID-19: New research examines wastewater to detect community spread 29 48 Early peek at data on Gilead coronavirus drug suggests patients are responding to treatment 30 49 Experts warn of urgent need for Covid-19 mental health research 31 50 Covid-19: Harvard study suggests bouts of social distancing required till 2022 31 51 What can data on testing tell us about the pandemic? 32 52 Reports suggest many had coronavirus with no symptoms 35 53 Researchers have identified potential target for antiviral treatment for COVID-19 36 54 COVID-19: Genetic network analysis provides ‘snapshot’ of pandemic origins 37 55 World experts and funders set priorities for COVID-19 research 38 56 NIAID strategic plan details COVID-19 research priorities 39 57 Increasing pessimism about ‘return to normal’ by June from COVID-19 crisis, shows poll 40 58 'No evidence' yet that recovered COVID-19 patients are immune, WHO Says 40 59 New York clinical trial quietly tests heartburn remedy against coronavirus 41 60 Shiv Nadar University-led researchers find new way to treat respiratory infection caused by COVID-19 42 61 UK scientists plan to expand human trials of potential COVID-19 vaccine 43 Page 3 of 43 COVID-19 International Research follow up 25th March 2020: WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 25 March 2020 WHO Director General has called upon all countries who have introduced so-called “lockdown” measures to use this time to attack the virus through following six key actions: 1. First, expand, train and deploy your health care and public health workforce; 2. Second, implement a system to find every suspected case at community level; 3. Third, ramp up the production, capacity and availability of testing; 4. Fourth, identify, adapt and equip facilities you will use to treat and isolate patients; 5. Fifth, develop a clear plan and process to quarantine contacts and; 6. Sixth, refocus the whole of government on suppressing and controlling COVID-19. These measures are the best way to suppress and stop transmission, so that when restrictions are lifted, the virus doesn’t resurge. Source: https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the- media-briefing-on-covid-19---25-march-2020 accessed at 12.49 IST on 27th March 2020 26th March 2020: UC Davis launches two clinical studies to treat COVID-19 Remdesivir study: UC Davis is one of approximately 75 sites worldwide evaluating the benefits of Remdesivir for severe COVID-19 infection. Remdesivir is an investigational broad-spectrum antiviral treatment developed by Gilead Sciences Inc. It was previously tested in humans with Ebola virus disease and has shown promise in animal models for treating Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which are caused by other coronaviruses.UC Davis physicians used remdesivir in February, with emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration, to treat a critically ill patient who was the first known case of community-acquired infection in the U.S. The patient has since returned home to recover.The study will enroll up to 440 patients over the next several months, including about 10 or more at UC Davis. Among other criteria, participants must be 18 years of age or older, have a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 test and poor lung function. Sarilumab study: UC Davis is one of up to 50 sites in the U.S. assessing sarilumab, a drug jointly developed by Regeneron and Sanofi pharmaceutical companies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The drug is a human monoclonal antibody that blocks the receptor for interleukin-6 (IL-6), a cytokine that plays an important role in the body's immune response and in generating fever and acute inflammation. The study will evaluate whether the drug can control the progression of the inflammatory response in the lungs of patients with severe COVID-19 infection.Approximately 400 hospitalized patients age 18 and older with acute COVID-19 infection can be enrolled in the study nationwide. Individuals will be grouped according to the severity of their illness and progression of symptoms, from severe to critical to having multi- system organ failure as well as whether cortisone drugs were used to reduce inflammation. The researchers will be determining whether the health of individuals with high IL-6 levels and severe/critical levels of infection improve with the drug. Source:https://www.newswise.com/articles/uc-davis-launches-two-clinical-studies-to-treat-covid- 19accessed at 12:35 PM IST on 28th March 2020 Page 4 of 43 27th March 2020:USFDA update on COVID-19:The FDA issued a letter to stakeholders about the imminent threat to the health of consumers who may takechloroquine phosphate productsused to treat disease in aquarium fish, thinking the products are interchangeable with FDA-approved drugs (used to treat malaria and certain other conditions in humans) that are being studied as a COVID-19 treatment for humans. Chloroquine products sold for aquarium use have not been evaluated by the FDA to determine whether they are safe, effective, properly manufactured, and adequately labeled for use in fish-let alone humans. Source:https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-daily- th roundup-march-27-2020 accessed at 01:40 PM on 28 March 2020 28th March 2020: Coronavirus: The woman behind India's first testing kit: India has been criticized for its poor record of testing people in the battle against coronavirus. That, however, is set to change, thanks in large part to the efforts of one virologist, who delivered on a working test kit, just hours before delivering herbaby.On Thursday (26th March 2020), the first made-in- India coronavirus testing kits reached the market, raising hopes of an increase in screening of patients with flu symptoms to confirm or rule out the COVID-19 infection.Mylab Discovery, in the western city of Pune, became the first Indian firm to get full approval to make and sell testing kits.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Using Antibiotics
