A billion COVID-19 vaccine doses should be reallocated from high-income countries to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by September, and of another billion by mid-next year, former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, told United Nations member states on Wednesday.

The pair, who co-chaired the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response which evaluated the global COVID-19 response, were briefing an informal UN plenary meeting on their findings and recommendations.

These include that a Global Health Threats Council is established, the World Health Organization (WHO) is strengthened and empowered, and a pandemic treaty is adopted to guide future pandemics.

“While in some places, vaccines are blunting the worst of COVID-19’s impact, for too many countries, supplies are so limited, and prospects for access pushed so far into the future, that hope is turning to despair,” Sirleaf told the meeting.

Ongoing disaster

Describing the COVID-19 pandemic as “an ongoing disaster”, Sirleaf added that the panel believes it “could have been averted if the countries of the world had heeded the many warnings and prepared their health and surveillance systems – and then when the outbreak began if they had moved together in mutual transparency and solidarity”.

Clark reported that the Panel had found “geopolitical tensions and nationalism had weakened the multilateral system which was designed to keep the world safe”. 

“Vaccine inequity is a key factor in the wave of death we’re seeing across Africa, Asia and Latin America,” said Clark.

“It’s astonishing and self-defeating that pharmaceutical manufacturers continue not to share the technology or know-how which could help quickly scale manufacturing. Because of that, we see the temporary waiver of patents under the WTO’s TRIPS agreement as a key tool which should be at countries’ disposal and urge a swift resolution to the protracted discussion on that,” she added.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sent a message to the meeting, which was delivered by Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of  the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.

“One of the major gaps exposed during this pandemic has been the lack of international solidarity and sharing: the sharing of pathogen data, epidemiological information, specimens, resources, technology and tools such as vaccines,” said Tedros.

Expressing support for the panel’s proposal for a treaty on pandemic preparedness and response, Tedros said: “We need a generational commitment that outlives budgetary cycles, election cycles and media cycles; That creates an overarching framework for connecting the political, financial and technical mechanisms needed for strengthening global health security.”

At the World Health Assembly in May, Member States agreed to hold a Special Session of the Assembly in November to consider developing a WHO “convention, agreement or other type of international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response”, he added.

“We call on all Member States to engage in this process. We must seize the moment. In the coming months and years, other crises will demand our attention, and distract us from the urgency of taking action now.”

Image Credits: University of Oxford.

UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed

World leaders have been given clear pointers on how to transform the global food system to be more equitable, nourishing and resistant to climate change, at the end of a three-day United Nations pre-summit attended by over 17,000 delegates.

Focus now shifts to the Head of State-level summit in New York in September, but UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed stressed that “anything we do must always include those at the center of our food systems: smallholder farmers, indigenous peoples and especially women and youth”.

“Just as food brings us together as cultures and communities, it can bring us together around solutions. But what is clear is there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Our diversity is our strength and reflects the complexity of our world,” Mohammed told the closing plenary in Rome on Wednesday.

She said that the summit would focus on a ‘statement of action’ that “affirms the diversity of our food systems and the complexities, but also the central role that is played by indigenous peoples producers, women and youth”. 

A number of countries have developed “national pathways for food systems transformation” to deliver the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030, said Mohammed.

“The priorities from national pathways were shared by many ministers in Rome. They point to the need for urgent, inclusive, people-centred and nature-positive systems change that is based on the best science and reflects local and national realities within a global context,” said Dr David Nabarro, senior advisor to the summit.

The three-day conference was attended by more than 500 delegates from 108 countries in person, including 62 ministers, and a further 17,000virtual delegates from 190 countries. Host nation Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio, said that the recent G20 Matera Declaration on food security, was “a prime example of how joint political action can lead to broader results on the ground.”

Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, called for political leadership, saying, “We have to be brave and politically focused to eliminate harmful practices and at the same time advance what has been proven to be positive, human and nature-friendly. It takes courage to transform at the same time our value systems and our food systems.”

The United States in partnership with the United Arab Emirates and with the support of Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Israel, Singapore, the UK and Uruguay, has already set out its Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) initiative, to increase and accelerate global research and development on agriculture and food systems in support of climate action.

Japan, meanwhile, outlined its alignment with the European Union on the importance of innovation to transforming food systems, along with a balanced diet, while emphasising the need for solutions adapted to regional contexts.

Transforming food systems to contend with and tackle climate change was also a priority, particularly among Small Island Developing States, the countries facing the worst impacts of rising global temperatures.

“Today we are still able to consume our main traditional staple root crop, pulaka, but only very sparingly,” said Katepu Laoi, Tuvalu’s Minister for Local Government and Agriculture. 

“Our government recognises that providing sustainable, adequate food supply chains for the people of Tuvalu will be increasingly more challenging due to extreme weather events, which have been worsened by climate change.”

 

A new report calls out the animal health industry for fuelling superbug resistance as a result of uncontrolled use of antibiotics and other drugs in intensively farmed livestock.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), fostered by the wanton use of antibiotic-laced feed and growth-boosting supplements for livestock and poultry, could lead to the “next pandemic”, warns the first-of-its-kind report on AMR that focuses on the long-ignored global animal health sector. 

The new report, Feeding Resistance, on the growing threat of superbug risks associated with animal health products, was issued last week by a group of forward-looking investors ahead of the opening of this week’s major UN pre-summit on food systems in Rome. 

Globally, some 70% of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs are fed to livestock and poultry, accelerating the risk of widespread antimicrobial resistance, warns the report, released by an investor network called the FAIRR Initiative last week.

(A) Largest five consumers of antimicrobials in livestock in 2010. (B) Largest five consumers of antimicrobials in livestock in 2030 (projected). (C) Largest Increase in antimicrobial consumption between 2010 and 2030. (D) Largest relative increase in antimicrobial consumption between 2010 and 2030. CHN, China; USA, United States; BRA, Brazil; DEU, Germany; IND, India; MEX, Mexico; IDN, Indonesia; MMR, Myanmar; NGA, Nigeria; PER, Peru; PHL, Philippines. (PNAS, 2015)

Critical drugs are still being marketed by the industry, worth some US$ 47 billion annually, as growth promoters and preventative medications, leading to their misuse and overuse in the world’s 70 billion animals raised in industrial livestock complexes, charges the report.

