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AVAC's weekly COVID News Brief provides a curated perspective on what COVID news is worth your time.
"Experts say that without significant policy changes, poor countries may not be vaccinated against COVID-19 until 2023 or 2024. We must make critical changes now to fix this inequity and avert a public health disaster. Vaccinating everyone around the world is not just a moral imperative. With variants of the novel coronavirus first found in Brazil, South Africa and Britain already spreading in the United States, it is clear global vaccination is necessary to end the pandemic."
— Matthew Kavanagh and Madhavi Sunder in the Washington Post ([link removed])


** Latest Global Stats
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March 12, 2021
Global Documented Cases
118,695,074 Global Reported Deaths
2,632,041 People Fully Vaccinated
75,139,404
Source: Coronavirus Research Center – Johns Hopkins University & Medicine ([link removed])


** Table of Contents
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* If You Are in a Hurry (#hurry)
* The Human Face of the Pandemic (#human)
* Racism, Equity and Access (#racism)
* Politics (#politics)
* Research (#research)
* Preparedness (#preparedness)
* Fork Hands (#fork)

One year ago, WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. In concluding his public remarks ([link removed]) on March 11, 2020 WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu said:

“There’s been so much attention on one word [pandemic]. Let me give you some other words that matter much more, and that are much more actionable. Prevention. Preparedness. Public health. Political leadership. And most of all, people. We’re in this together, to do the right things with calm and protect the citizens of the world. It’s doable.”

On that day, there were already more than 118,000 documented cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 reported deaths. Today, there are 118,222,254 documented cases and there have been 2,623,286 reported deaths. The real numbers of cases and deaths are likely much, much higher. COVID-19 has reached virtually every country—and every community—in the world. Globally, only 73,135,790 people have been fully vaccinated, representing less than one percent of the total global population.

The world has met Tedros’s five Ps with vastly differing levels of success. No one could have known on that day how devastating this pandemic and the political responses to it would be. And most of us would not have believed there would be so many highly effective vaccines going into the arms of some people less than one year out. This week there are countless news stories looking back at the last year. But we are, as we do every week, largely focusing on what is news now—the good and the bad—as we continue to navigate together through the world disrupted by a virus and the politics and inequities that aided its spread.

Pandemic oracle Dr. Fauci said ([link removed]) on the anniversary “had he known a year ago what the [US] death toll from COVID-19 would be, ‘it would have shocked me completely,’ and blamed the politicization of safety measures and ‘mixed messages’ out of Washington for the high number of fatalities…. ‘Even simple, commonsense public health measures took on a political connotation,’ he said. ‘If you wanted to wear a mask, you were on this side. If you wanted to stay in and avoid congregate settings, you were on this side. It wasn't a pure public health approach. It was really very much influenced by the divisiveness that we had in this country.’”


**
If You Are in a Hurry
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* Watch Fatima Hassan and Gregg Gonsalves deliver The Martin Delaney ([link removed]) Lecture on vaccine nationalism at the virtual CROI 2021 meeting.
* Then consider signing on to the Call for Global Vaccine Equity. ([link removed])
* Take a moment to read about and honor more than 3000 global healthcare workers killed by COVID on to Medscape's page dedicated to their memory ([link removed]) .
* Then read Mail & Guardian ([link removed]) on how South African healthcare workers are preparing for the next wave.
* Read Devex ([link removed]) on the struggle many middle income countries are having accessing vaccines.
* Read Science ([link removed]) on why a plan is needed to distribute rich countries’ excess vaccines.
* Read about the impact of the pandemic on contraceptive access from Reuters ([link removed]) .
* Check out this tweet ([link removed]) that uses forks to explain how mRNA vaccines work.




** The Human Face of the Pandemic
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Medscape ([link removed]) (US) reports “Since April 2020, when Medscape began commemorating healthcare workers from around the world who have died of COVID-19, we have added more than 3000 names to our page dedicated to their memory ([link removed]) …. As of March 11, the anniversary of the day the World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a ‘pandemic,’ the memorial list includes more than 3030 names of people from 90 countries. The youngest is 20, the oldest 99. They will not be forgotten.”

The New York Times ([link removed]) (US) reports from Canada that “while the vaccines have given the majority of nursing-home residents protection from death by the virus, so far they have not offered more life. Some residents have compared their lives to those of prisoners and caged animals. Most places around the country have policies that allow visits from only one or two designated caregivers, but these measures aren’t evenly carried out. And in several cities, including Toronto and Montreal, residents are not allowed to leave the property to walk to a pharmacy or enjoy the simple pleasure of a stroll down the street. All this has left some residents frustrated, baffled and wondering: What, exactly, am I being kept alive for?”