    “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” Dr John Ng (9th April 2020) Acknowledgement: Dr David Pham The Pandemic COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease 2019 Enveloped, positive sense, single-stranded, RNA virus “Crown-like” appearance on electron microscopy Aetiological agent formally designated SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 chosen to avoid associations with any ethnic group, geographical location or animal species while still being easily pronounceable Wang et al Lancet 2020 Public health emergency of international concern 30/01/20 Pandemic declared by WHO 11/03/2020 1,341,907 confirmed cases 07/04/2020 – www.jhu.edu 74,746 confirmed deaths 07/04/2020 – www.jhu.edu The Infodemic Social media is driving the spread of so much information and misinformation that WHO has described this as an “infodemic” WHO has launched its own information platform specifically to “myth-bust” fake news The Infodemic Media misinformation that consuming alcohol (whiskey) kills COVID-19 resulted in ~300 deaths in Iran and Turkey plus numerous cases of blindness due to methanol poisoning from “bootleg” alcohol Innumerable “scientific” reports are being published in “pre-print” formats such as “medRxiv” without editorial oversight or peer review ie – there is lots of dodgy data! Question 1 What is the sensitivity? Short answer – unknown but a figure of ~75% has been widely promulgated in the media originating from an ED blog called “EMCrit” Question 1 Question 1 Question 1 Dodgy data! “Studies” are both “pre-prints” Both retrospective Both used inappropriate gold
    [Show full text]
  • Passport to Freedom? Immunity Passports for COVID-19 Rebecca C H Brown ‍ ,1 Julian Savulescu,1 Bridget Williams,2 Dominic Wilkinson ‍ 1
    Extended essay J Med Ethics: first published as 10.1136/medethics-2020-106365 on 15 August 2020. Downloaded from Passport to freedom? Immunity passports for COVID-19 Rebecca C H Brown ,1 Julian Savulescu,1 Bridget Williams,2 Dominic Wilkinson 1 1Oxford Uehiro Centre for ABSTRACT One of the reasons such lockdown measures Practical Ethics, University of The COVID-19 pandemic has led a number of countries are deemed necessary is the potential for asymp- Oxford, Oxford, UK 2School of Public Health and to introduce restrictive ’lockdown’ policies on their tomatic infection and spreading of COVID-19. Preventive Medicine, Monash citizens in order to control infection spread. Immunity Estimates vary widely, but the number of people University, Clayton, Victoria, passports have been proposed as a way of easing the who do not experience symptoms when infected Australia harms of such policies, and could be used in conjunction with COVID-19 seems likely to be around 40%.6 with other strategies for infection control. These Research suggests that close to half of all transmis- Correspondence to passports would permit those who test positive for sion events occur before the onset of symptoms, Dr Rebecca C H Brown, Oxford COVID-19 antibodies to return to some of their normal and people are thought to be at their most infec- Uehiro Centre for Practical 7 8 Ethics, University of Oxford, behaviours, such as travelling more freely and returning tious on or before the time of symptom onset. Oxford OX1 1PT, UK; to work. The introduction of immunity passports raises a Viable virus has been detected from patients as rebecca.
    [Show full text]
  • Covid 19 Vaccine Certification
    House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Covid-Status Certification Second Report of Session 2021–22 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 10 June 2021 HC 42 Published on 12 June 2021 by authority of the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the reports of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and the Health Service Commissioner for England, which are laid before this House, and matters in connection therewith; to consider matters relating to the quality and standards of administration provided by civil service departments, and other matters relating to the civil service; and to consider constitutional affairs. Current membership William Wragg MP (Conservative, Hazel Grove) (Chair) Ronnie Cowan MP (Scottish National Party, Inverclyde) Jackie Doyle-Price MP (Conservative, Thurrock) Rachel Hopkins MP (Labour, Luton South) David Jones MP (Conservative, Clwyd West) John McDonnell MP (Labour, Hayes and Harlington) David Mundell MP (Conservative, Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) Tom Randall MP (Conservative, Gedling) Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP (Labour (Co-op), Brighton, Kemptown) Karin Smyth MP (Labour, Bristol South) John Stevenson MP (Conservative, Carlisle) Powers The committee is a select committee, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 146. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2021. This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament Licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/copyright.
