Starting in September, Germany will offer another dose of Pfizer or Moderna to older people, residents of care homes, and people with compromised immune systems — and also to anyone who was already fully vaccinated with the 2-dose AZ or single-dose J&J nytimes.com/2021/08/02/wor…
In US, Biden administration planning to offer a 3rd shot to most Americans 8 months after vaccination (would be HCWs 1st), assuming federal regulators clear this (meeting Sept 17). Immunocompromised currently eligible nytimes.com/2021/09/02/wor… fda.gov/news-events/pr…
Indonesia began giving mRNA boosters in July (Moderna) to healthcare workers (and others) after concerns Sinovac not sufficient, given breakthrough infections in health workers with Delta straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/i…
The UK will offer immunocompromised a 3rd shot. Half a million people in the UK who have severely weakened immune systems are to be offered third shots of Covid vaccines. Further info to follow. theguardian.com/world/2021/sep…
France is the first European nation to start a widespread 3rd dose vaccination roll out this week - for those age of 65, those with underlying health conditions, 6 months after mRNA vaccine (can have mRNA sooner if topping up J&J) euronews.com/2021/09/01/fra…
Meanwhile, ECDC and EMA state "based on current evidence, there is no urgent need for the administration of booster doses of vaccines to fully vaccinated individuals in the general population" ema.europa.eu/en/news/ecdc-e…
Czech Republic to plan for 3rd doses for higher risk individuals including over 65 year olds expats.cz/czech-news/art…
The WHO has asked for a delay in these 3rd shots and to prioritize the first doses worldwide. who.int/news/item/10-0…
Specifically, WHO:
"In the context of ongoing global vaccine supply constraints, administration of booster doses will exacerbate inequities by driving up demand and consuming scarce supply ...
while priority populations in some countries, or subnational settings, have not yet received a primary vaccination series.
The focus for the time being remains on increasing global vaccination coverage with the primary series (either one or two doses for current EUL vaccines)."
Canada has some 3rd doses planned in different provinces.
Saskatchewan rolling this out for immunocompromised people.
Starting Sep 7, residents in long-term, personal care homes eligible for 3rd shot.
BC preparing for possibility cbc.ca/news/canada/br… globalnews.ca/news/8153170/s…
Brazil will give 3rd shots to immunocompromised and 70+ beginning in mid-September. These will be doses of Pfizer, AZ, J&J, but not Sinovac (used previously). reuters.com/world/americas…
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HIV made the news because yet another vaccine failed. The real story is the impact of COVID on HIV and in turn on COVID. Roll out of a new med worldwide, dolutegravir, delayed. Many missed appointments, refills, doses. Others weren't diagnosed.
This impacts not just HIV but COVID
The cascade of HIV care - learning diagnosis, starting treatment, returning for appointments and viral load testing, adherence, HIV viral suppression - has had interruptions over the past 1.5 years worldwide.
Worldwide we have seen drop offs in service delivery along this cascade of care. theglobalfight.org/covid-aids-tb-…
This means people are missing their diagnosis, their meds, their control of the virus, and the chance to be healthy and also non-infectious
This is important, not just for Uganda, which was hit early by Delta, but also in best preparing for Delta in nearby countries, as the variant has been more recently forming surges elsewhere in East Africa.
Cote d'Ivoire has never been part a human Ebola epidemic. August 2021 has suddenly put Cote d'Ivoire in the middle of multiple contact tracing investigations. 1/n
In August 2021, a case was found in a traveler to Abidjan from Guinea, leading to investigation of contacts along route and in city. A new case is suspected in Burkina Faso and linked to an area as far as possible from Abidjan on northern Mali border
Hopefully the case in Burkina Faso is simply a suspected case which tests negative. This is quite possible. There are not enough characters to list here all the diagnoses that can look like Ebola - yellow fever, malaria, Lassa etc
Vaccine equity is not just about ensuring more doses. It's about more doses into more arms
Vaccines don't inject themselves. Funding for distribution and vaccination crucial
Vaccines that arrive free just before expiration will be feared to be a dump of what others do not want
Some areas where vaccination rates are the lowest are also those where substandard excess have been dumped as donations in the past. The protective response has long been jettisoning anything close to the expiration date.
Malawi has already incinerated 20K doses of thee vaccine that arrived less than 3 wks before expiry. WHO and AU had encouraged keeping doses as considered fine until July