Mail & Guardian ([link removed]) (South Africa) reports, “Exhausted healthcare workers have an estimated two months of precious respite to build resilience to burnout, read up on mental health injury symptoms and discover where to get help before the third COVID-19 wave hits. This while they continue to suffer twice the COVID-19 infection rate of the communities they care for, according to experts who spoke to the Mail & Guardian. A full 6.8 percent of all public healthcare workers ([link removed]) contracted COVID-19, and they lost 340 of their colleagues between March and November last year.”

Kieta Mutepfa is profiled in a Merck ([link removed]) (US) blog (where she works) explaining why she as a black woman and stroke survivor joined a COVID 19 vaccine trial. “COVID-19 has already gravely impacted the Black community. I felt the reason I survived my stroke was so that others could live and learn. Joining a COVID-19 trial was my way of stepping in for every person that has died from COVID-19 and those at risk of dying.”



** Racism, Equity and Access
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Fatima Hassan and Gregg Gonsalves delivered The Martin Delaney ([link removed]) Lecture at the virtual CROI meeting: "Vaccine Nationalism is Killing Us: How Inequities in Research and Access to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines Will Perpetuate the Pandemic." POZ ([link removed]) (US) quotes Gonsalves: “’Only a small proportion of the planet will be vaccinated this year. It’s miraculous that we have very effective vaccines a year out. We have the tools we need to do this—it’s no longer a scientific problem, it’s a political crisis.’ Recalling the global effort to roll out HIV treatment in the early 2000s, Hassan and Gonsalves called for a ‘people’s vaccine.’” Following the lecture, a Call for Global Vaccine Equity was ([link removed]) released from conference attendees and others. It concludes, “In a world where there are en
ormous inequalities COVID vaccinations offer us the opportunity to provide everyone globally, regardless of income, race, or nationality, immunological equity to be protected from SARS-CoV-2. The COVID-19 Pandemic will not be over for us until it is over for everyone.

In a New York Times ([link removed]) (US) oped Abdullah Shihipar writes, “In Los Angeles County, deaths among Latino people have increased more than 1,000 ([link removed]) percent since November, nearly triple the rate for white residents. Native Americans have been nearly ([link removed]) twice as likely as white people to die from COVID-19. The virus has killed a disproportionate number of Filipino nurses ([link removed]) . To bring desperately needed relief to the communities of color that have been ravaged by the pandemic because of the effects of structural racism, the Department of Health and Human Services should declare racism a public health emergency ([link removed]) …. It’s well
known that structural racism is behind the massive disparities in COVID-19 infection, death and vaccination. A declaration on this issue would be the first step toward fixing the problem.”

Matthew Kavanagh and Madhavi Sunder write in the Washington Post ([link removed]) (US), “experts say that without significant policy changes, poor countries may not be vaccinated against COVID-19 until ([link removed]) 2023 or 2024. We must make critical changes now to fix this inequity and avert a public health disaster. Vaccinating everyone around the world is not just a moral imperative. With variants of the novel coronavirus ([link removed]) first found in Brazil, South Africa and Britain already spreading in the United States, it is clear global vaccination is necessary to end the pandemic.” They argue, “Just as the AIDS crisis in Africa necessitated the Doha Declaration, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates both a
temporary intellectual property waiver from the WTO and a bold effort to share know-how—not in 2024, but now. Indeed, the COVID-19 era should change the way we think about patents and public health. Intellectual property rights are not ends in themselves; they are tools to promote human flourishing.”

STAT ([link removed]) (US) reports on people who are unhoused, “the invisible victims of COVID-19, marginalized not just in life, but also in death…. Despite the extraordinarily detailed statistics that parse the ages, races, and comorbidities of the nation’s more than 500,000 COVID deaths, no one seems to have any idea how many homeless people have died…. Homeless advocates and researchers say the pandemic is exposing a longstanding problem: the haphazard and often nonexistent accounting of homeless deaths and their causes. They say such data is desperately needed to address and remedy the steep human toll of homelessness, which, like the coronavirus, disproportionately harms people of color ([link removed]) .”

Huffington Post UK ([link removed]) reports “People who are experiencing homelessness or sleeping rough will be prioritized… [according to the Health Secretary] “We know there are heightened risks for those who sleep rough and today I have accepted the advice of the independent experts at the JCVI to prioritise those experiencing rough sleeping or homelessness for vaccination….”

WIRED ([link removed]) (US) reports “COVAX was supposed to gain the ability to negotiate lower prices that poor nations could afford. Rich countries’ cutting their own deals undermines that. And in a further twist, some of those countries are using their vaccine commitments as levers for diplomacy. Both Russia ([link removed]) and China ([link removed]) have encouraged their manufacturers, which are state-affiliated, to cut deals with Asian and Latin American nations, a subtle way of gaming political influence…. Multiple proposals are circulating to solve the international imbalance, by imposing a universal ethical framework ([link removed]) for
distribution, prioritizing ([link removed]) by each country’s population or number of health care workers, or sharing technology and loosening ([link removed]) countries’ hold on vaccine IP.”

