COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction Readiness Assessment Tool (VIRAT2), developed by WHO-PAHO, UNICEF, World Bank, Gavi, and other partners is a tool to help prepare countries for the introduction a COVID-19 vaccine.
It provides a roadmap for introduction and a structured framework for countries to self-...monitor their readiness progress against key milestones. It includes an excel template for Ministries of Health to complete with support from partners and PAHO Country Offices.
The VIRAT dashboard helps countries highlight the critical activities and technical areas that should be initiated, continued, or strengthened. Also, it allows PAHO and partners to identify areas where support may be needed and identify alternative forms to mobilize resources.
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MedPPE emphasizes the role and timing of health workers jobs and offers specific information to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The guidelines are aimed at all personnel working in health facilities, including security guards, administrative and cleaning personnel, transfer assistants, nurses, biome...dical and imaging technicians, surgeons, and physicians, among others.
MedPPE provides guidance for the use of PPE according to workers’ function, the level of care they provide, and the multiple environments of primary health care and hospitals. The tool also clarifies the type of PPE needed when performing aerosol-generating procedures and other activities related to the care of patients infected or suspected of being infected with COVID-19.
However, use of PPE alone is not enough to protect against COVID-19. Hand hygiene and proper PPE dressing and undressing procedures must also be followed, along with the proper disposal and management of waste.
MedPPE is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese and French for iOS and Android devices.
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medPPE es una aplicación para dispositivos iOS y Android donde el personal de salud encontrará la información necesaria sobre los equipos de protección personal (EPP) sugeridos por la OPS/OMS, que deben ser utilizados de acuerdo con la función y la actividad que desempeña en el proceso de aten...ción de pacientes con enfermedades, como la COVID-19, transmitidas por gotas y contacto, o durante procedimientos generadores de aerosoles.
Es importante recordar que usar el EPP no es suficiente para estar protegido y que son varias las condiciones a considerar, tales como: seguir las indicaciones sobre el tipo de EPP a utilizar, usarlo por el tiempo y de la manera adecuada, conocer y señalar los flujos de pacientes establecidos, igual que los procedimientos de atención que va a realizar.
Hay que cumplir con las medidas de higiene de manos y con los procedimientos de vestido-desvestido de los EPP y la disposición y manejo de residuos. Es igualmente importante difundir la información y mantener el entrenamiento al personal sanitario y a los funcionarios administrativos. Además, se debe señalizar los flujos de circulación, e informar y educar a los pacientes y allegados.
Puede descargar el aplicativo para iOS e Android
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3 February 2021
Vaccine- and vaccination-related crises require a communication response that is different from the communication strategies used to promote the benefits and importance of vaccines in general. This document presents the technical guidance needed to develop a communication plan that ...is appropriate for managing crises related to vaccine safety. This guidance will be useful for managers in the areas of immunization and vaccine and vaccination safety. They will also help preparedness and response teams working in safety crises to optimize their communication plans in order to regain, maintain, or strengthen trust in vaccines, vaccination, and immunization programs in general.
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Animations for social media
Genomic sequencing has been an essential tool in generating virological data, driving the laboratory response, and better understanding the dispersal and evolutionary patterns of SARS-CoV-2. In addition to the characterization of the global circulation patterns, early detection of SARS-CoV-2 variant...s inside each country is critical to complement the epidemiological and virological surveillance
9 February 2021
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Infographic
Health workers play a key role in ensuring the continued safety of COVID-19 vaccines
La OPS, dentro de su empeño constante por apoyar a los países de las Américas, publica el presente documento con ánimo de facilitar la elaboración de una estrategia de comunicación de riesgos y participación comunitaria para la vacunación contra la COVID-19. Su finalidad es contribuir a fort...alecer las capacidades y la planificación de la comunicación de los ministerios o secretarías de salud, así como de otros organismos encargados de comunicar en el área de las nuevas vacunas contra la COVID-19 en las Américas.
Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
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A Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde, em seu esforço constante e permanente para apoiar os países das Américas, apresenta este documento para facilitar a formulação de uma estratégia de comunicação de riscos e participação comunitária (CRPC) para a vacinação contra o SARS-CoV-2. O in...tuito é contribuir para o fortalecimento das capacidades de comunicação e planejamento dos ministérios e secretarias de saúde, bem como de outros órgãos responsáveis pela comunicação na área das novas vacinas contra a COVID-19 nas Américas.
Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
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n este documento de orientación se abordan las las consecuencias sociales, económicas y en materia de salud de las medidas adoptadas para controlar la pandemia en relación con el cierre de las escuelas, así como los elementos que deben tenerse en cuenta al reabrir y cerrar las escuelas, haciendo... hincapié en los niños, niñas y adolescentes en situación de vulnerabilidad. Además, se plantean otras consideraciones para que los planes de reapertura de las escuelas incluyan medidas concebidas específicamente para beneficiar a los niños, niñas y adolescentes que tienen más riesgo de tener resultados desfavorables en materia de educación y salud por el impacto negativo, directo e indirecto, de la pandemia de COVID-19.
