Pandemic Watch News Brief: The News You Need To Know ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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[link removed] November 22, 2023
AVAC's weekly Pandemic Watch is a curated news digest on the latest pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR) news and resources.


State and non-state actors should build on this nascent political recognition of the right to science to strengthen effective human rights-based global health governance." - Treatment Action Group's Gisa Dang and Mike Frick in Frontiers in Sociology ([link removed])
Table of Contents
• If You Are in a Hurry (#If You Are in a Hurry)
• “Staggering” Increase in Measles Worldwide (#“Staggering” Increase in Measles Worldwide)
• “Futureproofing” the World Against Pandemics (#“Futureproofing” the World Against Pandemics)
• An Argument for the “Right to Science” (#An Argument for the “Right to Science”)
• A Golden Age for Vaccines (#A Golden Age for Vaccines)
• African Vaccine Manufacturing (#African Vaccine Manufacturing)
• Antimicrobial Resistance is Growing (#Antimicrobial Resistance is Growing)
• Understanding Virus Infection Tactics and Pandemic Potential (#Understanding Virus Infection Tactics and Pandemic Potential )
• Dengue and Record Heat (#Dengue and Record Heat)
• Needle-Free Vaccines? (#Needle-Free Vaccines?)
• Where are We in the Fight Against TB? (#Where are We in the Fight Against TB?)
• COVID and HIV Care in the US (#COVID and HIV Care in the US)
• Our COVID Memories are Biased (#Our COVID Memories are Biased)
• Countering COVID Misinformation (#Countering COVID Misinformation)
• Learning from South Africa’s COVID Vaccine Rollout (#Learning from South Africa’s COVID Vaccine Rollout)
• US House Approves Ban on Gain of Function Research (#US House Approves Ban on Gain of Function Research)

A cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has reached the capital city, Harare, where a state of emergency has been declared and deaths are mounting. New Zimbabwe ([link removed]) (Zimbabwe) via AllAfrica reports, “According to the Health Ministry, Harare has so far recorded 12 deaths since the first outbreak was confirmed in February this year while 123 cases were recorded on Thursday. Harare Mayor, Ian Makone…. said, ‘The situation is dire and we have declared a state of emergency in Harare. When you have 10 people dying and a hundred cases being recorded it calls for action.’… To curb the spread, the government has imposed restrictions in vulnerable areas, limiting funerals to 50 people and forbidding attendees from shaking hands or serving food at the gatherings.”

AP (The%20World%20Health%20Organization%20has%20said%20that%20cholera%20cases%20in%20Africa%20are%20rising%20exponentially%20amid%20a%20global%20surge.%20The%20African%20continent%20accounted%20for%2021%2525%20of%20cases%20and%2080%2525%20of%20deaths%20across%20the%20globe%20from%202014%20to%202021,%20according%20to%20the%20WHO.) (US) reports, “The World Health Organization has said that cholera cases in Africa are rising exponentially amid a global surge. The African continent accounted for 21% of cases and 80% of deaths across the globe from 2014 to 2021, according to the WHO.”

If You Are in a Hurry

* Read Reuters ([link removed]) on “staggering” increases in measles cases and deaths.
* Read Treatment Action Group’s Gisa Dang and Mike Frick on the right to science in Frontiers in Sociology ([link removed]) .
* Read The Guardian ([link removed]) and Reuters ([link removed]) on the link between climate and dengue fever.
* Read Nature ([link removed]) on why our COVID memories are biased and why that matters.
* Read NPR’s Goats and Soda Blog ([link removed]) on breakthrough research for TB and the challenges that remain.
* Read an op-ed in The Maverick ([link removed]) on lessons learned from South Africa’s COVID vaccine rollout.


“Staggering” Increase in Measles Worldwide

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) via Medscape reports, “There was a ‘staggering’ annual rise in measles cases and deaths in 2022, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cases jumped by 18% to an estimated 9 million, and deaths to 136,000, mostly among children, the health agencies said…. There were large or disruptive outbreaks in 37 countries last year, the majority in Africa, compared to 22 in 2021.” Read more in MMWR ([link removed]) (US).

“Futureproofing” the World Against Pandemics

Writing in JAMA ([link removed]) (US) Lawrence Gostin argues for five fundamental reforms to the WHO pandemic treaty to “futureproof the world against pandemics.” These include: promoting equitable investment in technology and innovation; ensuring financing for adequate prevention and response; putting in place mechanisms to ensure compliance and accountability; and adopting a one health approach to ensure adequate disease surveillance. Gostin concludes that with the deadline for the pandemic accord approaching, “Nations must meet this historic moment with bold action on scientific exchange, equity, finance, accountability, and One Health. A more secure and fairer world is at stake.”

