Global & Public Health (all articles)
RCT: Community pharmacies provision of a progestogen-only pill + invitation to a sexual and reproductive health clinic as a bridging contraception intervention for women receiving emergency contraception is associated with increased subsequent use of long-term effective contraception.
10 May, 2021 | 00:45h | UTC
WHO calls for pharma transparency in clinical trial data reporting.
10 May, 2021 | 00:39h | UTCWHO Calls For Pharma Transparency In Clinical Trial Data Reporting – Health Policy Watch
WHO Statement: Joint Statement on transparency and data integrity International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA) and WHO
Commentary on Twitter
Wide and open access to clinical data for new medicines and vaccines will help build trust and the expand access @WHO @US_FDA @EMA_News @CDSCO_INDIA_INF @MoHFW_INDIA @ICMRDELHI @JeremyFarrar @Chikwe_I @jarottingen @pahowho https://t.co/1OACILbdh6
— Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) May 7, 2021
One third of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have lung changes after a year
7 May, 2021 | 08:37h | UTCCommentaries: One third of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have lung changes after a year – University of Southampton AND An integrated understanding of long-term sequelae after acute COVID-19 – The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
Cohort study: Arterial events, venous thromboembolism, thrombocytopenia, and bleeding after vaccination with Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S. 11 excess venous thromboembolic events per 100 000 vaccinations; 2.5 excess cerebral venous thrombosis per 100 000 vaccinations.
7 May, 2021 | 08:33h | UTCEditorial: Thromboembolism and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – The BMJ
Commentaries: Thrombosis and bleeding after the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccination – The BMJ Opinion AND Putting risks into context: covid-19 vaccines and blood clots – The BMJ Opinion AND Expert reaction to study from Denmark and Norway looking at rare blood clots after the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – Science Media Centre
Commentary on Twitter
NEW research sheds more light on rate of rare blood clots after Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine
Rate of adverse events low; benefits of the vaccine still outweigh risks in most situations, say researchershttps://t.co/LslgvzWlWi @Pottegard
— The BMJ (@bmj_latest) May 6, 2021
Opinion | Covid-19: Sputnik vaccine rockets, thanks to Lancet boost
7 May, 2021 | 08:31h | UTCCovid-19: Sputnik vaccine rockets, thanks to Lancet boost – The BMJ
Commentary on Twitter
Journals risk being used in place of regulators when they publish studies of novel vaccines that have not yet been authorised by a major regulator @DoctorChrisVT unpicks the story of the Sputnik V vaccine https://t.co/lYf7l0lXcy
— The BMJ (@bmj_latest) May 6, 2021
COVID-19 has caused 6.9 million deaths globally, more than double what official reports show
7 May, 2021 | 08:35h | UTCReport: Estimation of total mortality due to COVID-19 – Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Commentaries: New analysis finds global Covid death toll is double official estimates – STAT AND Global COVID-19 death toll more than double official estimates – IHME – Reuters
In shock move, US backs waiving patents on COVID vaccines. “The development from the Biden administration draws cheers from public health researchers and ire from drugmakers.”
6 May, 2021 | 09:10h | UTCIn shock move, US backs waiving patents on COVID vaccines – Nature
See also: U.S. will back proposal to waive intellectual property rights and boost Covid-19 vaccine production – STAT AND Statement from the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima on the decision by the United States of America to support the TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 vaccines – UNAIDS AND WHO Director-General commends United States decision to support temporary waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines – World Health Organization
Commentary on Twitter
These extraordinary times and circumstances of call for extraordinary measures.
The US supports the waiver of IP protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and we’ll actively participate in @WTO negotiations to make that happen. pic.twitter.com/96ERlboZS8
— Ambassador Katherine Tai (@AmbassadorTai) May 5, 2021
Observational study in Israel: Pfizer-BioNTech is 95.3% effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
6 May, 2021 | 09:04h | UTCCommentaries: Expert reaction to Israel nation-wide study looking at Pfizer vaccine effectiveness – Science Media Centre AND Covid-19: Two doses of Pfizer vaccine are “highly effective” against infection, hospital admission, and death, study finds – The BMJ
Observational study in Qatar: Pfizer–BioNTech Covid vaccine is 89.5% effective against B.1.1.7 variant and 75.0% effective against B.1.351 variant. Vaccine effectiveness against severe, critical, or fatal disease with any SARS-CoV-2 variant was very high, at 97.4%.
6 May, 2021 | 09:06h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1390107362485211136
RCT: Novavax vaccine is 49.4% effective against B.1.351 SARS-CoV-2 variant.
6 May, 2021 | 09:08h | UTC
[Press release – not published yet] Moderna announces positive initial booster data against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.
6 May, 2021 | 08:57h | UTCModerna Announces Positive Initial Booster Data Against SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern – Moderna
Commentary: We just got our first evidence that Moderna’s coronavirus booster shot works to fight variants – Insider
Commentaries on Twitter
Moderna announces that a single dose of their #COVID19 booster shot provides a strong immunologic response to the variant first identified in South Africa (B.1.351) & Brazil (P.1).
This was also well tolerated.