The report analysed publicly-available data from 10 of the largest publicly-listed animal health companies that manufacture and sell antimicrobials for use among livestock, poultry and also in fish farms, and which comprise about 40% of the sector overall.  

Intensive, industrial-style livestock and poultry production comprises the majority of those animals today that eventually end up as meat in supermarkets and on restaurant menus in developed countries – and increasingly in emerging economies as well. 

“For animal health companies, antibiotics and other antimicrobials are a volume business. The overuse and misuse of these products in animal agriculture is a significant contributor to the global risk of AMR, catalysed by manufacturing, marketing and sales practices,” the report states.

“The animal health sector is failing to live up to its responsibilities to manage the risks we all face from antibiotic resistance,” said Jeremy Coller, the British philanthropist who is the chair of FAIRR. “It’s absolutely necessary for animal pharma to improve its antibiotics stewardship.”

Industry labelling of antibiotics as animal growth products contributes to AMR

Livestock applications of antibiotics in metric tons/year, among the few dozen countries reporting use. (The Antibiotic Footprint)

In particular, the FAIRR report calls out 10 of the world’s leading animal health companies, which represent roughly 40% of the sector, for failing to adequately address and reduce AMR risks. 

These include Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC (UK), Elanco Animal Health Inc (USA), Jinhe Biotechnology Co. Ltd. (China), Merck / MSD (USA), Orion Oyj (Finland), Phibro Animal Health Corporation (USA), Vetoquinol (France), Virbac (France), Zoetis Inc. (USA) and  Zydus Cadila / Cadila Healthcare (India).

“By labelling products for growth promotion and prophylaxis, animal health companies are directly influencing how farmers administer antibiotics to their animals,” said Jo Raven, senior manager at FAIRR and co-author of the report.

Sales of antibiotics represent approximately 24% of the total animal health market, and between 7-43% of individual companies’ total revenue, with figures likely to be higher if expanded to include all antimicrobials, the report found. 

The impacts can be immediate on the farmworkers themselves – even before drug-resistant bacteria or viruses spread more widely into the population, he warned.

Assessment of industry exposures to AMR risks

Antibiotic ‘severely restricted by WHO for human use – promoted by industry for everyday, non-medicinal use in humans

Ugandan dairy farmer Tony Kidega has taken a keen interest in turning the tide of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in his country. -as part of a pilot project under way there

Raven cited a German study that found that up to 86% of humans who work with pigs directly – mainly veterinarians and farmers – carry livestock-associated MRSA, which can be a dangerous bacterial infection in the chronically and ill, resistant to many leading antibiotics.

Data from China and Viet Nam, collected as recently as 2018, illustrates the scale of the problem. In Viet Nam’s heavily agricultural Mekong Delta region, the use of antibiotics as prophylaxis can account for as much as 84% of total antibiotic use in animal agriculture.  In China, the use of such antibiotics for growth promotion accounts for an estimated 53% of total antibiotic use in livestock.

The report found that none of the10 largest publicly-listed animal health companies have a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the impact of AMR, nor do they have responsible marketing policies for use of antimicrobials in agriculture. It suggests that this is a particular problem in emerging markets where product labels can be a farmers’ only guide around when to use drugs and what doses.

In emerging markets, in particular,  “sales, marketing and package sizing practices contribute to growing AMR… ” the report states, and companies operating in such markets “do little to change the ingrained behaviour of their routine use for growth promotion or prophylaxis.”

For instance, the report cites the example of a product called Winmyco – sold by the Indian firm Zydus Cadila in 25kg bags and described as a “growth promoter” – which contains the antibiotic tylosin, categorised by the WHO in a 2016 report as a high-priority drug “critically important” for human health.

“This antibiotic is severely restricted for use in humans, yet is being promoted for everyday use for non-medical purposes in animals,” the report warns.

WHO, FAO and OIE have failed to address industry practices – despite long-term risks to humans and agricultural production

AMR risks across the animal agriculture value chain.

 WHO cites AMR as one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity.  A 2019 UN report estimated that drug-resistant bacteria kills roughly 700,000 people a year –  with a prediction that it would hit 10 million by 2050 if AMR continues at its current rate.

But the World Health Organization (WHO) and the global health community have largely focused on the injudicious use, or overuse, of antibiotics in human populations. Global health policymakers have largely sidestepped the potentially bigger challenges posed by uncontrolled administration of such drugs to animals.

Many antimicrobials such as tylosin, which are used both in human and animal health, are not even mentioned in the new WHO AWaRe classifications of antibiotics that guides global health policymakers and professionals about drugs that should be reserved or restricted for only the most urgent medical uses.  So despite being noted by WHO as “critically important” to human health in its comprehensive 2016 report, there is in fact no clear, up-to-date guidance from the the global health agency about the extent that such drugs could or should be used in animal health as well.

Despite signals of change – such as the formation of a “One Health” initiative with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), none of the UN agencies are tracking data or aggressively promoting the problems associaed with unfettered antimicrobials use in animal husbandry.

The World Bank has meanwhile warned that AMR could lead to an 11% decline in livestock production in low-income countries by 2050.

A pig pokes his head out of a barn in Oosterhout, Netherlands – where air pollution produced by livestock in rural areas has been linked to higher rates air pollution – and during the pandemic, more COVID-19 deaths.

Along with being a major contributor to AMR, intensive livestock production is also a major driver of climate change – with livestock consuming some two-thirds of the world’s grain and cereals production, which in turn drives deforestation and ground water pollution.  Ruminant livestock also are major emitters of methane, a powerful climate changing gas, and residues from livestock excrement mixes with other air pollutants to form airborne particulate matter that contributes significantly to air pollution in regions such as Europe.  

“AMR cannot be solved without stewardship and cooperation from this industry which manufactures, markets and sells antimicrobial products to protein producers to treat the animals we eat,” said Coller, warning that: “An AMR crisis threatens to make even routine operations such as a hip or knee replacement life-threatening because we may no longer have effective antibiotics available to treat patients in recovery.”

Vaccines and probiotics can replace medicines – and reduce reckless antibiotic use

Inspecting a pig’s health in Busia, western Kenya.

