Providing a curated perspective on what COVID news is worth your time. 

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AVAC's weekly COVID News Brief provides a curated perspective on what COVID news is worth your time.
"Reporting on COVID has fundamentally changed the way I approach science journalism. I have gained a deeper appreciation for scientific knowledge as a process, not merely an end result. I have seen that it is not enough to simply follow the science—that skepticism of authority is warranted even when that authority comes from respected public health experts. And I have learned that science is always political—despite what many scientists like to think. These lessons have been won at a terrible expense. But failing to heed them could doom us to repeat this tragedy when the next pandemic comes."
—Tanya Lewis in Scientific American ([link removed])


** COVID-19: Which countries are on track to complete the initial vaccination protocol for 70 percent of their population by mid-2022?
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Last updated on February 24, 2022
Source: Our World in Data ([link removed])


** Table of Contents
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* If You Are in a Hurry (#hurry)
* Data Needs (#dataNeeds)
* Reporting on COVID (#reportingCOVID)
* Orphaned by COVID (#orphaned)
* A Global Public Good (#publicGood)
* Vaccine Rollout Problems and Some Hope (#vaccineRollout)
* Preparing for the Next Pandemic (#preparing)
* New Vaccines (#newVaccines)
* WHO Gives mRNA Tech to More Countries (#WHO)


* New Mask Guidance from US CDC (#guidance)
* Omicron and the Vaccinated (#omicron)
* Omicron and Population Immunity (#immunity)
* Children and COVID (#children)
* COVID's Impact on Mental Health (#mentalHealth)
* More on the Genesis of the Pandemic (#genesis)
* COVID and Art (#art)

Even as much of the world’s attention is riveted by the war in Ukraine, COVID remains a global issue and a big concern for Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukraine have high rates of COVID, and as Ukraine came under attack and thousands of people are retreating to bomb shelters and moving towards borders, COVID cases are likely to surge. NBC News (US) reports, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brings a host of serious threats to public health beyond the military violence itself, experts warn. The conflict… may increase the spread of infectious diseases, including Covid-19, as people gather in shelters or flee the country. Ukraine is coming off its largest spike in Covid cases yet—its seven-day average hit a record of 37,408 on Feb. 10, according to an NBC News tally. Less than 40 percent of the population had been vaccinated as of Feb. 15. What’s more, Ukraine has been trying to control a polio outbreak since October.”

The WHO said in a statement over the weekend: “The oxygen supply situation is nearing a very dangerous point in Ukraine. Trucks are unable to transport oxygen supplies from plants to hospitals across the country, including the capital Kyiv. The majority of hospitals could exhaust their oxygen reserves within the next 24 hours. Some have already run out. This puts thousands of lives at risk.” Ukraine like many other areas of war and conflict will likely see increased rates of COVID at a time when their health system is least likely to be able to respond.


** If You Are in a Hurry
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Read about why we still need more and better data in Columbia Journalism Review ([link removed]) and Nature ([link removed]) .

Read Forbes ([link removed]) on a Lancet ([link removed](22)00005-0/fulltext) study that found more than 5 million children have been orphaned. By COVID.

Listen to a Bhekisisa ([link removed]) podcast about stumbling blocks to rollout of vaccines in South Africa.

Read a call to ensure COVID vaccines are a global public good in NEJM ([link removed]) .

Read Salon ([link removed]) on a new study about COVID’s impact on mental health.

Read CIDRAP ([link removed]) on a large a NEJM ([link removed]) (US) study from South Africa that examined population immunity and severity of disease during the Omicron wave.

Read Nature ([link removed]) on three new preprint studies that shed light on the genesis of the pandemic.

See a beautiful mural in São Paulo in a tweet ([link removed]) from the artist Eduardo Kobra.


** Data Needs
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A commentary in the Columbia Journalism Review ([link removed]) (US) notes, “The availability of good, timely data has been a persistent challenge for the press throughout the pandemic… So, too, has knowing how best to relay the data that we do have to our audiences. The author notes that data is being used by the US and other governments to recalibrate COVID guidance and regulations. “Residents of many countries are now in a messy moment, accelerated by Omicron, of trying to work out what ‘normal’ looks like, how and when to get there, and who might get left behind—debates that are playing out in the media, as well as manifesting online and in people’s everyday behavior… The pandemic is not yet over by a long shot, and even when we do reach the point where COVID is endemic, we will still need to keep track of it. As health officials establish principles for how to do this, the media will have a voice in the debate, and we should use it to
push for transparency.”