An Argument for the “Right to Science”

Writing in Frontiers in Sociology ([link removed]) (Switzerland), Treatment Action Group’s Gisa Dang and Mike Frick argue, “inequitable access to scientific benefits in the face of global health crises violates human rights. COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic humanity faces, and even today is not the only epidemic that requires governments to see scientific progress as a fundamental human right…. Once called the ‘forgotten human right,’ (Chapman, 2009) the right to science is starting to be recognized by name in political negotiations on health, and its foundational concepts and principles occupy a more prominent position than before…. State and non-state actors should build on this nascent political recognition of the right to science to strengthen effective human rights-based global health governance.”

A Golden Age for Vaccines

Barrons ([link removed]) (US) via MSN reports on what it calls a “golden age” for vaccines, noting a broadening of vaccine research from the traditional infectious disease targets. “There were 258 vaccines in development as of 2020, according to a report from trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA. It found that $406 billion in direct medical costs were saved due to routine childhood vaccination of US children born from 1994 to 2018…. Pharmaceutical companies are currently developing everything from personalized cancer vaccines that could cost tens of thousands per patient to vaccines that prevent developing-world diseases like malaria or tuberculosis. Improved flu, pneumonia, and meningitis vaccines will also be available in your neighborhood pharmacy…. Growing vaccine hesitancy doesn’t seem to be impeding vaccine development, which is being juiced by new
technology. The drug companies increasingly are using mRNA technology, tiny chunks of genetic material that tell the body’s cells to crank out specific proteins, such as the spike in the Covid virus, that produce an immunological response.”

African Vaccine Manufacturing

A Center for Global Development Blog Post ([link removed]) looks at GAVI’s “plans for a new financial mechanism in the form of an Advance Market Commitment (AMC) to ‘pull’ African-made vaccines to market” and offers considerations to improve the plan. The authors conclude GAVI’s plan, “is far from a straightforward endeavor—the technical aspects are complex, and the underlying political economy dynamics are complicated to say the least. As these efforts progress, Gavi should be clear-eyed about what is feasible within the realities of trade-offs, scope, and timeline. Good intentions alone will not be sufficient to maximize the impact of Gavi’s investments.”

Antimicrobial Resistance is Growing

This is Antimicrobial Awareness Week and experts are calling attention to the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Zimbabwean ([link removed]) (Zimbabwe) reports, “Antimicrobial resistance has emerged a serious threat to public health and sustainable food production across the globe, amid calls for collaborative action in combating the silent pandemic which is claiming millions of lives…. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), AMR has claimed more lives than HIV, TB and malaria combined.”

CNBC News ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Already recognized as one of the leading public health threats facing humanity today, it is feared that a warming world is making it harder to stop the insidious spread of drug-resistant superbugs…. That figure is on track to “soar dramatically” without urgent action, the WHO says, leading to higher public health, economic and social costs and pushing more people into poverty, particularly in low-income countries.

Understanding Virus Infection Tactics and Pandemic Potential

Writing in The Conversation ([link removed]) (Australia) Researcher Peter Kasson lays out how viruses cause disease and what researchers are doing to try “to better anticipate and combat emerging viruses…. Two central questions scientists are studying about viral entry are how your body’s defenses can disrupt it and what determines whether a virus from other species can infect people…. The other key question researchers are asking about viral entry is how to tell when a virus from another species poses a threat to people. This is particularly important because many viruses are first identified in animals such as bats, birds and pigs before they spread to humans, but it’s unclear which ones may cause a pandemic.”

Dengue and Record Heat

Dr Georgiana Gordon-Strachan writes in The Guardian ([link removed]) (UK), “Before 2007, the frequency of dengue outbreaks in Jamaica was once every 10 years; after 2007, the frequency increased to one every three to four years. The last epidemic was in 2019. While other risk factors such as behaviour and environment are implicated in the spread of dengue, the climate crisis is believed to be a significant contributor to the frequency of outbreaks, with the increase in temperature being the primary reason…. In September 2023, Jamaica’s ministry of health and wellness declared a dengue fever outbreak.” Dengue is just one of the climate-induced problems in Jamaica and other small island nations. “We have repeatedly lost land, lives and livelihoods because of the climate crisis, a phenomenon to which we collectively contribute less than 1%.”

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “Rising temperatures and a longer monsoon in Bangladesh because of climate change are providing ideal breeding conditions for the dengue-spreading mosquito, experts said, as the country grapples with its worst-ever outbreak of the viral disease. The death toll from Bangladesh's outbreak in 2023 is 1,476 as of Nov. 12, with 291,832 infected, official data showed. Hospitals have struggled to cope with the rising number of patients in the densely populated South Asian country.” Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist and zoology professor is quoted: "Temperature, rainfall and other components are changing patterns due to climate change. We are seeing monsoon-like rain in mid-October, which is unusual. These seasonal pattern changes are creating the ideal situation for breeding of Aedes mosquito. Aedes is adapting to these changes."