The report calls for increasing farmer/consumer, public and policymaker awareness of the risks associated with the overuse and abuse of antimicrobials in animal health products – so as to exert pressure on industry to reduce their use. 

It also calls on companies to increase their marketing to farmers of practical alternatives and measures that can reduce the need for antimicrobial products – which include antiviral and antiparasitic medicines along with antibiotics. 

Those can include: the better use of diagnostic tools; more use of vaccines; and more use of novel preventative and curative medicines. Proven treatments include: probiotics, prebiotics, immunotherapeutics, and in-feed enzymes, as well as bacteriophages (the deployment of harmless viruses that can infect and kill harmful bacteria). 

“Many of these alternatives show positive outcomes or have promise but require further development and widening of use in order to be cost-effective. Some animal health companies are recognising the commercial opportunities associated with alternatives to antibiotics,” states the report. 

New alternatives could be “extremely valuable” and could become the preferred option for farmers worldwide, it concludes.

Other sales and marketing measures, such as reducing package sizes to reduce the risk of unused or expired medicines being released into the environment, are also important, the report recommends. Labelling also should be clearer to prevent misuse of drugs.

Currently, animal health companies take an inconsistent approach to these measures.  For example, where farmers lack access to veterinarians, particularly in emerging markets, often the product label is their only guide to uses, dosage, method of application, and expiry date.

Addressing antibiotic residues in wastewater

Current manufacturing practices, including the WHO’s Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification, which is the global standard for manufacture of pharmaceuticals – also fail to address antibiotics discharge in wastewater generated by factories producing animal drugs.  

“This means untreated wastewater releases antibiotic residues into the environment around factories increasing the risk of resistance,” Raven pointed out.

Encouraging meaningful industry commitments

On the more positive side, some of the large animal health companies have publicly committed to invest $US 10 billion collectively in alternatives by 2025, with the aim to develop 100 new vaccines, 20 new diagnostic tools, 20 nutritional enhancement tools, and 30 other products that will help to reduce the need for antimicrobials.

They include Boehringer Ingelheim, Ceva Sante Animale, Elanco Animal Health, IDEXX Laboratories,  Merck & Co., Phibro Animal Health Corporation, Vetoquinol, Virbac, Zenoaq and Zoetis.

Those commitments need to be fulfilled – and more, FAIRR asserts – for the well-being of industries themselves as well as the health of people the world over at risk from AMR.

“Animal health companies that do not increase their exposure to alternatives are likely to face increased financial pressures in the medium to long-term as the animal protein sector looks beyond antibiotics and towards preventive care and alternative treatment options as its first line of defence for protecting welfare and animal health,” states the report. 

“This report is a vital contribution to building the momentum needed to ensure the protection of the animal health sector from damaging practices and increasing regulatory risk,” says Coller.

Image Credits: pxfuel, Charyse Reinfelder, Global trends in antimicrobial use in food animals, PNAS 2015 , antibioticfootprint.net, Tony Kidega, Flickr: Dutchairplaneshooter, ILRI / Charlie Pye-Smith.

More affordable second-line ARVs will soon be available following an innovative pricing agreement.

People living with HIV in low-and middle-income countries will soon have access to generic second-line antiretroviral drugs at a much cheaper price following an innovative agreement between Unitaid and the Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc (CHAI).

The new pricing agreement announced on Monday will see pharmaceutical company Hetero Labs manufacture a generic combination of darunavir boosted with ritonavir (DRV/r) for $210 per patient, per year, much cheaper than the well-established but suboptimal alternative option, lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r).

 “It is vital that all those living with HIV who cannot stay on first-line treatment have access to a quality second-line product, and we are proud of our work with CHAI to make this happen,” said Unitaid Executive Director Dr Philippe Duneton.

Less toxic than other protease inhibitors, Darunavir is also easier to take

Darunavir (DRV) in combination with ritonavir is a best-in-class protease inhibitor. DRV has proven to be effective in patients who have never been treated for HIV and those who have experienced multi-drug resistance. Less toxic than existing protease inhibitors used in second-line treatment,  DRV is also easier to take.

Despite being available in the United States and other high-income countries for over a decade, low- and middle-income countries still lack access to an affordable, quality generic version of the drug.  Second- and third-line therapies are however critical for people living with HIV where first-line treatment may not be an option, due to medication resistance or intolerance.

Until the announcement by Unitaid and CHAI, DRV/r was too expensive for national treatment programmes in low- and middle-income countries to afford.

Best-in-class second-line HIV treatment is long overdue

Kenly Sikwese, HIV advocate and head of the African Community Advisory Board (AfroCAB), which advocates for better, more affordable HIV medicine, welcomed the announcement saying the board had been advocating for the use of DRV in second-line since 2011, and that the new agreement was a critical step in addressing the “longstanding inequity in access to this optimal HIV treatment in low- and middle-income countries”.

“We look forward to seeing policymakers across the globe move expeditiously forward to accelerate access to this very important drug for communities.”

Joy Phumaphi, CHAI Interim Co-CEO, said access to this second-line HIV treatment is long overdue and people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries will now be able to access the same high-quality second-line medication as those in high-income countries, “enabling more patients to remain on treatment and save lives”. 

Image Credits: Commons Wikimedia.

How to support African women farmers is a key issue for the continent

As the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change exacerbate global food insecurity, African countries are committed to giving more support to small farmers – particularly women.

This emerged at the United Nations Food Systems Pre-Summit in Italy, which opened on Monday as a precursor to a formal UN summit planned for September.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame told the pre-summit that there was consensus among Africa nations that the continent’s food agenda needed to be based on five pillars: nutrition-centred food policies including school feeding programmes; local markets and local food supply chains; increasing agricultural financing (20% of expenditure); encouraging farmer cooperatives and ensuring women’s access to productive inputs and finally, expanding social safety nets and investing in climate advance warning systems.

Both UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Pope Francis appealed for the world’s food system to be transformed in the face of hunger, poverty, climate change and inequality.

Guterres said the world was “seriously off track” in achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030, thanks to “poverty, inequality and high cost of food”.

About 811 million people face hunger in 2020, about 161 million more than in 2019, he added.

