7. Interesting news

Race and Medicine

The NEJM selection of articles on race and medicine, with implications for improving patient care, professional training, research, and public health.

Questionnaire about Corona virus and its effects

The Mid Sweden University, together with other countries (e.g. England) have developed an anonymous questionnaire about Corona virus and its effects. The idea is to examine how people feel in various aspects in face of the pandemic. With the data we may be able to suggest som ways to deal with the pandemic. Please read the information and answer the questionnaire if you find it useful.

The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT) updated Learning Centre

The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT) is pleased to announce our recently updated Learning Centre. The Learning Centre houses the Online Skills Assessment, Online Learning Modules, and the 6S Search Pyramid. We have updated these resources with a fresh new look and select modules have also been updated with new practice articles and examples 
Over the past 10 years, we have provided public health professionals with trusted and valuable resources to enhance their evidence-informed decision making skills and are happy to continue providing this service. In this time of physical distancing, online learning provides an opportunity to build your skills and learn something new.
Explore the updated to access online learning opportunities and discover resources to support your professional development in evidence-informed decision making.

Young kids could spread COVID-19 as much as older children and adults, study suggests

Researchers have discovered that children younger than 5 years with mild to moderate COVID-19 have much higher levels of genetic material for the virus in the nose compared to older children and adults. The findings point to the possibility that the youngest children transmit the virus as much as other age groups.

How the pandemic might play out in 2021 and beyond

Nature | News feature | August 5, 2020
by Megan Scudellari
This coronavirus is here for the long haul — here’s what scientists predict for the next months and years. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-0...

Social distancing varies by income in United States

Wealthier communities went from being the most mobile before the COVID-19 pandemic to the least mobile, while poorer areas have gone from the least mobile to the most mobile, according to a new study.

How to protect yourself in the infodemic

Check the video and see how young people seize opportunities provided by an unprecedented access to information and digital technologies to communicate, share information and contribute to the COVID-19 response.

https://www.youtube.com/watch

8. Upcoming courses and conferences

9. Interesting publications

WHO Guidance for conducting a country COVID-19 intra-action review (IAR)

The WHO Guidance for Conducting a Country COVID-19 Intra-Action Review (IAR) was developed to guide countries to conduct periodic review(s) of their national and subnational COVID-19 response, so countries do not miss critical opportunities for learning and improvement to better respond to the COVID-19 outbreak in their countries. The IAR is a country-led facilitated process conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak in-country, bringing together a small group of COVID-19 responders with knowledge of the public health response pillars under review. Although IARs can be conducted online or face-to-face, the online format is recommended, especially if community transmission remains high in the country. The IAR will identify practical areas for immediate remediation and sustained improvement of the ongoing response. 

Child and adolescent health needs attention now, and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

Danielle Jansen, Silja Kosola, Lourdes Cantarero Arevalo, Margarida Gaspar de Matos, Karin Boode, Sonia Saxena & Julia Dratva

Digital tools against COVID-19: taxonomy, ethical challenges and navigation aid

The Lancet Digital Health |Health Policy| Volume 2, ISSUE 8, e425-e434, August 01, 2020
Authors: Urs Gasser, Marcello Ienca, James Scheibner, Joanna Sleigh, Effy Vayena

Data collection and processing via digital public health technologies are being promoted worldwide by governments and private companies as strategic remedies for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic and loosening lockdown measures. However, the ethical and legal boundaries of deploying digital tools for disease surveillance and control purposes are unclear, and a rapidly evolving debate has emerged globally around the promises and risks of mobilising digital tools for public health. To help scientists and policy makers to navigate technological and ethical uncertainty, we present a typology of the primary digital public health applications that are in use. These include proximity and contact tracing, symptom monitoring, quarantine control, and flow modelling. For each, we discuss context-specific risks, cross-sectional issues, and ethical concerns. Finally, recognising the need for practical guidance, we propose a navigation aid for policy makers and other decision makers for the ethical development and use of digital public health tools.

Implementation of health and health-related sustainable development goals: progress, challenges and opportunities - a systematic literature review

The BMJ Global Health | Original Research | August 26, 2020
Authors: Wafa Aftab, Fahad Javaid Siddiqui, Shagufta Perveen, Sameen Siddiqi, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Changes in sedentary behaviour in European Union adults between 2002 and 2017

BMC Public Health | Research article | 26 August, 2020
Authors: A. López-Valenciano, X. Mayo, G. Liguori, R. J. Copeland, M. Lamb & A. Jimenez

Final report EMRaDi project (Rare Diseases in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine)

The final report of the EMRaDi project (Rare Diseases in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine) is now available online. The final report includes a summary of the activities, results and specific recommendations for the different target groups (rare disease patients and their relatives, patient organisations, hospitals and healthcare providers, health insurance funds, policy makers). Furthermore, several fact sheets are published, including containing EMRaDi's three main recommendations for political authorities and institutional players.

