This week’s selections include the UK’s new health security agency; promising real-world data on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness; and tax deductible hand sanitizer.
POLICY + INITIATIVES
Britain to Launch New Health Security Agency to Battle Pandemics
The UK Health Security Agency will launch on 1 April, and brings together Public Health England (PHE), NHS Test and Trace and the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC). It will be led by Dr Jenny Harries, England’s deputy chief medical officer. BBC
Laboratories from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean Work Towards OPCW Designation Requirements
OPCW facilitated capacity building courses for laboratories from Member States in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean that aspire to attain OPCW Designated Laboratory status. “The labs’ interest in building analytical capacity indicates that both they, and the Member States they represent, attach great importance to the full implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.” OPCW
Face Masks and Other Personal Protective Equipment to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Are Tax Deductible
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service issued Announcement 2021-7 this week clarifying that the purchase of personal protective equipment, such as masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes, for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of coronavirus are deductible medical expenses. IRS
Covid Probably Passed to Humans from Bats Via Other Animal, Finds WHO Report
Covid-19 probably passed to humans from a bat via an intermediary animal, an international expert mission to China has concluded in a report, with investigators all but ruling out a laboratory leak. In Geneva today, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “All hypotheses are open, from what I read from the report … and warrant complete and further studies.” The Guardian
Call for a Full and Unrestricted International Forensic Investigation into the Origins of COVID-19
Critics argue that a credible WHO investigation would have had Terms of Reference that: acknowledged the possibility of laboratory origin; ensured access of investigators to records, samples, personnel, and facilities at the Wuhan laboratories that handle bat SARS-related coronaviruses; enabled collection of evidence, not mere meet-and-greet photo-ops; authorized an investigation of months, not mere days; and had conflict-of-interest-free investigators, not persons who were subjects of the research and/or closely associated with subjects of the investigation. WSJ
MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES
Interim Estimates of Vaccine Effectiveness of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 in Frontline Responders
Prospective cohorts of health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers over 13 weeks in eight U.S. locations confirmed that authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in real-world conditions. Partial immunization (≥14 days after first dose but before second dose) provided preventive benefits with vaccine effectiveness of 80%. MMWR, STAT News
Combination Therapy Protects Macaques Against Advanced Marburg Virus Disease
No animals survive when either a human mAb (MR186-YTE) or remdesivir is initiated 5 days post-inoculation with MARV, but with combination therapy beginning 6 dpi, significant protection (80%) is achieved, thereby extending the therapeutic window. These results suggest value in exploring combination therapy in patients presenting with advanced filovirus disease. Nature Communications
Finafloxacin is an Effective Treatment for Inhalational Tularemia and Plague in Mouse Models of Infection
Infection with aerosolised Francisella tularensis or Yersinia pestis can lead to lethal disease in humans, if treatment is not initiated promptly. Finafloxacin is a novel fluoroquinolone which has demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against a range of bacterial species in vitro, in vivo and in humans. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
Update on COVID-19 Variants and Impact on Bamlanivimab Distribution
Given the sustained increase in SARS-CoV-2 viral variants in the U.S. that are resistant to bamlanivimab administered alone, and the availability of other authorized monoclonal antibody therapies that are expected to retain activity to these variants, the U.S. Government, in coordination with Eli Lilly, stopped the distribution of bamlanivimab alone as of March 24. PHE.gov
E.U. Will Curb Covid Vaccine Exports for 6 Weeks
The European Union presented new emergency rules that will most likely severely cut exports to Britain and other countries to ease supply shortages at home. New York Times
How Unequal Vaccine Distribution Promotes the Evolution of Vaccine Escape
Perhaps counter-intuitively, we find that vaccine escape mutants are less likely to come from vaccinated regions where there is strong selection pressure for vaccine escape and more likely to come from a neighboring unvaccinated region where there is no selection for escape. Unvaccinated geographic regions thus provide evolutionary reservoirs from which vaccine escape mutants can arise and infect neighboring vaccinated regions, causing new local epidemics within those regions and beyond. medRxiv pre-print
COVID-19 Vaccine Response in Pregnant and Lactating Women: A Cohort Study
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines generated robust humoral immunity in pregnant and lactating women, with immunogenicity and reactogenicity similar to that observed in non-pregnant women. Vaccine-induced immune responses were significantly greater than the response to natural infection. Immune transfer to neonates occurred via placental and breastmilk. medRxiv pre-print
BIOSECURITY + BIOPREPAREDNESS
Zoonotic Disease Preparedness in Sub-Saharan African Countries
The 5 most-cited zoonoses on SSA priority pathogen lists are rabies, Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), anthrax, brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis, all of which are ‘neglected’ diseases. Southern Africa had the highest mean score for all ‘Zoonotic Disease’ categories, suggesting that other countries could adapt their strengths to their own situations. One Health Outlook
Operation Warp Speed: Implications for Global Vaccine Security
Purchasing data suggest that OWS vaccines, and vaccines that are funded by other organisations, are more likely to be allocated according to national rather than global priorities for vaccine security. The supply of vaccines to COVAX cannot be an afterthought. As the access gap example of rotavirus vaccine reminds us, 11 years to 40% uptake worldwide of a COVID-19 vaccine will be unconscionable failure, and the cost in illness, deaths, and disruption will be substantial. The Lancet Global Health
Global Leaders Gather for Tabletop Exercise on Reducing Biological Threats
The exercise scenario portrayed a localized bioweapons attack with a genetically engineered monkeypox virus begins in the fictional country of Brinia. Over 18 months, the scenario evolves into a globally catastrophic pandemic, leaving 40% of the world’s population infected and over a quarter billion people dead. NTI