“The pandemic, which still assails us, has highlighted the links between inequality, poverty, food, disease and our planet,” said Guterres.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis urged the world to create food systems that “guarantee sufficient food at the global level and promote decent work at the local level; and that nourish the world today, without compromising the future.”

Women farmers lack land and support

UN Food System Summit gender champion Dr Jemimah Njuki

“There are 1.7 billion rural women and girls in the world – more than one-fifth of all humanity. It is unacceptable that they make up almost half the agricultural labour force, yet they are more likely than men to live in poverty and hunger,” said Sabrina Dhowre Elba, the UN Goodwill Ambassador for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

“In Ethiopia, as in many African countries, women are vital food system actors, but they face many challenges. Women, particularly in rural areas have multiple responsibilities in cooking, farming, fetching water for the household, finding firewood, childcare, food preparation while simultaneously engaging in trading of the food they produce or buy,” said Dr Lia Tadesse, Ethiopia’s health minister, addressing a session on micronutrient deficiencies.

While women performed up to 75% of farm labour, only 18,7% of agricultural land in Ethiopia was owned by women farmers, she added.

“Poverty, inequality and cultural and traditional practices limit woman’s ability to provide better plates for their families,” said Tadesse. “Malnutrition is the inevitable outcome of food systems that do not work for women. And this is also evident by women and children being the most affected in undernutrition and in micronutrient deficiencies.”

High rate of anaemia in women and children

Anaemia is as high as 24% for women of reproductive age and as high as 57% for children under five, she added.

UN Food System Summit gender champion Dr Jemimah Njuki, said that “how to support women smallholder farmers, how to make sure they actually have the productive resources that they need to transform food systems, how to ensure they actually have right to the land that they cultivate,” was one of the key issues in transforming food systems.

Elizabeth Nsimadala, President of the Pan-African Farmers Organization (PAFO) hailed the pre-summit: “It’s the first time that I’m seeing a UN process that is inclusive, diverse and open to all stakeholders.”

UN food systems pre-summit

Low productivity of small-scale farmers 

Lobin Lowe, Malawi’s Minister of Agriculture, lamented the “low production and yields” in his country “due to predominance of smallholder farmers”.

“Productivity levels remain lower than actual potential because of the smallholding land size and labour intensive production… and climate shocks such as droughts and floods,” Lowe told a summit side event on Tuesday.

Prof Amos Laar from Ghana said that a diagnostic analysis of his country, alongside community dialogues, had exposed five key weaknesses in the country’s food system.

“Number one, is consumption of unhealthy food,” said Laar. “Ghana is urbanising at a very fast pace. Currently, we have nearly 60% of our people living in urban areas in Ghana, and in these areas the food environment is not healthy.”

The second issue, said Laar, was reliance on energy-dense, unhealthy staple foods.

“Ghana must instigate a shift from actions that lead to feeding the population to actions that lead to nourishing them,” said Laar.

Sub-national disparities between different regions affected food production – as did poor infrastructure including a lack of processing and cold-chain capacity that lead to about 20% of food loss, said Laar. 

The final impediment, said Laar, was Ghana’s vulnerability to climate change, which has been exacerbated by environmental degradation – “land pollution, soil pollution, water pollution” – caused by illegal mining.

Beginning more than a year ago, the summit process has included more than 1,000 dialogues in 145 countries involving tens of thousands of people around the world. 

“The results of these dialogues have provided national governments with the most comprehensive picture to date of existing interconnected challenges – from hunger and poverty to rural livelihoods, health and youth unemployment – as well as opportunities to address these,” according to the UN.

 

Image Credits: UN.

The tobacco industry is using deceptive advertising to promote its products, according to WHO.

While there has been significant global progress in curbing conventional tobacco products, newer tobacco and nicotine products such as e-cigarettes are evading regulation, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2021 report on the tobacco epidemic.

Some 5.3 billion people are now covered by at least one of the six tobacco ‘MPower’ control measures recommended by the WHO, including high taxes, bans on promotion, pack warnings and helping people to quit.

But electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) such as ‘e-cigarettes’ are often marketed to children  – and escape regulation, according to the report, which was launched on Tuesday.

The tobacco industry also uses “thousands of appealing flavours and misleading claims about the products” to market these to children and teens, according to the WHO, adding that children who use these products are “up to three times more likely to use tobacco products in the future”. 

“These products are hugely diverse and are evolving rapidly,” said Dr Rüdiger Krech, WHO’s Director of Health Promotion Department. 

“Some are modifiable by the user so that nicotine concentration and risk levels are difficult to regulate. Others are marketed as ‘nicotine-free’ but, when tested, are often found to contain the addictive ingredient. 

“Distinguishing the nicotine-containing products from the non-nicotine, or even from some tobacco-containing products, can be almost impossible. This is just one way the industry subverts and undermines tobacco control measures.”

Youth are targets of the tobacco and nicotine industry

Caleb Mintz: Targetted in Ninth Grade.

Caleb Mintz, a young anti-tobacco advocate from the US told the launch that an official from a vaping company had given a ‘mental health’ talk at his high school where he cast doubt on the dangers of e-cigarettes and vaping.

“When I was in ninth grade, a speaker came to my high school under the guise of a mental health seminar. That speaker turned out to be a representative of Juul Corporation, which is one of the largest vaping conglomerates, and the speaker proceeded to send mixed messages about the safety of the [vaping] devices, saying ‘It is the safest product on the market’,” Mintz said

“As a result of the presentation, many of my peers began to question whether the product  once seen as dangerous was even harmful at all, with some of my closest friends now believing their habits are justified, due to a trusted adult telling them that.”

US anti-tobacco advocate Jasmine Hicks, told the launch that the majority of young people that her organisation, Truth Initiative, reached out to had no idea that e-cigarettes even contained nicotine.

ENDS are ‘highly addictive’

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for better regulation of ENDS, describing nicotine as “highly addictive”.

“Where they are not banned, governments should adopt appropriate policies to protect their populations from the harms of electronic nicotine delivery systems, and to prevent their uptake by children, adolescents and other vulnerable groups,” said Tedros.

