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What Can We Learn from the HIV Response About Pandemic Preparedness for SARS-Cov-2 and Beyond

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What Can We Learn from the HIV Response About Pandemic Preparedness for SARS-Cov-2 and Beyond What can we learn from the HIV response about pandemic preparedness for SARS-CoV-2 and beyond CLASS SESSIONS Dates: June 7 and 8, 2021 Time : 8:30am to 12:30pm Location: TBD/Zoom INSTRUCTORS Salim S Abdool Karim [email protected] / [email protected] Quarraisha Abdool Karim qa4@cumc. columbia.edu / [email protected] Course Description The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is the most recent and challenging pandemic facing humanity in the 21st century. Country responses to this 2020 pandemic provide important insights on retuns on public health investments made in response to the HIV pandemic but also shaped by political leadership and the balance or prioritisation of saving lives, livelihoods and viral suppression. The role of science and knowledge generation has been unprecedented including the development of several efficacious vaccines. The emergence of new variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 even as SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are being rolled out across the globe; continued high rates of infections and deaths underscore our inter-dependence and the many research questions that remain unanswered. Global responses to the HIV pandemic have important lessons for responses to SARS-CoV-2. This interactive course will share lessons learnt from responses to SARS-CoV-2 including its interaction with HIV and what lessons our HIV response has for responding to SARS-CoV-2. Course Objectives By the end of the course, students will have a greater appreciation of key elements of an effective response to SARS-CoV-2; the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and HIV; and lessons from HIV for SARS-CoV-2. The application of core epidemiological concepts of epidemics; public health responses; case identification, isolation and quarantine; incidence and prevalence; principles of screening in use of diagnostic assays; herd immunity; transmission dynamics; use of genomics and meta-data will be utilized. Students will have an opportunity to debate the strengths and weaknesses of country responses to SARS-CoV-2 and responding to multiple parallel pandemics. Key questions such as the implications of the emergence of core variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 in the context of roll-out of vaccines and its implications for transmission and pathogenesis and how to prevent HIV infection and AIDS related deaths in the face of universal test and treat will be discussed. Prerequisites None Optional course reading list None COURSE SCHEDULE Session 1 – SARS-CoV-2: Emergence, Evolution and Responses (SSAK) June XX Learning Objectives: 8:30am- - Be able to apply core concepts of epidemiology to emerging and endemic pandemics; 10:20am understand syndemics and interactions Format: Lecture followed by a Q&A Reading None Session 2 – Lessons from HIV for Covid-19 (QAK) June 11th Learning Objectives: To share key lessons learnt from three decades of responding to HIV 10:40am- for Covid-19 that include: the critical importance of a nuanced and granular understanding 12:30pm of the epidemic at a local level; the centrality of scientific evidence in the response; the role of political leadership and consistency of leading by example and as positive role models; having an array of evidence based prevention and treatment options; access to rapid point- of-care diagnostics; understanding the challenges of changing behaviours; engagement and partnerships with communities; recognising and addressing disparities and inequities; strengthening access to quality health care and the importance of mutual interdependence and solidarity in pandemics. Format: Lecture followed by a Q&A Reading: None Instructors SALIM S. ABDOOL KARIM, MBCHB, PhD, FRS, is a clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist who is widely recognized for his scientific contributions to HIV prevention and treatment. He is Director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and CAPRISA Professor of Global Health in Epidemiology at Columbia University. He has adjunct professorships at KwaZulu-Natal, Cornell and Harvard universities. His clinical research on TB-HIV treatment has shaped international guidelines on the clinical management of co- infected patients. He co-led the CAPRISA 004 tenofovir gel trial that provided proof-of-concept that antiretrovirals prevent sexually transmitted HIV infection. The finding was ranked among the “Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2010” by Science. Dr Abdool Karim is ranked among the World’s most cited scientists by Web of Science. He serves on the Boards of several journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Global Health, Lancet HIV and mBio. He is the Chair of the WHO’s HIV Strategic and Technical Advisory Committee and serves on the WHO TB-HIV Task Force. He is the co-recipient with Dr Anthony Fauci of the 2020 John Maddox Prize for Standing up for Science. He is a member of the US National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Microbiology and the Association of American Physicians. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society. He is Chief Covid-19 science advisor to the South African government. QUARRAISHA ABDOOL KARIM, PHD, DSc(hc) is an infectious diseases epidemiologist who has focused for the past 32 years on preventing HIV infection in adolescent girls and young women. She is Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA, Professor in Clinical Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, USA and Pro Vice-Chancellor of African Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa. Her research has garnered several thousand citations, including her findings on tenofovir gel that have more than 2000 citations. She is an Editor of the 6th and 7th Editions of the Oxford University Textbook on Global Public Health, which is one of the most widely used textbooks used to teach public health throughout the world. She is the co-editor of a book on HIV/AIDS in South Africa (Cambridge University Press), which is used as a reference text in South Africa and a book on HIV Clinical Trials (Springer). She is on the Editorial Board of AIDS and the Journal of the International AIDS Society. She is the UNAIDS Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV and co-chairs the UNAIDS Advisory Group to the Executive Director, member of the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board, and the Icipe Governing Council. She is a member of the US National Academy of Medicine and a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, the Academy of Science of South Africa, the African Academy of Sciences, and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). She is co-recipient with Salim Abdool Karim of the 2020 John Dirks-Gairdner Global Public Health Award and the 2020 Christophe Merieux Award for Infectious Diseases Research. She is an Executive Group member of the World Health Organization’s Solidarity Covid-19 Therapeutic and Vaccine Trials. .
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