Devex ([link removed]) (US) reports “Middle-income countries from Georgia to Belize find themselves in a maddening bind, unable to afford the kinds of bilateral deals ([link removed]) with vaccine manufacturers that have fueled the massive immunization campaigns in the United States and the United Kingdom but overlooked by activists and development actors desperately trying to get vaccines to the lowest-income nations. In the scramble to vaccinate, experts in middle-income countries worry their nations risk being left behind.”

BusinessWorld ([link removed]) (India) writes about the proposal to the World Trade Organization to suspend vaccine patents. “Some 100 nations have expressed support, as has Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. ‘If a temporary waiver to patents cannot be issued now, during these unprecedented times,’ he said, ‘when will be the right time?’” not surprisingly pharma companies are opposed to the proposal, but so are some other entities. “Big Pharma, and even some groups pushing to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to developing nations, say vaccine-making is difficult, so suspending patents alone won't bring more shots. The Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN), which pushes for more manufacturing in poorer nations, agrees giving away IP for the pandemic's duration is not the answer. Unlike the
simpler-to-make AIDS drugs of two decades ago, complex vaccines require deep cooperation between developers and manufacturers, DCVMN President Sai Prasad said.”

Science ([link removed]) (US) reports on calls for plans to distribute excess vaccine doses. “Like three dozen other countries, the United States contracted with multiple vaccine companies for several times the number of doses needed to cover its population. No one knew at the time which, if any, of the candidate vaccines would work or when they might prove safe and effective. But by now, most of the prepurchased vaccines appear to offer solid protection—which means many countries will receive far more vaccine than they need. The excess doses the United States alone may have by July would vaccinate at least 200 million people. Over the next year or two, US surplus doses and those from other countries could add up to enough to immunize everyone in the many poorer nations that lack any secured COVID-19 vaccine.” But experts say it is not that easy to reallocate these vaccines. “Politics has also held up donations. In many countries that have secured
large vaccine supplies but are struggling to deliver the shots, politicians cannot openly discuss the topic, Farrar says. ‘Fierce vaccine nationalism’ will prevail for several more months, Gostin says. ‘It becomes politically tenable to share a vaccine when we're at the point where vaccines are chasing the people rather than the people chasing the vaccine.’”

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports “Nearly 12 million women in poorer countries lost access to contraception in the pandemic, leading to 1.4 million unplanned pregnancies, the United Nations said on Thursday. Estimates by the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, showed women lost access to contraception as the pandemic drew resources away from family planning or hit supply chains. Women also lost out due to coronavirus travel restrictions, clinic closures and stay-at-home orders, the UNFPA said.”

STAT ([link removed]) (US) reports “the pandemic has significantly impeded the careers of women in academic science, technology, math, and medicine fields, according to a new report ([link removed]) .”

Kaiser Family Foundation ([link removed]) (US) reports on the impact of COVID-19 on LGBT people in the US, finding that a larger share of LGBT adults have experienced an economic impact or mental health issues than non-LGBT adults. “While LGBT people report wanting to get vaccinated at a similar pace as non-LGBT people, a greater share of LGBT adults see doing so as part of everyone’s responsibility to protect the health of others (75 percent v. 48 percent), while greater shares of non-LGBT people see vaccination as a personal choice (49 percent v 24 percent).”



** Politics
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BBC ([link removed]) (UK) reports “Questions have been raised over the health of Tanzanian President John Magufuli who has not been seen in public for 11 days. Opposition leader Tundu Lissu has told the BBC that according to his sources the president is being treated in hospital for coronavirus in Kenya. The BBC has not been able to verify this report independently. Mr Magufuli has faced criticism for his handling of COVID-19, with his government refusing to buy vaccines. The East African nation has not published its coronavirus cases since May. Al Jazeera ([link removed]) (Qatar) reports Magufuli has been transferred to India for treatment and is in serious condition. “Magufuli has played down the threat from COVID-19, saying God and remedies such as steam inhalation would protect Tanzanians. He has mocked coronavirus tests, denounced vaccines as part of a Western
conspiracy to take Africa’s wealth, and opposed mask-wearing and social distancing. ‘His COVID denialism in tatters, his prayer-over-science folly has turned into a deadly boomerang,’ Lissu tweeted in the early hours of Thursday.”

