COVID-19 and the need for action on mental health

‘The report highlights the needs of vulnerable populations, including first responders and front-line healthcare workers, older adults, children, women, and refugees or those in conflict settings. In addition to fear of illness or death and the growing challenges posed by mis- and disinformation, individuals are also experiencing a broad scope of secondary mental health effects, including financial insecurity or social isolation. The report advises that emergency psychosocial support should become more widely available, including remote mental health care. Furthermore, the report calls for prioritizing the protection and promotion of human rights of those with severe mental health conditions, as their needs can often be neglected in major emergencies.’

Download here (United Nations, May 13, 2020)

For the record: Are Gates and Rockefeller using their influence to set agenda in poor states?

‘Study identifies Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller foundations among rich donors that are close to government and may be skewing priorities... Ultra-rich philanthropists and their foundations have increasing influence on decision-making and are setting the global health and agriculture agenda in developing countries, according to a major study (pdf). Using their immense wealth and influence with political and scientific elites, organisations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and others are promoting solutions to global problems that may undermine the UN and other international organisations, says the report by the independent Global Policy Forum, which monitors the work of UN bodies and global policymaking.’

Read here (The Guardian, Jan 15, 2016)

Download report here (Global Policy Forum, November 2015)

National action plan for expanding and adapting the healthcare system for the duration of the Covid pandemic

This 24-page report by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security offers answers and recommendations related to the following problems, for which there are tractable solutions:

• How can we improve infection prevention in hospitals and maintain a robust supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE)?
• What approach should we take to restarting deferred healthcare services?
• What financial support is needed for hospitals and healthcare providers?
• How should the healthcare workforce be sustained and augmented?
• How can we provide mental health support for healthcare workers in this crisis?
• How can we provide medical care and sick leave for all people in the United States?
• How can we make telemedicine a new normal?
• How can we reduce the number of undiagnosed infectious diseases in our hospitals?
• How can we better protect emergency medical services (EMS) personnel from infectious diseases?
• How can we better coordinate the healthcare response to COVID and the next pandemic?

Read and download here (Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, May 5, 2020)

Strengthening preparedness for Covid-19 in cities and urban settings

‘This document is to support local authorities, leaders and policy-makers in cities and other urban settlements in identifying effective approaches and implementing recommended actions that enhance the prevention, preparedness and readiness for COVID-19 in urban settings, to ensure a robust response and eventual recovery. It covers factors unique to cities and urban settings, considerations in urban preparedness, key areas of focus and preparing for future emergencies.’

Beyond traditional recommendations—such as multisectoral collaboration, protecting vulnerable populations, and evidence-based policy decisions—the guidance also addresses 4 focus areas in the context of COVID-19 preparedness:

1. Coordinated local plans to address unique issues, characteristics, and capacities of individual cities; 
2. Risk communication and education to promote compliance with recommended actions, using media that can effectively reach target audiences; 
3. Contextually and culturally appropriate approaches to public health, including social distancing, enhanced hygiene, and respiratory etiquette; and 
4. Adequate access to care for COVID-19 and other essential health services, including prevent services like vaccination. The document also includes an annex with more specific details, considerations, and recommendations under each focus area.

Read and download here (WHO, April 28, 2020)

Trump unveils testing blueprint

As part of a plan to open up America, President Trump has unveiled a “Testing Blueprint” with the stated goal of performing 2 million tests per week by the end of May. According to the plan, state, tribal, and local governments are largely responsible for procuring tests and “overcom[ing] barriers to efficient testing”; however, the federal government will “act as a supplier of last resort” and coordinate with private sector suppliers to increase production and testing capacity. A number of private sector companies announced plans to increase testing capacity to support these efforts.

Download here (Whitehouse, April 2020)

The results of coronavirus ‘serosurveys’ are starting to be released. Here’s how to kick their tires

‘Results from the first studies designed to determine how widely the coronavirus has spread in communities have started to trickle in, drawing immense attention. These studies, after all, are seen as critical indicators of when it might be safe to lift movement restrictions.