Our World in Data’s Edouard Mathieu argues in a commentary in Nature ([link removed]) (UK), “Data publishers—whether they are national governments, international organizations or online publications—should make a frank commitment to provide the public and researchers with transparent data on the pandemic until the World Health Organization (WHO) declares that it is over, and the WHO should coordinate this effort… National and international authorities and the public have relied on online publications—including media organizations and Our World in Data—to track pandemic metrics and make sense of all the data. But those authorities, too, bear a responsibility, especially to countries that would otherwise fly the rest of the pandemic blind and be too quickly forgotten by rich countries that are eager to move on.”

A CBC ([link removed]) (Canada) opinion piece argues that a low level of PCR testing in Canada as the Omicron wave wanes, “makes it nearly impossible to get a clear sense of what the true number of COVID-19 cases are in Canada, and severely limits the number of testing samples that can undergo genomic sequencing to detect for the presence of variants… If widespread PCR testing isn't coming back to Canada anytime soon, or at all, experts say we need to build up other COVID-19 surveillance systems. [One expert] said there are two key advance warning systems to build up now that access to testing has been dramatically restricted—bolstering national wastewater surveillance and creating a national PCR testing program using random sampling of tests to track the virus.”


** Reporting on COVID
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A science journalist writing in Scientific American ([link removed]) (US) reflects on covering the pandemic. “Reporting on the pandemic was like building a plane while flying it—at warp speed in a hurricane. The underlying science was evolving daily, so there was no expert consensus or body of established research to draw on. And there were plenty of people willing to exploit this information vacuum, creating a secondary epidemic of misinformation… Reporting on COVID has fundamentally changed the way I approach science journalism. I have gained a deeper appreciation for scientific knowledge as a process, not merely an end result. I have seen that it is not enough to simply follow the science—that skepticism of authority is warranted even when that authority comes from respected public health experts. And I have learned that science is always political—despite what many scientists like to think. These lessons have been
won at a terrible expense. But failing to heed them could doom us to repeat this tragedy when the next pandemic comes.



** Orphaned by COVID
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Forbes ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Roughly 5.2 million children around the world have lost a parent or caregiver to Covid-19, according to a study published in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health medical journal, a figure that dramatically accelerated as the pandemic continued leaving many of the world’s most vulnerable people without the support or resources they need as existing care systems struggle to cope… The researchers said children who have lost a parent or caregiver are at greater risk of poverty, exploitation, abuse, HIV infection, mental health issues and leaving school to care for younger siblings and urged governments to ensure children are considered in pandemic response efforts.”

The Lancet ([link removed](22)00005-0/fulltext) (UK) authors conclude, “We found that globally, the heart-breaking hidden pandemic of over 52 million children affected by orphanhood and caregiver death, has outpaced the 50 million COVID-19 deaths. These data identify an almost one-to-one correspondence in the magnitude of COVID-19 deaths and that of children's COVID-19-associated loss of parents and caregivers. At the current rate, one child faces parental or caregiver death every 6 s. Our data suggest the surge of orphanhood and caregiver deaths must be urgently addressed with sustainable and scalable solutions, and integrated into coordinated and collaborative global, regional, and national strategies.”


** A Global Public Good
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A NEJM ([link removed]) (US) editorial argues, “Vaccine inequity is symptomatic of the failure of global governance of the pandemic. The haphazard way in which vaccines are currently distributed must be addressed as part of a global vaccine strategy that includes a system of intellectual-property management, manufacturing, and distribution that ensures that vaccines are made available equitably around the world. Vaccines against pandemic diseases, and the ability to manufacture them, must not be a sequestered asset that maximizes the return to pharmaceutical company executives and shareholders or increases the electability of politicians. They must be a global public good.”

The Hill ([link removed]) (US) reports on calls to the Biden administration to increase funding for the global response. “Experts say stepping up efforts to vaccinate the world are crucial both for straightforward humanitarian reasons and for the United States’ own self-interest. If the virus remains unchecked abroad, new variants can form that can threaten the US, just as omicron did after being detected in southern Africa… In addition to funding, advocates have also called for the administration to take steps such as compelling vaccine makers to share their know-how abroad, as well as doing more to boost vaccine manufacturing.”