Eighty-four countries don’t restrict or regulate ENDS in any way, although 32 countries have banned their sale and 79 have adopted at least one partial measure to prohibit their use in public places, prohibit their advertising, promotion and sponsorship or require the display of health warnings on packaging. 

“More than one billion people around the world still smoke. And as cigarette sales have fallen, tobacco companies have been aggressively marketing new products – like e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products (HTP) – and lobbied governments to limit their regulation,” said Michael Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, who funds much of the global anti-tobacco work.

“Their goal is simple: to hook another generation on nicotine. We can’t let that happen.”

There are an estimated one billion smokers globally, 80% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and tobacco is responsible for the death of eight million people a year, including one million from second-hand smoke, according to the  WHO.

Almost 80% of high-income countries (HICs) (78%) regulate ENDS while three-quarters of LICs do not.

“The tobacco industry’s ramped up marketing of ENDS and HTPs, especially to young people, is a real threat,” said Rebecca Perl, Vice President of Partnerships and Initiatives at Vital Strategies.

“With its intent on hooking a new generation of tobacco users, the industry is snatching young people’s opportunities, experiences and future potential by shortening their lives. Young people who use new products such as ENDS and HTPs are more likely to regularly use conventional cigarettes, as cited in the report. Yet remarkably 84 countries still have no regulations and restrictions at all on these products.”

Marathon runner Paula Radcliffe

Renowned marathon runner and clean air advocate Paula Radcliffe joined the launch to appeal for public health warnings about tobacco and e-cigarettes to be carried on social media to reach young people.

“Our bodies enable us to do so much and to achieve so much, but we have to look after them and look at the fuel that we put into them,” said Radcliffe. “There are enough stresses around in this world which are unavoidable. I think tobacco is really one that is avoidable. Respect your body and the world by what you put into it and how you live your life.”

 

Image Credits: WHO.

A major global ‘pre-summit’ on food systems took place in Rome on Monday.

The world needs an investment of US$40 billion per year by 2030 to eradicate hunger. And these investments must be accompanied by major reforms in food systems to make them more efficient, resilient, and sustainable, said experts at a major global “pre-summit” on food systems, Monday.

Transformations to food systems should focus on providing seed security to smallholder farmers, training on improved planting techniques, and ensuring production of more nutritious, biodiverse and climate-resilient crop varieties.

The UN Pre-Summit taking place in Rome from 26-28 July, is a stage-setter for the full-fledged UN Food Systems Summit, scheduled for September in New York. 

“We are here in Rome to bake the cake that will be iced in September. And as we harvest from the rich and diverse outcomes of this process, I am hopeful we will agree on the key ingredients needed to support our countries,” said Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the pre-summit opening Monday.

Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the UN Food Systems pre-summit opening on Monday.

The series of pre-summit sessions aims to foster dialogue between farmers, indigenous peoples, civil society, researchers, private sector, ministers of agriculture, environment, and health, and policy leaders. Meanwhile, UN agency officials and government ministers called for greater and more innovative investment from high-income countries and the private sector. 

“We’ve got the expertise in this room and around the world to end hunger,” said David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP). 

“Now it is time to act. We do not necessarily need more meetings, we need more monvey and more investment to eradicate hunger,” said Gerd Müller, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development.

“Increased investment in sustainable transformation, in agriculture, renewable energy, education, and…fair value chains between developing and industrialized countries” is needed from industrialized nations, said Müller, calling on the G20 and G7 to adopt a smarter and more targeted agenda on food systems.

“We need to look at ways where we can create innovative financing to make sure that we can bridge the gap of US$40 billion a year. And not only resources coming from our traditional donors, but also resources coming from the private sector and from domestic resources,” said Gilbert Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Gilbert Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Failures of the current food system – obesity, undernutrition & starvation 

Global food systems are currently in dire need of reform, experts stressed at the pre-summit, co-hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),the  International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Italian government.

“The dominant global food systems…are wasteful, inequitable, undemocratic, and unsustainable,” said Anne Nuorgam, Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. 

Sufficient food is produced to feed the world’s population, but one third of it, almost 1.3 billion tonnes, is lost or wasted every year throughout the supply chain from initial agricultural production to household consumption. Along with lost nutritional opportunities, that food-waste also contributes to climate change, in terms of the climate footprint of wasted energy, water resources, fertilizers, and other production inputs. 

Increased industrialization of the food production chain, including greater reliance on monocultures, production of cheap starches and processed foods, is exacerbating, rather than easing, the twin crises of obesity and malnutrition  –  with the number of food insecure people growing in recent years. 

Over the past five years, the world has regressed on progress towards tackling hunger. In 2015, there were 80 million people on the brink of starvation and today there are 270 million. 

During COVID-19, there was an increase of 165 million people dealing with chronic food insecurity and 135 million people with acute food insecurity. 

“In 2020, the increase [in food insecurity] was equal to the sum of the increase over the last five years,” said Professor Sheryl L. Hendriks, Director of the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Well-being at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. She was speaking at ‘Achieving Zero Hunger: Nutritiously and Sustainably,’ a parallel session organized by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). 

Food systems on the whole also fail to provide adequate calories and nutrition to approximately 760 million people. 

“The world needs a wake up call. We are in serious trouble,” said Beasley.

Industrialized food systems driving deforestation, biodiversity loss & climate change

Today’s food systems are fragile and unequal, requiring widespread reforms in policies, farming practices, and financing.

In addition, industrialized food systems are the number one cause of deforestation and they are among the main drivers of climate change, biodiversity loss, and erosion of topsoil. 

Food systems, overall, generate massive amounts of pollution and produce close to one third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Even in Europe, for instance, agricultural chemicals and fertilizers used on crops and for livestock production are a major, neglected cause of air pollution – due to the particulate emissions that they generate. 

Land grabs from indigenous peoples are instigated by food systems, forcibly displacing indigenous communities, destroying livelihoods, and violating human rights.

“The system is not fit for purpose,” said Mari Pangestu, World Bank’s Managing Director of Development Policy.

Despite the large divergence in perspectives between actors in food systems, “there is consensus on one thing: the status quo is not acceptable,” said Houngbo.

“We have to recognize that we do have failures, not only market failures, but failures around the whole chain,” he added. 

Reforms to food systems should focus on small farmers

Farmers should be central to transformations in food systems, said the experts on Monday. 