    [Show full text]
  • Covid–19'S Effects on U.S. Aviation and the Flightpath
    COVID–19’S EFFECTS ON U.S. AVIATION AND THE FLIGHTPATH TO RECOVERY (117–5) REMOTE HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 2, 2021 Printed for the use of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ( Available online at: https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-transportation?path=/ browsecommittee/chamber/house/committee/transportation U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 44–274 PDF WASHINGTON : 2021 VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:22 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 P:\HEARINGS\117\AV\3-2-20~1\TRANSC~1\44274.TXT JEAN TRANSPC154 with DISTILLER COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon, Chair ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, SAM GRAVES, Missouri District of Columbia DON YOUNG, Alaska EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas ERIC A. ‘‘RICK’’ CRAWFORD, Arkansas RICK LARSEN, Washington BOB GIBBS, Ohio GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida STEVE COHEN, Tennessee THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania JOHN GARAMENDI, California RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR., Georgia JOHN KATKO, New York ANDRE´ CARSON, Indiana BRIAN BABIN, Texas DINA TITUS, Nevada GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina JARED HUFFMAN, California MIKE BOST, Illinois JULIA BROWNLEY, California RANDY K. WEBER, SR., Texas FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida DOUG LAMALFA, California DONALD M. PAYNE, JR., New Jersey BRUCE WESTERMAN, Arkansas ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California BRIAN J. MAST, Florida MARK DESAULNIER, California MIKE GALLAGHER, Wisconsin STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania SALUD O.
    [Show full text]
  • Immunity Passports: the Silver Bullet to a Broken Economy?
    Immunity Passports: The Silver Bullet to a Broken Economy? LAWS428 Word count: 2914 Describe and discuss some of the challenges facing those charged with regulating immunity passports, and the strategies they might employ to address them: 1. Introduction COVID-19 has sparked a global crisis.1 Caused by a strain of coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)2, COVID-19 is characterised as a global pandemic.3 As of August 31st, 2020, there have been over 24 million confirmed cases worldwide, of whom over 838,000 have died.4 While most people only experience mild symptoms, about 1 in 5 people become critically ill and require hospitalization.5 As the virus is mainly thought to spread by person-to-person transmission6, many countries invoked national curfews or quarantines.7 By the first week of April 2020, more than 3.9 billion people, were under some form of lockdown.8 These restrictions led to a global drop in the economy, termed the worst recession since the Great Depression.9 Different countries have explored ways to reboot their economy, while minimizing the 1 Mayo Clinic Staff “Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)” (7 August 2020) Mayo Clinic <www.mayoclinic.org>. 2 Mayo Clinic Staff, above n 1. 3 World Health Organization “WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19” (11 March 2020) World Health Organization <www.who.int>. 4 World Health Organization “WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard” (31 August 2020) World Health Organization <www.covid19.who.int>. 5 WHO Team Health Emergencies Preparedness and Response “Q&A on Coronaviruses (COVID-19)” (17 April 2020) World Health Organization <www.who.int>.
    [Show full text]
  • A Macroeconomic Sir Model for Covid-19
    medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.22.20137711; this version posted June 23, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. A MACROECONOMIC SIR MODEL FOR COVID-19 ERHAN BAYRAKTAR, ASAF COHEN, AND APRIL NELLIS Abstract. The current COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have highlighted the close and delicate relationship between a country's public health and economic health. Macroeconomic models which use preexisting epidemic models to calculate the impacts of a disease outbreak are therefore extremely useful for policymakers seeking to evaluate the best course of action in such a crisis. We develop an SIR model of the COVID-19 pandemic which explicitly considers herd immunity, behavior-dependent transmission rates, remote workers, and indirect externalities of lockdown. This model is presented as an exit time control problem where the lockdown ends when the population achieves herd immunity, either naturally or via a vaccine. A social planner prescribes separate levels of lockdown for two separate sections of the adult population - those who are low-risk (ages 20-64) and those who are high-risk (ages 65 and over). These levels are determined via optimization of an objective function which assigns a macroeconomic cost to the level of lockdown and the number of deaths. We find that, by ending lockdowns once herd immunity is reached, high-risk individuals are able to leave lockdown significantly before the arrival of a vaccine without causing large increases in mortality.