Devex ([link removed]) (US) reports “Last month, Tanzanian Health Minister Dorothy Gwajima held a press conference demonstrating how to make a smoothie with ginger, onions, lemon, and pepper, which she said could help to prevent COVID-19 infections. She did not provide any evidence for her claim but went on to state that the country had no plans to receive vaccines for the pandemic and should instead rely on hygiene measures, herbal steaming, exercise, and ‘natural remedies.’… As the COVAX Facility, the initiative to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, begins to roll out doses in Africa, it's unclear what will happen in countries that long denied COVID-19’s very existence—or claim to have already solved the problem…. Four countries that qualify for free vaccines under the COVAX advance market commitment financing instrument—Tanzania, Madagascar, Burundi, and Eritrea—have not yet completed the necessary
requirements.”

Africa News ([link removed]) (Congo) reports “Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been vaccinated against COVID-19, the presidency said on Thursday, making him the first head of state to receive the vaccine in East Africa, where immunisation campaigns are picking up speed. Photos of the 63-year-old head of state and his wife Jeannette receiving the vaccine in a hospital in the capital Kigali were posted on the official Twitter account of the Rwandan presidency.”



** Research
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Healio ([link removed]) (US) reports “Maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk for stillbirth or early infant death, according to research published in Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology…. However, a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis was linked to a higher risk of preterm birth, and it isn't entirely clear why.”

Fierce Biotech ([link removed]) (US) reports “Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline are stopping ([link removed]) a phase 3 clinical trial of their COVID-19 antibody early for efficacy after seeing an 85 percent reduction in hospitalization or death at an interim review. The trial provided further evidence of the efficacy of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in ambulatory patients…. Vir and GSK plan to share additional data once the clinical trial is complete but already see enough promise to outline plans to seek emergency use authorization in the US and equivalent approvals in other markets.”

US NIH director Francis Collins writes in Science ([link removed]) (US), “As we mark the 1-year anniversary of the declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, the world has suffered a staggering and tragic human toll. During this dark time, the scientific community has been called to rise to the occasion in unprecedented ways. The intensity of the work and the sense of urgency have been unremitting and exhausting.… In the past, the world has rallied to confront new pandemics, only to lapse into complacency as the risk faded. Having now experienced the worst pandemic in 103 years, we must not make that mistake again.”

A study in Journal of Public Health ([link removed]) “aimed to investigate the relations between intention to get vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 and the ability to detect fake news about COVID-19 as well as health literacy among a population-based sample of French adults.” The study found that the ability to detect fake news or having health literacy corelated with willingness to be vaccinated. The authors conclude, “To promote acceptance of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, it is recommended to increase individuals’ ability to detect fake news and health literacy through education and communication programs.”

The Hill ([link removed]) reports “Moderna announced Wednesday that it has administered the first doses of a modified vaccine designed to fight coronavirus variants to study participants. The company said it is observing the efficacy of two different modified vaccines in a small study involving 60 people who already received the original vaccine. Some of the participants will get a booster dose of a modified vaccine designed specifically to fight a variant of the virus first identified in South Africa. This variant has shown to reduce the immune response provoked by the original Moderna vaccine to some degree. Other participants will get a booster dose that combines the modified vaccine with the original vaccine in order to produce a "multivalent" vaccine designed to fight multiple strains at once.”



** Preparedness
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STAT ([link removed]) (US) asked 10 American experts when they realized COVID-19 was here to stay. A New York City emergency physician details the struggle to get a COVID test for a patient in early March 2020. “As I heard the [positive] result being announced, a wave of fear unlike any I’d felt in 25 years as an emergency physician burned through my chest…. We were on our own. The politicians did not lock down New York City for another 16 excruciating days. And then the world caved in.”

Nature ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “Scientists around the world are scrambling to secure basic supplies in the wake of the COVID‑19 pandemic, which has increased demand for testing materials while disrupting manufacturing and distribution channels. Shortages of gloves, plastic tips for pipettes, centrifuge tubes and other laboratory basics have caused projects to slow down or even stop, but researchers are adapting…Some labs are also reporting disruptions in supplies of lab animals. US pharmaceutical companies in particular are scrambling to find rhesus monkeys. The shortage, caused by increases in demand for vaccine testing and a ban on shipments of wildlife from China, has caused some research projects to grind to a halt and inspired calls to maintain a reserve supply of the animals…. Supply shortages have also hit labs across Africa, says Evelyn Gitau, director of Research Capacity Strengthening at the African Population and Health Research Center
in Nairobi. In some cases, researchers have tried to make do with alternative products, often with poor results. ‘There has been a proliferation of substandard lab equipment and lab consumables,’ she says. ‘It’s counterproductive. If you’re going to send me a pipette that’s not fit for the purpose, you might as well have cancelled the whole experiment I was doing.’”



** Fork Hands
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Do yourself a favor and check out this tweet ([link removed]) of a comic, yet accurate, explanation of how mRNA vaccines work. It’s a much-needed laugh one year in to this pandemic and a reminder that science is leading us out of it.

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