‘Already, though, experts are raising concerns about the validity of some of the studies and cautioning officials and the general public not to put too much weight on any one finding.

‘Known as serological surveys, the studies involve testing the blood of people not diagnosed with Covid-19 to determine whether they had previously been infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They are important because they can flesh out the picture of how many people in any given community may have had Covid-19, even if they were unaware they were infected.‘

Read here (STAT News, April 24, 2020)

Download here Q&A from The Wadsworth Center (WC), the public health laboratory of the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH)

392 NGOs call on WHO to operationalise fair and equitable benefit sharing of Covid-19 medical products

The NGOs are referring to the benefits arising from the sharing of SARS-CoV-2 digital sequence information and samples as recognised by the Convention on Biological Diversity (which has 196 Parties) and its Nagoya Protocol (which has 123 Parties).

Specifically, they have asked WHO to urgently:

1. Secure binding commitments from biopharmaceutical companies and other manufacturers for the rapid supply of existing and future medical products, especially diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines to developing and least developed countries at an affordable price.
2. Organise open platforms for the widespread and unconditional sharing of technology and knowledge including technical specifications, designs, blueprints and any other know-how to scale-up local/regional manufacturing of medical products required for COVID-19 response including diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines; and towards that end to secure binding commitments from biopharmaceutical companies and other medical product manufacturers.
3. Proactively coordinate and direct COVID-19 R&D by setting up an open innovation platform for the rapid public sharing of all research outcomes, knowledge gaps and problem solving, and towards that end secure binding commitments from entities and individuals engaged in the R&D.
4. Ensure that intellectual property rights do not affect or hinder efforts to curb the Covid outbreak.

Download here (Third World Network, letter dated April 24, 2020)

WHO initiates ACT (Access to Covid-19 Tools) Accelerator

‘Our mission is not only accelerated development and availability of new COVID-19 tools – it is to accelerate equitable global access to safe, quality, effective, and affordable COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, and thus to ensure that in the fight against COVID-19, no one is left behind.’

Download here (WHO, April 24, 2020)

Developing a National Strategy for Serology (antibody testing) in the United States: Publication by John Hopkins

‘Serology tests will be an important tool for public health workers to estimate the prevalence of disease. These tests will be in high demand by individuals who hope to assess their risks of immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Serology testing, among other nonpharmaceutical interventions, can help to bridge the time before a vaccine is available. However, validated, accurate tests are currently in short supply. In this report, we seek to draw attention to the options for expanding access so that the potential benefits of serology tests can be realised as soon as practicable.’

Download here (John Hopkins Center for Health and Security, April 22, 2020)

The relation between media consumption and misinformation at the outset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the US

‘A US national probability-based survey during the early days of the SARS-CoV-2 spread in the US showed that, above and beyond respondents’ political party, mainstream broadcast media use (e.g., NBC News) correlated with accurate information about the disease’s lethality, and mainstream print media use (e.g., the New York Times) correlated with accurate beliefs about protection from infection. In addition, conservative media use (e.g., Fox News) correlated with conspiracy theories including believing that some in the CDC were exaggerating the seriousness of the virus to undermine the presidency of Donald Trump. Five recommendations are made to improve public understanding of SARS-CoV-2.’

Read here (Harvard Kennedy School Misinforrmation Review, April 20, 2020)

Download 24-page PDF here

Public health principles for a phased reopening during COVID-19: Guidance for US governors

‘This document provides an assessment of the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a variety of organisations and settings that have been closed. We outline steps to reduce potential transmission during the reopening of these organisations and settings, building on the proposed phased approach from the National Coronavirus Response: A Road Map to Reopening. Reopening businesses and other sectors represents one of many steps that will need to be taken to revitalise communities recovering from the pandemic, restore economic activity, and mitigate the unintended public health impact of the distancing measures that were necessary to confront the epidemic of COVID-19. A discussion of larger community-wide considerations for holistically enhancing recovery can be found in the Appendix.’