    [Show full text]
  • What Place Should COVID-19 Vaccine Passports Have in Society?
    Rapid expert deliberation 17 February 2021 What place should COVID-19 vaccine passports have in society? Findings from a rapid deliberation with multidisciplinary experts to consider the risks and benefits of the potential roll-out of digital vaccine certification schemes. The views put forward below in these deliberation Introduction findings reflect a snapshot of our understanding of the evidence and the development In recent weeks, vaccine passports of technical tools. The urgency of the issue or COVID-19 status apps – which might give meant – by necessity – this was a limited some individuals greater access to travel, exercise. Nevertheless, some clear areas employment or entertainment – have attracted of concern emerged. attention as a route to move societies out of lockdown and open up parts of the economy. • The expert group came to the view that, at present, vaccination status does not offer With momentum building, the Ada Lovelace clear or conclusive evidence about any Institute convened an urgent expert deliberation individual’s risk to others via transmission. to consider how governments should act, chaired Without that, it cannot be a robust basis for by Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery. A group risk-based decision making, and therefore of 17 experts from the fields of immunology, any roll out of a digital passport is not epidemiology, sociology, international currently justified. development, behavioural science, law, medical • However, given that evidence history, public health, ethics, digital identity and on transmission will emerge, and other technical system design came together across countries and companies are developing two weeks to discuss the evidence, deliberate such systems, the UK Government must act on use cases, explore opportunities and risks, urgently to address the public policy issues and identify areas of consensus to support that arise, and create clear and specific government decision makers around the world.1 guidelines and law around any appropriate uses, mechanisms for enforcement and methods of legal redress.
    [Show full text]
  • Official Transcript
    Under the Microscope Expert Webinar on COVID-19 Vaccine Research in Australia & Germany Official Transcript On 30 June 2020, the Australian Embassy Berlin hosted an expert webinar to discuss the race for a COVID-19 vaccine. The event was was supported by the German Embassy Canberra, the Australian Academy of Science, and the Australia- Germany Research Network (AGRN). Ambassador H.E. Laureate Professor Professor Doctor Emeritus Professor Paul Richards Lynette Wood Peter Doherty Marylyn Addo Hans Bachor This live webinar took place on 30 June 2020, when the world had just crossed over 10 million infections and 500,000 deaths due to COVID-19. The date was on the eve of the six month mark since WHO received the first reports of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in China. Due to technical issues with the recording, we are not able to provide a high-quality audio or video recording of the webinar. Instead, we provide below a transcript of the webinar. We hope you find it useful and informative. 2 Panellists Laureate Professor Peter Doherty is one of Australia’s leading immunologists. Professor Doherty is the patron of the eponymous Doherty Institute, which has been at the forefront of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Institute is currently investigating two protein-based and two viral vector vaccines. Professor Doherty and Swiss researcher Rolf Zinkernagel were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996 for their discoveries of how the immune system recognises virus-infected cells, a discovery which has had practical implications for cancer treatments.
    [Show full text]
  • Checkpoints for Vaccine Passports 2
    Checkpoints for technologies COVID-19 vaccine passports Requirements for governments and developers 10 May 2021 Contents Checkpoints for vaccine passports 2 Contents 3 Executive summary 20 How to read this report 22 Introduction 31 Science and public health 41 Purpose 50 Law, rights and ethics 64 Sociotechnical design and operational infrastructure 95 Public legitimacy 101 Future risks and global consequences 109 Conclusion 111 Acknowledgements 115 Bibliography 132 About the Ada Lovelace Institute Executive summary Checkpoints for vaccine passports 3 Digital vaccine passports are novel Executive summary technologies, built on uncertain and evolving science The rapid development and roll-out of vaccines to protect people from COVID-19 has prompted debate about digital ‘vaccine passports’. There is a confusion of different terms to describe these tools, which are also called COVID-19 status certificates. We identify them through the common properties of linking health status (vaccine status and/or test results) with verification of identity, for the purpose of determining permissions, rights or freedoms (such as access to travel, leisure or work). The vaccine passports under debate primarily take a digital form. Digital vaccine passports are novel technologies, built on uncertain and evolving science. By creating infrastructure for segregation and risk scoring at an individual level, and enabling third-parties to access health information, they bring profound risks to individual rights and concepts of equity in society. As the pandemic death toll rises globally, some countries are bringing down case numbers through rapid vaccination programmes, while others are facing substantial third or fourth waves of infection, and the mitigating effects of vaccination have brought COVID vaccine passports into consideration for companies, states and countries.