There are some 500 million smallholder farms worldwide that over 2 billion people depend on for their livelihoods. These small farms produce 35% of the world’s food supply and 80% of the food consumed in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Smallholder farmers typically produce small volumes on relatively small plots of land and are vulnerable in supply chains. 

“This is where we must invest,” said Beasley. 

David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

Fostering seed security, secure land tenure & crop diversity  

Ensuring seed security to smallholder farmers is defined as providing farmers and farming communities with access to adequate quantities of quality seed and planting materials, adapted to their agro-ecological conditions and socioeconomic needs. 

Seed security is particularly important to farmers in areas that experience frequent droughts or other natural disasters. 

“We need to put farmers and indigenous peoples first, both in access to crop diversity and in seed policy and practice,” said Aksel Jakobsen, State Secretary of International Development for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

“Policy and regulation must provide farmers with the legal space to save, use, sell and exchange seeds from their harvests,” said Jakobsen. “By providing legal space and empowering local communities by strengthening farmers seed systems, we are investing in a true path towards ending hunger.”

Smallholder farmers would also benefit from access to high quality and affordable farming equipment and training on basic planting techniques.

Providing smallholder farmers with tools and technologies they need 

“We must give smallholder farmers the tools and technologies that will help them boost their deals and manage the impact of growing climate shocks as we race to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement,” Samantha Power, Administrator of USAID, said at the GAIN event on Monday.

Samantha Power, Administrator of USAID.

“The poorest farmers in the world deserve the same access to the innovative new tools and services that wealthier farmers benefit from,” said Andrew Youn, Co-founder of One Acre Fund, at the GAIN session.

Crops developed with biotechnology are able to withstand harsh weather conditions and reduce hunger in the face of climate change. Drought tolerant crops can help maintain farm productivity and yield. 

Farmers should also be empowered to invest in farming techniques that benefit the environment by ensuring the health and sustainability of the soil and land. Agroforestry, which involves the integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems, is a technique to reduce erosion.

Transition to ‘agroecology’ and ecosystem restoration 

Scientific innovation is a critical part of reforming food systems and reducing hunger worldwide. Innovations, such as bio science plant breeding, solar irrigation, carbon capturing soil, and digitized blockchain technology to assure land rights, could be important to benefit smallholder farmers and the environment. 

Advocates from farmers’ associations called for policies that respect the rights of family farmers and indigenous peoples to natural resources, especially land, water, forestry, and seeds. 

They also advocated for the transition to agroecology and ecosystem restoration, including promoting local traditional crops, which are often neglected and underutilized.

In addition, adequate financing should be directed to farmers through national committees and cooperatives with family farmers. 

“To be bold, for us, is to transform our food system into something that is sustainable, resilient, regenerative, healthy, nutritious, just, and empowering to people, including family farmers, which improves production in crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry, herding and pastoralism,” said Estrella Penunia, Secretary-General of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development. 

Estrella Penunia, Secretary-General of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development.

“We need to move beyond incremental change,” said Peter Bakker, President and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. “Transformational change is what we need and it is urgent.”

Private sector has important role to play in reforms 

“Solving food insecurity is not only a government problem. The private sector has to play an equally important part,” said Sunny Verghese, Executive Director of Olam International, speaking at the GAIN event.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development announced the launch of the Business Declaration for Food Systems Transformation on Monday.

“Business commits to help lead the food system transformations by implementing actions in their companies, their sectors and their value chains,” said Bakker. 

“We must not exclude the private sector. They must be part of the solution,” said Beasley. “As I talk to the private sector, I know you need a return on your investment, but be willing to make a little bit less to empower the smallholder farmers and to change systems in developing nations so that we all share this success.”

Big timber, cattle, palm, and pulp and paper cause significant damage to the environment, but “[we should] never make these sectors the enemy,” said Dr. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). 

“Those sectors have a responsibility to lean in and to drive sustainability. That is what we need to see them do,” she added. “And governments need to set policies that do not subsidize, that do not cause further destruction. [They should] subsidize the smallholder, and big agriculture, if that is what is needed, but not with those negative consequences.”

Image Credits: FAO, FAO.

Zeng Yixin, Vice Minister of the National Health Commission, rejecting the WHO strategy at the latest Chinese government press conference on the SARS-CoV2 origins on Thursday, 21 July.

Chinese officials have rejected WHO’s proposal for a more rigorous Phase II investigation of the origins of the SARS-CoV2 virus, including renewed consideration that the virus may have escaped from a laboratory, describing the new plan as “impossible” at a press conference.   

“We will not accept such an origin-tracing plan as it, in some aspects, disregards common sense and defies science,” said Zeng Yixin, Vice Minister of the National Health Commission, at the press conference organized by the Chinese State Council Information Office on Thursday, rejecting the WHO plan out of hand. 

“We hope the WHO would seriously review the considerations and suggestions made by Chinese experts and truly treat the origin tracing of the COVID-19 virus as a scientific matter, and get rid of political interference,” Zeng said.  

 New WHO plan would address omissions of first virus origins mission to Wuhan

WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for a new approach to the SARS-CoV2 quest and more Chinese “transparency.”

The plan for a revamped second phase of investigations was presented by WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to member states at a closed-door meeting last week. 

WHO’s new and tougher strategy, includes the creation of an international Scientific Advisory Group on Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) to replace the international group that led the first mission to Wuhan in January 2021. 

That first mission yielded a report that was widely criticized as papering over Chinese data omissions. It also failed to carefully consider the hypotheses that the virus might have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) that was researching bat coronaviruses – a theory that dozens of experts around the world say remains just as plausible as the theory that the virus escaped somewhere along the food chain – until more evidence is gathered.

In response to those concerns, WHO now wants to obtain and review more data on Wuhan’s sensitive coronavirus research laboratories, as well as data on wild animal species on sale in 2019 at the city’s live animal markets, to assess the likelihood that the virus may have escaped from a laboratory – as compared to infecting humans via a food-borne source. 

WHO also is requesting more raw data from China on the first COVID patients, and on population-level serology screening in Wuhan, which could lend insight into where and when in 2019 the first COVID cases really began to appear. China had previously refused to provide the data, saying that it violated privacy laws. 

