WORLD POPULATION: 7,938,036,870
POLITICS & POLICIES
March 17th, 2022: The Biden administration wants the World Health Organization to improve global equity in the next public health emergency by pushing manufacturers to voluntarily share their products and technology. www.politico.com/news/2022/03/17/u-s-global-health-tech-sharing-next-pandemic-00017977
March 17th, 2022: The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed unprecedented health and economic crises that put trade relations among countries under stress. A rush to secure essential supplies in the pandemic’s early stages prompted much hand-wringing over global interdependence and how it could undermine nascent efforts to respond to a once-in-a-century shock. Yet, two years on, the trading system has not only proved itself more resilient than many expected, but it has also emerged as a crucial ally in the fight against the pandemic. https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/three-lessons-trade-and-health
March 17th, 2022: The dean of Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish K. Jha, M.D., a globally recognized expert on pandemic preparedness and response, will take leave for a temporary assignment to serve as the next White House coronavirus response coordinator. In succeeding Jeffrey Zients, Jha will lead the response of the entire U.S. government to the COVID-19 pandemic, while also advancing the nation’s global health priorities and policies. https://www.brown.edu/news/2022-03-17/jha
March 16th, 2022: Indonesia is calling on the International Monetary Fund to take on the role of preparing finances for the next global health emergency. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/indonesia-calls-on-imf-to-set-up-global-health-crisis-fund
March 9th, 2022: Just as a large swath of the American public, 62%, said that the worst of the pandemic was behind us, nearly half were worried about easing covid-related restrictions — like indoor masking — too soon. The poll, conducted in February, found that 49% of adults were either “very worried” or “somewhat worried” that lifting pandemic restrictions would cause more virus-related deaths in their communities. About 50% were “not too worried” or “not at all worried” that death tolls would rise in their communities. https://khn.org/news/article/covid-risk-new-cdc-guidelines-mixed-feelings-reaction/
March 7th, 2022: Just as a large swath of the American public, 62%, said that the worst of the pandemic was behind us, nearly half were worried about easing covid-related restrictions — like indoor masking — too soon. The poll, conducted in February, found that 49% of adults were either “very worried” or “somewhat worried” that lifting pandemic restrictions would cause more virus-related deaths in their communities. About 50% were “not too worried” or “not at all worried” that death tolls would rise in their communities. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/03/omicron-teaches-us-that-global-challenges-require-global-solutions-here-is-how-to-start/
March 3rd, 2022: Top U.S. federal health officials said Thursday that they intended to begin offering low and middle-income nations access to the technology developed by government scientists that might be used to prevent or treat COVID-19. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/03/world/covid-19-tests-cases-vaccine#fauci-us-health-officials-tech-covid
PROGRAMS, CONFERENCES, GRANTS, AWARDS & EVENTS
March 8th, 2022: USAID announces $150 million to stimulate and accelerate the development of vaccines and other countermeasures against biological threats https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/mar-8-2022-usaid-announces-150-million-stimulate-and-accelerate-development
HISTORICAL, REPORTS, DOCUMENTS, DATA & INDEXES
October 27th, 2016: This PrimeView highlights the complex nature of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrdp201677
October 26th, 2009: Renewed efforts in tuberculosis (TB) research have led to important new insights into the biology and epidemiology of this devastating disease. Yet, in the face of the modern epidemics of HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and multidrug resistance—all of which contribute to susceptibility to TB—global control of the disease will remain a formidable challenge for years to come. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2745564/
RESEARCH
April 1st, 2022: Scientists at Northwestern Medicine are using new advances in CRISPR gene-editing technology to uncover new biology that could lead to longer-lasting treatments and new therapeutic strategies for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220401160537.htm
March 30th, 2022: Spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant, which led to increased U.S. hospitalizations for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), generated concern about immune evasion and the duration of protection from vaccines in children and adolescents. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2202826?query=featured_coronavirus
September 17th, 2021: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruptions to tuberculosis (TB) care and service delivery in 2020, setting back progress in the fight against TB by several years. https://jech.bmj.com/content/jech/76/3/310.full.pdf
May 1st, 2021: Nature waded through the literature on the coronavirus — and summarized key papers as they appeared. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00502-w
June 21st, 2018: By studying rats in a smarter way, scientists are finally learning something useful about why some drinkers become addicted and others don’t. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/06/a-landmark-study-in-the-origins-of-alcoholism/563372/