** Vaccine Rollout Problems and Some Hope
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In a Bhekisisa ([link removed]) (South Africa) podcast Mia Malan looks at reasons behind the slower vaccine rollout in South Africa and examines budget problems that mean “The health department won’t buy any more COVID vaccines this year. That includes Sinopharm, Sinovac and jabs for children between the ages of 5 and 11.”

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned on Wednesday that the Caribbean was falling behind in its effort to fight COVID-19 as only 63% of its eligible population was vaccinated and large regional discrepancies persist. Out of 13 countries and territories in the Americas that have not yet reached the World Health Organization's (WHO) goal of 40% coverage, 10 are in the Caribbean…”

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “The global project to share COVID-19 vaccines is struggling to place more than 300 million doses in the latest sign the problem with vaccinating the world is now more about demand than supply… As supply and donations have ramped up, however, poorer nations are facing hurdles such as gaps in cold-chain shortage, vaccine hesitancy and a lack of money to support distribution networks, public health officials told Reuters.”

The New York Times ([link removed]) (US) reports that a change in the way vaccines can be requested. By countries may help ensure African countries can ramp up vaccine efforts. “Previously, the WHO would send vaccine doses to African countries as they became available. But since January, countries have been able to request the vaccines they need from the WHO directly, and in what quantity and when. As a result, they have been able to significantly ramp up vaccination efforts… As vaccine supplies have increased, efforts to get the doses into people’s arms have intensified. But difficulties in storing vaccines and delivering them to towns and villages have slowed the overall program. And vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, or indifference from people who have greater priorities have also posed problems. Some countries have reported that their supplies have expired before they can be administered.”


** Preparing for the Next Pandemic
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An open letter ([link removed]) from members of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Behavioral Insights and Sciences for Health calls for inclusion of “ behavioural and social sciences in the new international instrument as they are critical for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response… COVID-19 has confirmed that the behavioural and social sciences have guided our understanding of the drivers of transmission and how to design and deliver effective interventions. Changing behaviours is complex and may not happen even when life is at stake – it requires more than clinical and epidemiological expertise.”

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports on negotiations at WHO for new rules for dealing with pandemics. “A new pact is among more than 200 recommendations for shoring up the world's defences against new pathogens made by various reviewers following the COVID-19 pandemic… Suggested proposals for the pact include the sharing of data and genome sequences of emerging viruses and rules on equitable vaccine distribution… The EU proposed the treaty and is its biggest backer, with support from Britain, Indonesia, Kenya and others. The United States will take part in the talks but has opposed a binding treaty. India and Brazil have also voiced reservations. With so many member countries involved, securing agreement is likely to be tricky.”


** New Vaccines
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Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “Health Canada approved Medicago's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, which uses GlaxoSmithKline's adjuvant to boost immune response, making it the first approval for the plant-based-manufacture shot anywhere in the world. The shot was 75.3% effective against the Delta variant of the virus in a late-stage study, the two companies said in December. Efficacy against hospitalisation was 81%... The shot uses a technology known as virus-like particles (VLP), which mimic the structure of the coronavirus but contain no genetic material from it.”

The New York Times ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Two doses of a new Covid vaccine that is based on a conventional approach achieved 100 percent efficacy against severe disease and hospitalizations, and it could be an effective booster after other COVID shots, the vaccine’s manufacturers announced on Wednesday. The vaccine, made by the Europe-based pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and GSK, is one of four candidates that received billions of dollars for development from Operation Warp Speed…”


** WHO Gives mRNA Tech to More Countries
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FiercePharma ([link removed]) (US) reports the WHO “expanded its efforts to combat the pandemic by offering mRNA technology to five more countries as part of a global push to increase manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines for underserved nations. The latest countries added to the list are Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Serbia and Vietnam. They join Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia, which were announced last week, in getting mRNA vaccine technology from the WHO’s hub located in Cape Town, South Africa.”