Child and adolescent health needs attention now, and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

Management of post-acute covid-19 in primary care

Achieving Person-Centred Health Systems: Evidence, Strategies and Challenges

The idea of person-centred health systems is widely advocated in political and policy declarations to better address health system challenges. A person-centred approach is promoted on political, ethical and instrumental grounds and believed to benefit service users, health professionals and the health system more broadly. There is continuing debate, however, about available and effective strategies to promote and implement ‘person-centred’ approaches.
This book brings together the world’s leading experts in the field to present the evidence base and analyse current challenges and issues. It examines ‘person-centredness’ from the different roles people take in health systems: as individual service users, care managers, taxpayers or active citizens. The evidence presented will provide invaluable policy advice to practitioners and policy-makers working on the design and implementation of person-centred health systems and will also be an excellent resource for academics and graduate students researching health systems in Europe.

Mental health, men and culture: how do sociocultural constructions of masculinities relate to men's mental health help-seeking behaviour in the WHO European Region?

Men are less likely than women to seek help for mental health issues and are much more likely to commit suicide. This scoping review examined recent evidence published in English and Russian on the role of socially constructed masculinity norms in men’s help-seeking behaviour for mental health issues. 

What is the current alcohol labelling practice in the WHO European Region and what are barriers and facilitators to development and implementation of alcohol labelling policy?

The WHO European Region has the highest levels of alcohol consumption per capita in the world, yet alcohol labelling, a WHO-recommended practice that provides consumer information on the ingredients, nutritional values and harms of alcohol, is not mandatory. This report synthesizes evidence on alcohol labelling practices in the Region and aims to describe factors affecting implementation.

10. European Commission news

European Commission Health Newsletter July 2020 - COVID-19 updates

Commission concludes talks to secure future coronavirus vaccine for Europeans
The European Commission concluded exploratory talks with a pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, to purchase a potential vaccine against COVID-19. The envisaged contract would provide for an option to purchase 300 million doses of the vaccine, on behalf of all EU Member States. Read more.
Coronavirus: Commission strengthens preparedness for future outbreaks
On 15 July, the Commission presented immediate short-term measures to strengthen EU health preparedness for COVID-19 outbreaks. In the current context where new outbreaks spread across the EU, the Communication insists on all necessary actions needed to enhance preparedness, including testing and contact tracing, improved public health surveillance and widened access to medical countermeasures. Read more.
European Commission authorises first treatment against COVID-19
On 29 July, the European Commission signed a contract with the pharmaceutical company Gilead to secure treatment doses of Veklury, the brand name for Remdesivir, which was the first medicine authorised at EU level for treatment of COVID-19. As from August, the medicine will be made available to Member States and the UK. Read more.
Commission strengthens support for treatment through convalescent plasma
The European Commission invited more than 200 blood-collection services around the EU to apply for funding for the purchase of plasmapheresis equipment which takes plasma from donors. The aim of this action, part of the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI), is to support the treatment of new COVID-19 patients by increasing EU capacity to collect convalescent plasma recovered from COVID-19 patients. Read more.
New EU framework to prepare and manage health threats discussed with Health Ministers
On 16 July Commissioner Kyriakides joined EU Health ministers at a videoconference to discuss topics such as the European Health Data Space and the supply of medicinal products in the EU. The Commissioner also stressed that the COVID-19 crisis showed the need for a stronger role for the ECDC and potentially for a new framework on cross-border threats: “We need a new framework at EU level to prepare and manage health threats. We need a stronger mandate to coordinate. This could involve new legislation or a revision of the current Decision on cross-border threats to health”. Read more.
Coronavirus: mobile tracing and warning apps one step closer
The European Commission adopted an Implementing Decision this month to support the establishment of a voluntary gateway service that facilitates the interoperability of contact tracing and warning apps. This decision will mean that citizens, in particular those traveling in the EU, will only need to install one app. Read more.

Coronavirus: Commission concludes talks to secure future coronavirus vaccine for Europeans

The European Commission has concluded exploratory talks with a pharmaceutical company to purchase a potential vaccine against COVID-19. The envisaged contract with Sanofi-GSK* would provide for an option for all EU Member States to purchase the vaccine. It is envisaged that, once a vaccine has proven to be safe and effective against COVID-19, the Commission would have a contractual framework in place for the purchase of 300 million doses, on behalf of all EU Member States. The Commission continues intensive discussions with other vaccine manufacturers.

European Commission authorises first treatment against COVID-19

On 29 July, the European Commission signed a contract with the pharmaceutical company Gilead to secure treatment doses of Veklury, the brand name for Remdesivir, which was the first medicine authorised at EU level for treatment of COVID-19.

Coronavirus: Commission approves funding for training of healthcare professionals in intensive care skills

On 18 August, the Commission signed a contract to make the funding of €2.5 million from the Emergency Support Instrument available for training of a multidisciplinary pool of healthcare professionals supporting and assisting Intensive Care Units (ICU) in times of need due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The training will provide intensive care medical skills to healthcare professionals not regularly working in ICUs. This will help increase the capacity of staff that could be deployed at a time when there is need for rapid, temporary and significant scale-up of ICU capacity.