WHO applying more pressure on China

In his remarks last week to member states, Tedros explicitly described the new plan of attack, as including:

  • “First, integrated studies of humans, wildlife, captive and farmed animals, and environment, as part of a One Health approach.
  • “Second, studies prioritizing geographic areas with the earliest indication of circulation of SARS-CoV-2, and neighbouring areas where other SARS-related coronaviruses have been found in non-human reservoirs;
  • “Third, studies of animal markets in and around Wuhan, including continuing studies on animals sold at the Huanan wholesale market;
  • “Fourth, studies related to animal trace-back activities, with additional epidemiology and molecular epidemiology work, including early sequences of the virus;
  • “And fifth, audits of relevant laboratories and research institutions operating in the area of the initial human cases identified in December 2019.”

“We expect China to support this next phase of the scientific process by sharing all relevant data in a spirit of transparency. Equally, we expect all Member States to support the scientific process by refraining from politicising it,” Tedros told member states at the closed-door meeting.

In a subsequent media briefing on Thursday, the WHO DG also publicly called upon China to share data more transparently, while acknowledging in the strongest terms to date, the plausibility that the virus may have escaped from a laboratory. 

The Wuhan Institute of Virology, guarded by police officers during the visit of the WHO team in early February, 2021.

“There was a premature push to reduce one of the [origins] options, the laboratory theory,” the WHO DG said, referring to the report on the virus origins that came out of the WHO-led mission to Wuhan in January. “I was a lab technician myself, an immunologist, and have worked in the lab and lab accidents happen.”

While WHO’s new move has been criticized by China, it has been applauded by former critics of the global health agency.

“Last week, Tedros showed tremendous courage when he called on the Chinese government to be more transparent in the sharing of raw data,” Jamie Metzl, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and one of the co-authors of a series of open scientific letters that criticized the WHO-led investigation for inadequately exploring the possibility that the SARS-CoV2 could have “escaped” from the WIV, said in an op-ed published on CNN.

“Given the leadership and moral courage Tedros has shown by calling for a full examination into the pandemic origins, the United States and its partners around the world must come together in support of the integrity of the WHO and his leadership,” said Metzl. 

China supports conclusions of the first origins report 

The report by the first SARS-CoV2 origins team concluded that of the four possible hypotheses about where the virus originated, the possibility of a laboratory biosafety incident was “extremely unlikely.”

The report generated widespread criticism from member states as well as an ad-hoc group of scientists, who published a series of open letters to WHO detailing how the investigation was limited by China and lacked the data and access necessary to carry out an unrestricted inquiry. 

China, on the other hand, has said that it continues to support the conclusions made by the report. Officials insist that SARS-CoV2 has natural origins, most likely the result of a natural spillover event involving zoonotic transmission.

At a press briefing on 16 July, Zhao Lijian, Spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called on countries to “respect the opinions of scientists and scientific conclusion, instead of politicizing the issue.” 

Zhao Lijian, Spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, at a press conference on 16 July.

In addition, the WIV has not reported any leaks or staff infections since it first opened in 2018, said Chinese officials. 

“We believe a lab leak is extremely unlikely and it is not necessary to invest more energy and efforts in this regard,” said Liang Wannian, the Chinese team leader of the joint WHO-China mission in January, speaking at the State Council Information Office press conference on Thursday. 

Chinese officials express disappointment

Senior Chinese health officials have expressed keen disappointment with the new WHO approach. 

“I was surprised when I saw WHO’s origin-tracing plan for the second phase,” said Zeng, at the Thursday media event. “The plan has set the assumption of China leaking the virus due to violating research instructions as one of the research priorities. We can’t possibly accept such a plan for investigating the origins.” 

At yesterday’s conference, the Chinese panelists proposed an alternative approach to the second phase of the investigation, focusing on zoonotic transmission and investigating early cases in other countries.

A panel of senior Chinese health officials discussed the COVID-19 origin investigation at a press conference on Thursday organized by the State Council Information Office.

“In the next step, I think animal tracing should be the priority direction,” said Liang. “It is the most valuable field for our efforts.”

“The second phase of origin-tracing should be extended on the basis of the first phase, guided by the relevant WHO resolutions, and carried out after full discussion and consultation among member states,” said Zhao, in a separate press briefing yesterday organized by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

“The work that has already been done in the first phase should not be repeated, especially when a clear conclusion has been reached,” Zhao added. “Instead, we should promote origin-tracing on the basis of full and extensive consultations among member states, including search of early cases in various places and countries around the world.”

Chinese officials call for investigation into US military lab

In an attempt to deflect attention and blame, Chinese authorities also have tried to suggest that the virus could also have escaped from a laboratory in the Untied States, pointing in particular to the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Maryland.

Chinese officials have suggested that the US should invite an international team of scientists to conduct an independent investigation into Fort Detrick.

Conspiracies, largely peddled by Chinese officials, continue to swarm around Fort Detrick, with reports of some five million people in China signing a petition calling on WHO to investigate the bio-lab.

“What dark secrets are hidden out of sight at Fort Detrick?” asked Zhao at a press briefing on Wednesday. 

“Facing the 630,000 American lives lost to the coronavirus, the US should be transparent, take concrete measures to thoroughly investigate the origins of the virus at home, thoroughly investigate the reason of its botched response and who should be held accountable, thoroughly investigate the mysteries over Fort Detrick and its over 200 overseas bio labs,” said Zhao. 

The prominent military germ lab was temporarily shut down in 2019 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) because it didn’t have “sufficient systems in place to decontaminate wastewater” from its highest-security labs.

The lab reopened in March 2020 and was accompanied by an announcement from officials that no dangerous pathogens had escaped the lab.

US ‘deeply disappointed’ with China’s response

“[China’s] position is irresponsible and frankly dangerous,” said Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary on Thursday at a press briefing. “We are deeply disappointed.”

“Alongside other member states around the world we continue to call for China to provide the needed access to data and samples, and this is critical so we can understand and prevent the next pandemic,” Psaki said.

Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, at a press briefing on Thursday.

Relations between the US and China have suffered as a result of the probe, increasing tensions between the nations. 