DISEASES & DISASTERS
March 29th, 2022: A sub-variant of the highly transmissible Omicron version of coronavirus known as BA.2 is now dominant worldwide, prompting surges in many countries in Europe and Asia and raising concern over the potential for a new wave in the United States. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-stealth-covid-variant-ba2-now-dominant-globally-2022-03-29/
March 24th, 2022: Each year we commemorate World Tuberculosis Day to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-tb-day
March 9th, 2022: Almost 500 million people have been infected with the coronavirus since March 2020 and new variants are still a threat. This Friday marks two years since the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the global spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic. https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113632
March 4th, 2022: According to recent data, more than one billion people worldwide are obese, including 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents and 39 million children. With the numbers still increasing, WHO estimates that by 2025, approximately 167 million people will become less healthy because they are overweight or obese. https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113312
TECHNOLOGY
March 8th, 2022: Prime Minister Boris Johnson today announced that DIOSynVax, a biotech spinout of the University of Cambridge, will receive $42 million to develop a vaccine candidate that could provide protection against both existing and future variants of SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – as well as other major coronaviruses, including those that cause SARS and MERS. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220308/Biotech-spinout-receives-2442-million-to-develop-future-proofed-coronavirus-vaccines.aspx
CLIMATE CHANGE & ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
March 8th, 2022: An under-researched field exploring the intersection of pollution and mental health is gaining momentum as evidence mounts that environmental pollutants damage every organ in our bodies—including our brains. https://www.ehn.org/air-pollution-and-mental-health-2656823544/water-pollution-and-mental-health
March 2nd, 2022: Heads of State, environment ministers and other representatives from 175 nations, endorsed a historic resolution at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi on Wednesday to end plastic pollution, and forge an international legally binding agreement, by the end of 2024. https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113142
EQUITY & DISPARITIES
March 10th, 2022: The World Health Organization’s new Global Health Facilities Database will be a key resource to help countries provide access to healthcare services for all populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed urgent gaps in countries’ current ability to locate health facilities, impeding progress to provide equitable access to therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccinations through the ACT-Accelerator and other initiatives. https://www.who.int/news/item/10-03-2022-who-global-health-facilities-database-ensuring-access-to-primary-healthcare-and-uhc
March 10th, 2022: We still do not have the full picture of the nature and spread of COVID-19 in many low- and middle-income countries. What we do know is that their general population remains largely unvaccinated and susceptible to new variants, a situation that is exacerbated where there is rising conflict and population migration. https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-it-s-time-to-smash-the-bottlenecks-to-global-health-care-102795
March 7th, 2022: People in poorer countries are still waiting for vaccines, but the leaders of global health organizations have a new priority: preparing for the next pandemic. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/03/07/covid-global-health-next-pandemic-00014384
WOMEN, MATERNAL, NEONATAL, CHILDREN & ADOLESCENT HEALTH
March 30th, 2022: Research provides potential treatment opportunities for chorioamnionitis. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abl8574
March 29th, 2022: A major new study in Radiology shows that artificial intelligence (AI) is a promising tool for breast cancer detection in screening mammography programs. https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.212381
March 28th, 2022: Use of disinfectants by pregnant women may be a risk factor for asthma and eczema in their children, finds a population study, published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. https://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2022/03/03/oemed-2021-108034
HUMANITARIAN, NONPROFITS, FOUNDATIONS & NGOS
March 15th, 2022: A mix of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and ongoing conflicts have fueled a substantial increase in the need for worldwide humanitarian assistance and protection. According to a recent United Nations (UN) overview, 274 million people will require aid in 2022, up from 235 million people last year. Assistance for 183 million people most in need across 63 countries will require $41 billion, according to the UN and its partners. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2789957\
March 8th, 2022: RIT and the Global Health Association @ RIT are partnering with humanitarian organization InterVol in an urgent donation drive to aid the people of Ukraine affected by the Russian invasion. https://www.rit.edu/news/global-health-association-holds-donation-drive-ukraine-intervol
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