Needle-Free Vaccines?

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given $23.6 million to US-based life science company Micron Biomedical to fund the first ever mass production of needle-free vaccine technology. The technology works by delivering the vaccine via dissolvable microneedles attached to the skin on a patch-like device. Global health experts have long argued for the potential of similar technology to boost the uptake of life-saving shots.” FiercePharma ([link removed]) (US) reports, “The deal sets up Micron to market its needle-free measles and rubella vaccine in small children once approved… The system divides a typical injection into 150 doses that are freeze-dried into the shape of a ‘sharp projectile’ and assembled on a small
‘button.’ From there, a healthcare worker merely needs to push the vaccine into the skin, the CEO explained.”

Where are We in the Fight Against TB?

NPR’s Goats and Soda Blog ([link removed]) (US) reports, “A promising way to prevent the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis was announced at the Union World Conference on Lung Health on Thursday in Paris. Two clinical trials, conducted in South Africa and Vietnam, looked at levofloxacin, one of the antibiotics most commonly used to treat people who've developed drug-resistant TB. Now there's strong evidence that taking the drug can reduce the risk of developing drug-resistant strains of the bacterial disease by about 60%.... But the challenges of conquering TB remain daunting — and the pandemic is partly to blame. As the World Health Organization puts it: ‘The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress made in the flight to end tuberculosis.’"

COVID and HIV Care in the US

The San Francisco Examiner ([link removed]) (US) reports on a study “which examined 18,000 patients from eight HIV clinics around the US, found that the HIV suppression levels of disadvantaged groups dropped, calling into question whether a federal goal of ending the epidemic by 2030 is achievable…. UCSF researchers found that the coronavirus heightened existing disparities among Americans living with HIV…. Nearly four years after the Bay Area issued the country’s first shelter-in-place orders, HIV-positive San Franciscans are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, including disruptions in care and impacts upon their mental health.” Read the study ([link removed]) .

Our COVID Memories are Biased

Nature ([link removed]) (UK) reports that for many of us the COVID pandemic is relegated to memory. “These memories might still be fresh and painful, or more distant and neutralized by the passage of time. Either way, they are almost undoubtedly unreliable…. a series of studies reported in a paper this month in Nature shows that our impressions of the COVID-19 pandemic’s severity, as well as of measures taken to limit the disease’s spread, are reliably skewed by a related factor: our vaccination status…. Many of the conflicts we struggle with today stem from how we view past events now, rather than how we experienced them then. The divergence in our collective memory is also likely to be a significant factor in future pandemics, determining, for example, whether individuals are willing to comply with the associated public-health mandates. How to counter these effects in the future must be a subject for more research today.” Read the study.
([link removed])

Countering COVID Misinformation

CIDRAP ([link removed]) (US) reports, “A systematic review by Brown University researchers of studies on countering COVID-19 misinformation finds that only 18% included public health measures such as vaccination, and some seemed to give credence to conspiracy theories and other unproven claims. The review also revealed challenges in studying health misinformation, including a need for more study of measures aimed at stemming video-based misinformation. The team also said inconsistent definitions of misinformation make it hard to evaluate intervention studies…. The researchers noted that misinformation can erode public trust in scientists, which complicates disease-control efforts and will likely negatively affect the ability to respond to public health problems such as climate change and future outbreaks. ‘Research has shown that misinformation shared online during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to
people behaving in ways that increased transmission and mortality, such as not wearing masks, forgoing vaccination, or relying on ineffective alternative medicines to treat infection,’ they wrote. ‘These dynamics affected public health efforts to protect communities from COVID-19 and ultimately cost lives.’" Read the study ([link removed]) .

Learning from South Africa’s COVID Vaccine Rollout

An op-ed in The Maverick ([link removed]) (South Africa) argues, “The unique collaborative working model devised to roll out South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination programme has great future potential, especially for building resilience in the face of both emergency and longer-term challenges faced by the country…. Overall, however, this model has great potential, especially for building resilience in the face of both emergency and longer-term challenges faced by South Africa. It is a useful mechanism for pooling funds and expertise, and partnering with government on key strategies to address challenges without either overwhelming them or creating a parallel structure…. We can hope that the lessons learned, relationships built and approaches put in place for South Africa’s COVID vaccination response can be repurposed to address many more of our most pressing
challenges.”

US House Approves Ban on Gain of Function Research

Science ([link removed]) (US) reports, “In a move that has rattled some in the biomedical research community, the US House of Representatives… approved a ban on federal funding for ‘gain-of-function’ (GOF) research that modifies risky pathogens in ways that can make them more harmful to people. Scientific groups say the vaguely worded provision could unintentionally halt a large swath of studies, from flu vaccine development to work on cold viruses. But they are hopeful that the Democratic-controlled Senate will not allow the measure to become law.”
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