Coronavirus: EU supports vaccine research with additional €100 million

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global partnership created in 2017 to develop vaccines to prevent future epidemics, has launched a call to support the rapid development and global manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines. The EU will co-fund the call with €100 million.

On 26 August, the first contract the European Commission has negotiated on behalf of the EU Member States with a pharmaceutical company entered into force following the formal signature between AstraZeneca and the Commission. The contract will allow the purchase of a vaccine against COVID-19 for all the Member States of the EU as well as the donation to lower and middle income countries or the re-direction to other European countries.

Coronavirus: the Commission signs first contract for vaccine

On 26 August, the first contract the European Commission has negotiated on behalf of the EU Member States with a pharmaceutical company entered into force following the formal signature between AstraZeneca and the Commission. The contract will allow the purchase of a vaccine against COVID-19 for all the Member States of the EU as well as the donation to lower and middle income countries or the re-direction to other European countries.

11. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control news

Eurosurveillance - Volume 25, Issue 33, 20 August 2020

Outbreaks
Three infection clusters related with potential pre-symptomatic transmission of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Shanghai, China, January to February 2020
Research
Do changes in STEC diagnostics mislead interpretation of disease surveillance data in Switzerland? Time trends in positivity, 2007 to 2016
Accounting for indirect protection in the benefit–risk ratio estimation of rotavirus vaccination in children under the age of 5 years, France, 2018 

Eurosurveillance - Volume 25, Issue 31, 06 August 2020

Rapid communication
Age-specific SARS-CoV-2 infection fatality ratio and associated risk factors, Italy, February to April 2020
Repeated leftover serosurvey of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies, Greece, March and April 2020
Epidemiology of measles during the COVID-19 pandemic, a description of the surveillance data, 29 EU/EEA countries and the United Kingdom, January to May 2020
Research
Marked reductions in outpatient antibiotic prescriptions for children and adolescents – a population-based study covering 83% of the paediatric population, Germany, 2010 to 2018

Eurosurveillance - Volume 25, Issue 32, 13 August 2020

Rapid communication
Duration of infectiousness and correlation with RT-PCR cycle threshold values in cases of COVID-19, England, January to May 2020
Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020
Surveillance
West Nile virus in humans, Greece, 2018: the largest seasonal number of cases, 9 years after its emergence in the country
Miscellaneous
Updated rapid risk assessment from ECDC on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the EU/EEA and the UK: resurgence of cases
Job vacancies at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) 

Expression of concern for Euro Surveill. 2020;25(33)

"Regarding the article "Accounting for indirect protection in the benefit–risk ratio estimation of rotavirus vaccination in children under the age of 5 years, France, 2018" by Escolano et al, published on 20 August 2020, Eurosurveillance has been informed of a computational error that has occurred in the calculation of indirect benefit. The authors are in the process of recalculating the affected results.
While we await these results and the extent of the necessary corrections, the editors decided to publish an expression of concern for this article."

Eurosurveillance - Volume 25, Issue 34, 27 August 2020

Editorial
Timely monitoring of total mortality associated with COVID-19: informing public health and the public
Rapid communication
Excess all-cause mortality during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in France, March to May 2020
Surveillance
Eight-year trends in the relative isolation frequency and antimicrobial susceptibility among bloodstream isolates from Greek hospitals: data from the Greek Electronic System for the Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance – WHONET-Greece, 2010 to 2017
Letter
Letter to the editor: importance of a careful investigation to avoid attributing Legionnaires’ disease cases to an incorrect source of infection Authors’ response: importance of a careful investigation to avoid attributing Legionnaires’ disease cases to an incorrect source of infection
Erratum
Erratum for Euro Surveill. 2020;25(33)

12. WHO news

Risk of #COVID19 resurgence is never far away, but now we know how to target the virus instead of targeting society

Statement to the press by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe
20  August 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark
Key messages:

1. We are not back in February, we know how to target the virus instead of targeting society. We became smarter.
2. To the younger members of society: spread fun, but do not spread the virus. Protect your parents and grandparents.
3. When we open society, we have to opens schools.

WHO/Europe to establish a mental health coalition to support system reforms and COVID-19 recovery

WHO/Europe’s new flagship initiative on mental health is launched. Mental health is a key public health concern in the WHO European Region – over 110 million people are living with some kind of mental health condition, accounting for over 10% of the population.
The 4 new flagships – mental health, digital health and innovation, behavioural and cultural insights, and immunization – represent identified priorities for WHO/Europe in the coming 5 years. The mental health flagship will bring together a broad coalition of mental health leaders, champions, service users and other partners to improve mental health policies and practices across the Region.

Announcing the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development: Rethinking Policy Priorities in the light of Pandemics

The WHO Regional Office for Europe is convening a Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development to rethink policy priorities in the light of pandemics.

This newsletter received co-funding under an operating grant from the European Union’s Health Programme (2014-2020). The content of this newsletter represents the views of the author(s) only and is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

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