UN Bioterrorism Livestream Conference Remarks
“Terrorists and violent extremists saw an opportunity in the pandemic. They adapted their narratives to stoke fear; sought to exploit the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic to radicalize and recruit supporters; and some even made calls to weaponize the virus. The pandemic also prompted the selling of contaminated bodily fluid samples on the dark web, and even fake vaccines. This should be a wake-up call.” UN Office of Counter-Terrorism
Determinants of Workforce Preparedness during Pandemics Among Healthcare Workers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Of the 4026 VA employees responding to this study, 55% were confident in their VA medical facility’s ability to respond; 49% understood their role; and 68% reported their role to be important during a pandemic. Clinical staff (compared to non-clinical staff) were less likely to have confidence in their medical facility’s ability to respond but more likely to believe their role was important. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
SELECT AGENTS + CBRNE THREATS
Textile-based Wearable Solid-Contact Flexible Fluoride Sensor: Toward Biodetection of G-type Nerve Agents
This work describes a flexible printed textile-based solid-contact potentiometric sensor for the selective detection of fluoride anions liberated by the biocatalytic hydrolysis of fluorine-containing G-type nerve agents (such as sarin or soman). Biosensors and Bioelectronics
Guidance for Select Agent Regulation Training Requirements
The Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) has updated the Guidance to the Select Agent Regulations Training Requirements to add a section on non-FSAP-approved individuals. Prior to entry into the area where BSAT are used and/or stored, non-FSAP-approved individuals (i.e. escorted visitors) should receive training that addresses the hazards of the area they are entering Federal Select Agent Program
Ohio Health Officials Monitoring More Than 40 Residents for Exposure to Ebola In Africa
In his message explaining why he vetoed SB 22, Gov. Mike DeWine revealed that dozens of people in Ohio are actively being monitored for Ebola after having returned from areas of Africa with active outbreaks. “While it is currently believed these individuals are at very low risk of having contracted Ebola, if one of them develops symptoms, SB 22 would prevent our public health apparatus from swinging into rapid action and taking decisive steps to isolate, quarantine, and protect the public from the threat of this deadly virus until a medical diagnosis can be obtained.” Columbus Dispatch
23 in Washington Under Observation After Travel to Ebola-Affected Regions
The Washington Department of Health said all of the individuals had been in contact with state officials and would be monitored for 21 days, the incubation period for the virus. None had shown symptoms. The outbreaks were limited to small areas in both countries and had not affected large population centers. Seattle Times
Oregon Health Officials Monitoring 4 People for Ebola
Since March 4, the CDC has required all airlines to supply contact information for all U.S.-bound travelers who have been in Guinea or Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 21 days. Local public health departments and the Oregon Health Authority have been in touch with four people, who arrived back in Oregon in early March. They are considered “persons under monitoring. KGW
While Battling Coronavirus, Kentucky Also Monitoring Some Travelers for Ebola Symptoms
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the state is monitoring eleven people who have travelled to countries with outbreaks of Ebola. Beshear said health departments have been in contact with the travelers. “And they assess their exposure risk, they educate them about what symptoms they might have, and they quarantine those at high risk for 21 days, though we have not had a single person in Kentucky that is at high risk.” WFPL
SURVEILLANCE + DETECTION
Covid-19: Lateral Flow Tests Are Better at Identifying People with Symptoms, Finds Cochrane Review
In people without symptoms the tests correctly identified an average of 58% of those who were infected. However, the number of samples from asymptomatic people was around 10 times lower than from symptomatic people in the studies analysed, limiting the conclusions that could be drawn. The latest report updates previous reviews and includes evidence from 64 studies up to November 2020. BMJ
UK Variant Hunters Lead Global Race to Stay Ahead of COVID
Iceland, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark actually sequence a higher percentage of their COVID-19 cases than Britain, and Denmark does the work faster. But COG-UK’S work, combined with Britain’s size and high number of cases, have made it the world leader in sequencing COVID-19. The U.K. has submitted 379,294 of the almost 898,000 sequences in the GISAID database. Associated Press
The Pandemic Dramatically Reduced Flu Cases. That Could Backfire.
The low levels of flu during the Covid-19 pandemic have left experts with a much smaller pool of data used for predicting which flu strains will predominate next winter. While experts suggested there are lessons to be learned from last year’s flu season that could help prevent high flu rates in future years, they also struggled to project what next winter could bring. Politico
Evaluation of Insulated Isothermal PCR Devices for The Detection of Avian Influenza Virus
Surveillance of AIV in domestic ducks and chickens in advance of outbreaks can prevent its spread and enable timely implementation of disease control measures. This study evaluated two insulated isothermal PCR (iiPCR) devices with brief protocols and short detection times, which represent promising molecular diagnostic devices for the reliable detection of AIV. Journal of Virological Methods
PUBLIC HEALTH
WASH as a Critical Component of Primary Health Care and Health Security
The outbreaks of Ebola virus in West Africa and in the DRC reinforced the important role water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) play in protecting clinical staff from infection and preventing community transmission of the virus; yet investments and attention on WASH lag. The first draft of the WHO formal resolution declaring the Covid-19 outbreak to be a worldwide pandemic failed to mention WASH at all. CSIS
The Antiscience Movement Is Escalating, Going Global and Killing Thousands
In the summer of 2020, the language of the antiscience political right in America was front and center at antimask and antivaccine rallies in Berlin, London and Paris. In the Berlin rally, news outlets reported ties to QAnon and extremist groups. Adding to this toxic mix are emerging reports from U.S. and British intelligence that the Putin-led Russian government is working to destabilize democracies through elaborate programs of COVID-19 antivaccine and antiscience disinformation. Public refusal of COVID-19 vaccines now extends to India, Brazil, South Africa and many low- and middle-income countries. Scientific American