    [Show full text]
  • COVID-19 Situation Report 463
    For citation: Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research-NUS. COVID-19 Situation Report 463. 14 May 2021 May 14 COVID-19 Situation Report 463 Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research (CIDER) For citation: Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research-NUS. COVID-19 Situation Report 463. 14 May 2021 i. Background In December, China notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of several cases of human respiratory illness, which appeared to be linked to an open seafood and livestock market in the city of Wuhan. The infecting agent has since been identified as a novel coronavirus, previously known as 2019-nCoV and now called SAR-CoV-2; The new name of the disease has also been termed COVID-19, as of 11th February 2020. Although the virus is presumed zoonotic in origin, person-to-person spread is evident. Screening of travellers, travel bans and quarantine measures are being implemented in many countries. Despite these precautions, it is anticipated that more cases will be seen both inside China and internationally. The WHO declared the outbreak of COVID-19 constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January. On 11 March, 2020, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic as the global death toll rose above 4,600 and the number of confirmed cases topped 125,000. This report aims to update Global Risk Assessment, Global Epidemiology, Quarantine Orders, Travel Ban/Advisory by countries, WHO’s and CDC’s Guidance and Protocols and Scientific publication on a daily basis. New updates in the tables are bolded. 1 | P a g e Centre for infectious di sease epidemiology and research For citation: Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research-NUS.
    [Show full text]
  • 32Nd WHO Regulatory Update on COVID-19
    32nd WHO Regulatory Update on COVID-19 02 April 2021 Key Messages There are now just 5 days left before the WHO and Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ 100-day challenge, a movement under the banner of vaccine equity. Yet 28 countries are still waiting for vaccines so they can start vaccinating health workers and older people. Of those, 11 might be able to start vaccinating before World Health day, April 7th. WHO is asking countries with doses of vaccines that have WHO emergency use listing to donate as many doses as they can to help protecting health workers and at-risk communities, to reach the goal and to race against the virus. Highlights and main issues • Using COVID-19 vaccines as an example, WHO held its first global consultation on a proposed decision framework for assessing the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) on public health interventions on 29 March 2021. WHO will continue working with various stakeholders to determine global framework with clear standards, roles and responsibilities and mechanisms to issue comprehensive policies to prevent and control COVID-19. • Approximately 33.3 million doses of vaccines from three manufacturers, SII/AZ/Pfizer, have been shipped through COVAX Facility to 74 of 92 AMC participants as of 29th March. Shipment dates of an additional 1.35 million doses to 7 AMC participants have been confirmed. • To facilitate the clear identification of pharmaceutical substances included in COVID-19 vaccines, the WHO International Nonproprietary Names Programme encourages vaccine developers to submit INN requests for well-defined vaccine ingredients.
    [Show full text]
  • International Students COVID-19 Evidence Update 27
    COVID-19 Evidence Update COVID-19 Update from SAHMRI 27 April 2021 Safe Return of International Students To be read in conjunction with • International Exemplars (July 2020) • Real world impact of vaccines and implications for COVID-19 control (March 2021) • Symptoms, Vaccination and Infectiousness (17 February 2021) Executive Summary This review covers the available evidence on the control of COVID-19 in jurisdictions from which most of (South) Australia’s international students originate, in order to estimate the risks of importation of new cases. Countries and jurisdictions of highest relevance are: China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam (the focus of this briefing), as well as India, South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan. The risk of importation of SARS-COV-2 to Australia and subsequent outbreak is predominantly driven by: o Country of origin COVID-19 control: burden of community transmission, which is mitigated by local COVID-19 controls and vaccination roll out o Vaccination status of individual international arrivals o Controls in place during transit and on arrival in Australia to prevent incursion (quarantine) and o Vulnerability of the Australian population (rate of vaccine roll out and community COVID-19 controls e.g. testing, contact tracing and physical distancing) State of the evidence: Countries of Origin - cases, testing, vaccination, COVID-19 incursion and transmission controls: o Original data come from official government sources in each jurisdiction. o Data are published on countries’ governmental websites, and collated on world-wide tracking websites (e.g. Johns Hopkins, Our World in Data (University of Oxford), Bloomberg Vaccine tracker). o The World Health Organization provides status reports based on information they receive from countries.
    [Show full text]