** New Mask Guidance from US CDC
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STAT ([link removed]) (US) reports the US CDC “issued long-awaited new guidance ([link removed]) Friday on when Americans should consider wearing masks to protect themselves against Covid-19. Under the new guidance, roughly 70% of the US population can now contemplate removing their masks… Under the new system, Covid-prevention recommendations for people living in low- and medium-risk counties are effectively that they should be vaccinated and boosted, and should get tested for Covid if they are sick with Covid-like symptoms. In the medium-risk settings, people who are immunocompromised or who have chronic health conditions should discuss the merits of mask wearing with their doctors.”



** Omicron and the Vaccinated
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MedPage Today ([link removed]) (US) reports on an MMWR study that found, “Risk of contracting COVID-19 during the Omicron surge was higher when the index case was unvaccinated, though this risk was still high among vaccinated cases, researchers found. Among index cases who were unvaccinated, the attack rate in household contacts was 64% compared with 44% in contacts of index cases who completed their primary vaccination series within 5 months and 43% among those who were vaccinated and boosted…”

The Washington Post ([link removed]) (US) reports, “While coronavirus shots still provided protection during the omicron wave, the shield of coverage they offered was weaker than during other surges, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The change resulted in much higher rates of infection, hospitalization and death for fully vaccinated adults and even for people who had received boosters.”


** Omicron and Population Immunity
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CIDRAP ([link removed]) (US) reports, “A seroepidemiologic survey of 7,010 people in Gauteng province, South Africa, before the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant outcompeted the Delta strain shows that 80% of those older than 50 years had antibodies against the virus, with most seropositivity likely generated by previous infection.” The data come from a NEJM ([link removed]) (US) study from South Africa. The researchers conclude, “We think that the decoupling of the incidence of Covid-19 cases from the incidences of hospitalization and death during the omicron-dominant wave in South Africa heralds a turning point in the Covid-19 pandemic, if the primary goal is protection against severe disease and death rather than prevention of infection. The 70% vaccine effectiveness against severe disease with BNT162b2 in South Africa might well be due to the hybrid cell-mediated immunity induced by vaccination
and natural infection. Whether the same protection against severe Covid-19 due to the omicron variant will be seen in countries in which immunity is mainly from vaccination remains to be determined.”



** Children and COVID
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The Guardian ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “Primary school-aged children produce about four times fewer aerosol particles when breathing, speaking or singing compared with adults, which could help explain why they seem to be at lower risk of spreading Covid. Various studies have suggested that young children are about half as susceptible to catching Covid as adults, and, despite carrying a similar amount of virus in their noses and throats, appear to pass it to fewer people if they do become infected.”



** COVID's Impact on Mental Health
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Salon ([link removed]) (US) reports, “a new study ([link removed]) published in the medical journal BMJ reveals that COVID-19 is linked to long-term mental health issues. The findings suggest that a dual mental-health crisis, evidently caused directly or indirectly by COVID-19 itself, now looms. By looking at the health data of 153,848 veterans whose information had been catalogued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the researchers learned that patients were far more likely than uninfected people to have mental health issues within 12 months of getting sick. These issues included anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, sleep disorders, cognitive decline and dependence on drugs like opioids, benzodiazepines and antidepressants. The symptoms were primarily attributed to brain inflammation, although the scientists noted that stress also likely played a role in many cases.”



** More on the Genesis of the Pandemic
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Nature ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “Scientists have released three [preprint] studies that reveal intriguing new clues about how the COVID-19 pandemic started. Two of the reports trace the outbreak back to a massive market that sold live animals, among other goods, in Wuhan, China, and a third suggests that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spilled over from animals — possibly those sold at the market — to humans at least twice in November or December 2019… These analyses add weight to original suspicions that the pandemic began at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which many of the people who were infected earliest with SARS-CoV-2 had visited.



** COVID and Art
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Africa News ([link removed]) (France) reports, “Street artists in Brazil's largest city, São Paulo, have used Covid as inspiration for their work. If Covid-19 has been a source of discomfort for many around the globe, it has also been a source of inspiration. Or rather, the selfless involvement of people fighting the Covid outbreak has inspired street artists. Sao Paulo gained new colours through its famous street art during the epidemic. The science and faith mural is one of those latest art pieces. It covers 200 square meters of the facades of Hospital Das Clinicas a medical center in the Brazilian city.” See a picture of the mural in a tweet ([link removed]) from the artist Eduardo Kobra.

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