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Abridged version. In this abridged version of the Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Follow-Up of at-risk neonates, we provide recommendations for the care of newborns up to 2 years of age, corresponding to the first phase of their follow-up. The recommendations are intended for all... health sector staff responsible for the primary care of these neonates: general practitioners, family practitioners, pediatricians, neonatologists, pediatric ophthalmologists, pediatric otolaryngologists, nursing professionals, specialists in other fields, and multidisciplinary staff involved in the care process. The purpose of these guidelines is to facilitate policy implementation processes carried out by decision-makers and members of government bodies, and will also be useful for parents, mothers, and caregivers. The main topics covered by this document include the hospital discharge criteria, including screening tests; information and support for parents, mothers, and caregivers; screening at the follow-up visit, and the frequency of follow-ups until the infant is 2 years of age. These guidelines do not address matters related to nursing or comorbidities.
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Según las estimaciones, en las Américas hay entre 6 y 8 millones de personas con infección por T. cruzi, con aproximadamente 30 000 casos nuevos por año por transmisión vectorial, y 8000 casos nuevos anuales por transmisión congénita. Es decir, cerca de 65 millones de personas viven en la Reg...ión con el riesgo de contraer la infección. Además, durante cualquiera de las fases de esta parasitosis, las personas con la infección pueden sufrir algún grado de inmunosupresión, bien sea por una infección, una neoplasia o por un tratamiento farmacológico. En este decálogo se exponen los conceptos más importantes para tener en cuenta frente a la coexistencia de inmunosupresión y la infección por el T. cruzi.
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Aide Memoire. O foco desta nota são as implicações da orientação atual da OMS sobre o uso máscaras cirúrgicas e não cirúrgicas/ de tecido durante a pandemia de COVID-19 para trabalhadores da saúde e trabalhadores que não são da área da saúde, mas que estão envolvidos em atividades ass...istenciais comunitárias, especialmente as de combate à malária, doenças tropicais negligenciadas (DTN), tuberculose (TB), infecção pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana/síndrome da imunodeficiência adquirida (HIV/ AIDS) e doenças imunopreveníveis (VPDs). O uso de máscaras deve ser sempre acompanhado de outras medidas de prevenção e controle de infecção (PCI), como o distanciamento físico de pelo menos 1 metro, a higiene das mãos, evitar tocar o rosto e a etiqueta respiratória usando o cotovelo dobrado sempre que tossir ou espirrar. A limitação da permanência em locais com aglomeração ou espaços fechados, a garantia da ventilação adequada dos ambientes internos e fechados (6), e a limpeza regular das superfícies de alto contato também são medidas de precaução importantes a serem seguidas.
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Con esta publicación se procura orientar a las autoridades nacionales y subnacionales de salud, así como a las organizaciones nacionales e internacionales, para que incorporen la perspectiva de las personas migrantes (en tránsito, refugiadas, en situación irregular y en proceso de retorno a su p...aís de origen) en el diseño y la implementación de las acciones de preparación y respuesta ante la enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) y otras emergencias de salud.
Estas recomendaciones complementan el Documento de orientación sobre migración y salud (5), elaborado por la OPS para ayudar a los Estados Miembros a hacer frente a los desafíos de salud pública y sistemas de salud relacionados con la migración, incluidas la promoción y la protección de la salud de los migrantes a lo largo de su proceso migratorio
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Emergency medical teams (EMTs) play an important role in strengthening health service networks in terms of their strategies and tactics for planning mass vaccination programs, especially in remote or under-resourced areas or those overwhelmed by COVID-19. EMTs experience deploying in remote areas an...d handling operational challenges to ensure their response even under the most austere conditions will be of great support in facing the technical and logistical challenges to timely and equitable access to vaccines at the local level.
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The larval stage of the parasite Taenia solium can encyst in the central nervous system causing neurocysticercosis, which is the main cause of acquired epilepsy in the countries in which the parasite is endemic. Endemic areas are those with the presence (or likely presence) of the full life cycle of... Taenia solium. The parasite is most prevalent in poor and vulnerable communities in which pigs roam free, open defecation is practiced, basic sanitation is deficient, and health education is absent or limited. Several tools are available for the control of Taenia solium. Preventive chemotherapy for Taenia solium taeniasis, which is directed at the adult tapeworm, is one of them. Other tools focus on pig management, pig vaccination and treatment, sanitation and hygiene, and community education. Three potential drugs—niclosamide, praziquantel, and albendazole—have been considered for use for preventive chemotherapy in Taenia solium taeniasis control programs through mass drug administration or targeted chemotherapy. In this Guideline, we provide recommendations for preventive chemotherapy in Taenia solium-endemic areas using niclosamide, praziquantel, or albendazole, including at which dose and in which population groups.
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Policy Brief November 2021 Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the ongoing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) global crisis due to the increase in the use of antibiotics to treat COVID-19 patients, disruptions to infection prevention and control practices in o...verwhelmed health systems, and diversion of human and financial resources away from monitoring and responding to AMR threats. Moreover, AMR is likely to have caused more COVID-19 deaths, as secondary bacterial infections can worsen the outcome of severe and critical COVID-19 illness. Therefore, it is more urgent than ever to prioritize efforts towards AMR containment and support countries to improve the detection, characterization and rapid response to emerging AMR.
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En consonancia con el tema general de "la salud universal y la pandemia: sistemas de salud resilientes", se pone de relieve la respuesta de la OPS a la pandemia de COVID-19, así como sus esfuerzos continuos en esferas prioritarias como las enfermedades transmisibles, las enfermedades no transmisibl...es, la salud mental, la salud a lo largo del curso de vida y las emergencias de salud. También se presenta un resumen financiero del ejercicio examinado.
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