Download here (John Hopkins Center for Health and Security, April 17, 2020)

For the record -- Beyond containment: Health systems responses to COVID-19 in the OECD

‘Health systems are facing the most serious global pandemic crisis in a century. Containing and mitigating the spread and infection rate of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the first priority of public health authorities to distribute the number of infections over time and, if possible, reduce the incidence of the disease it causes (COVID-19). However, beyond containment, additional measures - operational, financial, and R&D - are needed to provide effective patient care and reduce the pressure on health systems to manageable levels. The main focus of this brief is on the policies aimed at providing effective care and managing the pressure on health systems.

‘Four key measures health systems are putting in place in response to the epidemic are considered: 1) ensuring access of the vulnerable to diagnostics and treatment; 2) strengthening and optimising health system capacity to respond to the rapid increase in caseloads; 3) how to leverage digital solutions and data to improve surveillance and care; and 4) how to improve R&D for accelerated development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.’

https://oecd.dam-broadcast.com/pm_7379_119_119689-ud5comtf84.pdf

Download here (OECD, April 16, 2020)

John Hopkins produces a 15-page ‘national plan to enable comprehensive COVID-19 case finding and contact tracing in the US’

It says ‘to manage COVID-19 epidemics going forward, communities in the United States need:

1. Ready access to rapid diagnostic tests for all symptomatic cases or those with a reasonable suspicion of COVID-19 exposure;
2. Widespread serological testing to understand underlying rates of infection and identify those who have developed immunity and could potentially return to work or school without fear of becoming infected; and
3. The ability to trace all contacts of reported cases.’

Download here (John Hopkins Center for Health and Security, April 10, 2020)

‘Dignity not destitution: An ‘economic rescue plan for all’ to tackle the Coronavirus crisis and rebuild a more equal world’. A paper by Oxfam

Oxfam calls for US$2.5 trillion plan to tackle the pandemic and prevent global economic collapse in a paper:

‘New analysis shows the economic crisis caused by coronavirus could push over half a billion people into poverty unless urgent and dramatic action is taken... We can only beat this virus through coming together as one. Developing countries must act to protect their people, and demand action from rich nations to support them. Rich country governments must massively upscale their help – led by the G20. This paper lays out an Economic Rescue Plan For All that meets the scale of the crisis, mobilising at least $2.5 trillion dollars to tackle the pandemic and prevent global economic collapse. It prioritises helping people directly: giving cash grants to all who need them. An immediate suspension of the debt payments of poor countries, combined with a one-off economic stimulus by the IMF and an increase in aid and taxes, can pay for this.’

Download here (Oxfam, April 9, 2020)

Free book on coronavirus for primary schoolchildren

Axel Scheffler has illustrated a digital book for primary school age children, free for anyone to read on screen or print out, about the coronavirus and the measures taken to control it. Published by Nosy Crow, and written by staff within the company, the book has had expert input: Professor Graham Medley of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine acted as a consultant, and the company also had advice from two head teachers and a child psychologist.

Download here (Nosy Crow, April 6, 2020)

The impact of the coronavirus on global higher education: Exclusive QS survey data

‘When asked for their thoughts on the higher education sector’s approach to crisis management and the coronavirus, many respondents emphasised the importance of: (1) Online learning (2) International coordination and collaboration (3) Proactive, preventative measures (4) Strong university leadership (5) Flexibility for assessment deadlines and exams (6) Stricter sanitation initiatives (7) Clear communication from university leadership and administrators.’

Download here (QS, April 2, 2020)

Moving online now: How to keep teaching during coronavirus

‘As the coronavirus spreads, colleges are scrambling to respond to potential health-care crises, campus closings, and other issues that are arising and evolving on a daily basis. A major challenge: How can institutions continue to offer instruction if they decide to close or to cancel in-person classes? A growing number are moving classes online as a short-term solution. This special Chronicle collection includes our best advice guides and opinion pieces on online learning, to help faculty and staff members make the adjustment if that time comes.’

Download here (Ohio State University, March 19, 2020)