“This is about saving lives in the future and it’s not a time to be stonewalling,” said Psaki.

In late May, US President, Joe Biden, instructed the country’s scientific and intelligence communities to investigate and publish a report on the pandemic’s origins by late August. One of the theories being examined is the possibility that the novel coronavirus emerged from a lab accident. 

“I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days,” said Biden. 

The US has expressed its dissatisfaction with the joint origins investigation, describing the report as “insufficient and inconclusive” in late May. The Biden Administration even appears to be positioning itself to take independent action if the WHO investigative process doesn’t succeed. 

“Unfortunately, phase one…did not yield the data and access from China that we think is necessary,” said Psaki. “But [the US] support[s]…the phase two plan…because it’s rigorous and science-based.”

Experts express concern over the future of the origins investigation

China’s refusal to participate in WHO’s next phase of the origin probe is “outrageous & absolutely unacceptable,” tweeted Metzl. 

According to Metzel, the “process has been compromised from the very beginning,” he told CNN.

The joint study by the international committee and their Chinese counterparts was agreed upon at the World Health Assembly last year, which gave the Chinese government a certain degree of control over the process.

“It’s been clear from day one that the Chinese have no interest in a full investigation into the pandemic origins and…they’ve been doing everything possible to block that,” Metzl said. 

“Given the critical importance of fully investigating the origin of Covid-19 and preventing future pandemics, China’s rejection of a full investigation poses a threat to the world that cannot be tolerated,” said Metzel in an op-ed on CNN. 

An alternative strategy is needed to conduct the SARS-CoV2 investigation without China’s cooperation. This will require the US and its partners both to support the WHO-organized process and set up a separate mechanism for an in-depth probe, said Metzl. 

The US should involve the Group of 7 (G7), an intergovernmental political forum for the world’s seven largest advanced economies, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) countries, or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group of 37 member countries that develop economic and social policy.

“Although not having full access to all of the relevant resources in China would hamper this investigation, a great deal of progress can be made by pooling efforts, accessing materials available outside of China, and creating secure whistleblower provisions empowering Chinese experts to share information,” said Metzl.

“The international community must proceed with a forensic investigation, with or without China’s cooperation,” Dr Richard H. Ebright, a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University, told Health Policy Watch.

“Many threads of forensic investigation are available outside China. In particular, information relevant to the origin of SARS-CoV-2 may exist at the US-based research partner of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (EcoHealth Alliance), at the US-government research funders of the Wuhan Institute of Virology and EcoHealth Alliance (USAID, DTRA, DARPA, DHS, and NIH), and at the US- and UK-based scientific publishers that handled publications of the Wuhan Institute of Virology and EcoHealth Alliance (Springer-Nature, Lancet, and PLoS),” Ebright added.

Creation of new body and expert group to investigate disease origins

In the meeting with WHO member states last week, Dr Tedros announced the establishment of a new body to investigate the origins of SARS-CoV2 and future pandemics.

The permanent International Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), which will be composed of experts nominated by member states, will “play a vital role in the next phase of studies into the origins of SARS-CoV2,” said Tedros. 

“The world needs a more stable and predictable framework for studying origins of new pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential,” said Tedros.

“Finding where this virus came from is essential not just for understanding how the pandemic started and preventing future outbreaks, but it’s also important as an obligation to the families of the 4 million people who have lost someone they love, and the millions who have suffered,” said Tedros.

WHO will launch an open call for nominations for “highly qualified” members of the new advisory group from member states.

Image Credits: China Daily, WHO, CNN, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, C-Span.

Cambodia, Iran and Bangladesh are the first lower-income countries to receive delivery of a donation from Japan of over 11 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, beginning this weekend.

Cambodia and Iran received 332,000 and 1,087,570 doses respectively on Friday, while Bangladesh is scheduled to receive 2,45,200 doses on Saturday, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance said in a statement.

The Japanese vaccine donations are being distributed via Gavi’s COVAX Advance Market Commitment scheme – that provides vaccines free of charge to some 92 low-income countries in Southeast Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean region, Western Pacific, Latin America, and elsewhere.

Announcing the donations, the government of Japan said: that “In order to overcome COVID-19, it is important to promote equitable access to vaccines not only in Japan but also throughout the world. Japan will continue to work towards securing equitable access to safe, effective and quality-assured vaccines through various support, responding to the needs of developing countries and the world, in cooperation with relevant countries and international organizations.”

Japan itself has lagged in its own vaccination campaign, despite being a high-income country – creating added risks of a spike in serious COVID cases as the 2020 Olympics get underway – a year late.

Seth Berkley, Gavi CEO said in the statement: “ In operationalising its dose donation, the Government of Japan has further grown its commitment to global equitable access. We look forward to seeing Japanese doses flowing to a number of countries in the coming weeks.”

Read more here…

Image Credits: Gavi .

A doctor preparing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Washington, US.

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use in children 12 to 17 years of age by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), making it the second vaccine recommended for use in children in Europe, following the EMA’s approval of Pfizer’s Comirnaty child vaccine formulation in May.

The effects of Moderna’s vaccine in adolescents was evaluated in a study with 3,732 participants. The study demonstrated that the vaccine produced a similar antibody response in those aged 12-17, as compared to young adults 18-25, for whom the vaccine was already approved.

None of the 2,163 children receiving the vaccine became infected with SARS-CoV2, while four of the 1,073 children that were given a placebo injection developed COVID-19.

The side effects in children were similar to those in people over the age of 18, including pain and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, chills, nausea, and fever.

The safety of the Moderna vaccine, as seen in adults, was confirmed in the adolescent study, the EMA stated. .

Although the EMA’s vaccine advisory committee noted that the study was too small to detect new uncommon side effects, the EMA concluded that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was similarly evaluated in a study of 2,260 children aged 12 to 15 years. Of the 1,005 children that received the vaccine, none developed a COVID infection, compared to 16 children out of the 978 who received a placebo jab.

The most common side effects in children were pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle and joint pain, chills, and fever. The side effects were usually mild or moderate and improved within a few day of the vaccination.

The EMA said that it will continue to monitor the safety and efficacy of both vaccines in children as it is used across the region in vaccination campaigns.

Image Credits: Flickr – Official US Navy.