Press release: https://t.co/q46Wx27BzI pic.twitter.com/16JpxrM4Vq
— Isaac Bogoch (@BogochIsaac) May 5, 2021
Great news
💥Single booster dose of 50 µg of mRNA-1273 or mRNA-1273.351 increased neutralizing titers against SARS-CoV-2 and two variants of concern (B.1.351, P.1)in previously vaccinated clinical trial participants💥 https://t.co/rzhDsgxEDh— Antibiotic Steward Bassam Ghanem 🅱️C🆔🅿️🌟 (@ABsteward) May 6, 2021
Perspective | How many COVID deaths are acceptable in a post-pandemic world? “Even after mass vaccinations, some hospitalizations and deaths from the coronavirus are inevitable — but opinions differ on how many is too many for a return to relative normality.”
6 May, 2021 | 08:59h | UTCHow many COVID deaths are acceptable in a post-pandemic world? – Nature
Practice changing | A four-month rifapentine regiment with moxifloxacin is noninferior to the standard 6-month regimen in the treatment of tuberculosis.
6 May, 2021 | 08:56h | UTCCommentary: Four-month TB treatment matches six-month standard of care – Aidsmap
New WHO benchmarks help countries reduce salt intake and save lives.
6 May, 2021 | 08:47h | UTCNew WHO benchmarks help countries reduce salt intake and save lives – World Health Organization
Publication: WHO global sodium benchmarks for different food categories – World Health Organization
WHO: New report sounds the alarm on global shortage of 900 000 midwives.
6 May, 2021 | 08:45h | UTCNew report sounds the alarm on global shortage of 900 000 midwives – World Health Organization
Report: The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021 – UN sexual and reproductive health agency
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
9⃣3⃣% of #midwives are women. But too many face persistent gender discrimination that prevents them from thriving professionally.
Gender transformative policies are key to change this! 👉https://t.co/qxkv16SVxp #MidwivesDay #IDM2021 pic.twitter.com/7aBBwvXFQa
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 5, 2021
COVID has pushed medical research into remote trials, benefiting patients and scientists
5 May, 2021 | 08:38h | UTC
Covax: How will Covid vaccines be shared around the world?
5 May, 2021 | 08:35h | UTCCovax: How will Covid vaccines be shared around the world? – BBC
Related: WHO chief – The world can bring the global COVID-19 pandemic under control in the coming months provided it distributes the necessary resources fairly AND A year in the COVID-19 vaccine scheme COVAX
China’s COVID vaccines are going global — but questions remain
5 May, 2021 | 08:32h | UTCChina’s COVID vaccines are going global — but questions remain – Nature
What’s the future of vaccines linked to rare clotting disorders? Science breaks down the latest
5 May, 2021 | 08:37h | UTC
Perspective | We may never achieve long-term global herd immunity for COVID. But if we’re all vaccinated, we’ll be safe from the worst
5 May, 2021 | 08:33h | UTCSee also: Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe – The New York Times (free registration required) AND We May Never Get to Herd Immunity – Think Global Health
USPSTF Draft Statement: Insufficient evidence to recommend multivitamin supplements for the prevention of CVD or cancer. The statement also recommends against the use of beta-carotene (increases risk of CVD mortality and lung cancer) or vitamin E (clear evidence of no benefit)
5 May, 2021 | 08:30h | UTCDraft Evidence Review: Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin Supplementation to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer
Cohort study: Risk of developmental difficulties remains high among children born early
5 May, 2021 | 08:24h | UTCNeurodevelopmental outcomes at age 5 among children born preterm: EPIPAGE-2 cohort study – The BMJ
News release: Risk of developmental difficulties remains high among children born early – The BMJ
Commentary on Twitter
Children born preterm remain at high risk of developmental difficulties that can affect their behaviour and ability to learn, finds new research https://t.co/0A1aIQWWqk #BMJResearch
— The BMJ (@bmj_latest) May 2, 2021
RCT: Community-initiated kangaroo mother care reduced the risk of moderate-to-severe maternal postpartum depressive symptoms among mothers of low-birth-weight infants in low-income areas in India
5 May, 2021 | 08:21h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter
Skin to Skin care doesn’t only help babies; it also helps mothers!
Randomized trial of ~2k mothers from India found kangaroo care reduces postpartum depression #neoEBM #mentalhealth @JAMANetworkOpen https://t.co/6YqPQChKLe pic.twitter.com/DYAbU3Tsxu
— Abdul Razak (@DrAbdulRazak_MD) April 23, 2021
Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection boosts response to variants after first vaccine dose
4 May, 2021 | 08:51h | UTCOriginal study: Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection rescues B and T cell responses to variants after first vaccine dose – Science
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
Just published @ScienceMagazine
"After one dose, individuals with *prior infection* showed enhanced T cell immunity, antibody secreting memory B cell response to spike and neutralizing antibodies effective against B.1.1.7 and B.1.351." 👍https://t.co/7cCVM6iqdP pic.twitter.com/GiC43bjwZZ— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 30, 2021
WHO lists Moderna vaccine for emergency use
4 May, 2021 | 08:49h | UTCWHO lists Moderna vaccine for emergency use – World Health Organization