21 August 2020
This guidance provides specific considerations for the use of non-medical masks, also known as fabric masks, by children as a means for source control in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. It also advises on the use of medical masks for children under certain conditions.
WHO published guidance for clinicians and health care decision-makers on the use of corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19.
We recommend systemic corticosteroids for the treatment of patients with severe and critical COVID-19. We suggest not to use corticosteroids in the treatment of patients ...with non-severe COVID-19 as the treatment brought no benefits, and could even prove harmful. Treatment should be under supervision of a clinician.
Corticosteroids are listed in the WHO model list of essential medicines, readily available globally at a low cost. WHO encourages countries to maintain sufficient stocks of corticosteroids to treat COVID-19 and the other disease for which they are effective, while not maintaining excessive stocks which could deny other countries access.
more
Available in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Arabic
https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/337832
Interim guidance 2 march 2021
Current use of drugs to prevent COVID-19 is variable, reflecting large-scale uncertainty. Numerous randomized trials of many different drugs are underway to inform practice. This first version of the Drugs to prevent COVID-19: A WHO living guideline contains new inform...ation and a recommendation on hydroxychloroquine. It follows the publication of six trials synthesized in a living network meta-analysis (NMA).
more
This document is an update of the guidance published on 21 March 2020 and contains new evidence and guidance.
n light of the potential risk posed by SARS-CoV-2 variants, in January 2021 WHO organized an ad hoc consultation to discuss the development of an R&D agenda in response to existing and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
The key objectives were to identify the critical research questions related to var...iants and agree on a research approach to address them. Six breakout groups covered a range of specific issues related to COVID-19 variants: Epidemiology and mathematical modelling; evolutionary biology; animal models; assays and diagnostics; clinical management and therapeutics; and vaccines.
This report is a summary of presentations and panel discussions.
more
COVID-19 Vaccines: 1 Safety Surveillance 2 Manual
While there is no indication that pregnant women have an increased susceptibility to infection with SARS-CoV-2, there is evidence that pregnancy may increase the risk of severe illness and mortality from COVID-19 disease in comparison with non-pregn...ant women of reproductive age. As seen with non-pregnant women, a high proportion of pregnant women have asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease is associated with recognized medical (e.g., high body-mass index (BMI), diabetes, pre-existing pulmonary or cardiac conditions) and social (e.g., social deprivation, ethnicity) risk factors. Pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 appear to have an increased risk of intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation and death in comparison with non-pregnant women of reproductive age, although the absolute risks remain low. COVID-19 may increase the risk of preterm birth, compared with pregnant women without COVID-19, although the evidence is inconclusive.
more
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.
more
Many critical questions remain about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in real-world settings. These questions can only be answered in post-introduction vaccine effectiveness studies.This guidance document outlines an approach to leverage existing surveillance systems for Severe Acute Respirato...ry Infection (SARI) to estimate COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) in preventing SARI associated with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 using existing SARI surveillance systems. The approach uses the test-negative design to evaluate VE; cases are SARI patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and controls are SARI patients who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.
more
2nd edition, July 2021. This WHO and HRP guideline is designed to help countries make faster progress, more equitably, on the screening and treatment of cervical cancer. It includes some important shifts in WHO’s recommended approaches to cervical screening, and includes a total of 23 recommendati...ons and 7 good practice statements.
Among the 23 recommendations, 6 are identical for both the general population of women and for women living with HIV and 12 are different and specific for each population.
Among the 7 good practice statements, 3 are identical for both the general population of women and for women living with HIV and 2 are different and specific for each population
more
This guidance document provides basic principles for a spokesperson of any health authority on how to respond to vocal vaccine deniers. The suggestions are based on psychological research on persuasion, on research in public health, communication studies and on WHO risk communication guidelines.
SARS-CoV-2 infections among children and adolescents cause less severe illness and fewer deaths compared to adults. While a less severe course of infection is a positive outcome, there are concerns that mild symptoms may have led to less testing, resulting in fewer identified cases of COVID-19 in ch...ildren. If children with mild or no symptoms transmit the disease, they may act as drivers of transmission within their communities. Understanding symptoms, infectivity and patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in children and adolescents is essential for developing, adapting and improving control measures for COVID-19 across all ages. This is a summary of the current knowledge around SARS-CoV-2 infection acquisition and transmission and COVID-19 disease symptoms in children and adolescents. It aims to inform decisions, based on local contexts, on how to best keep schools, kindergarten and day-care facilities open and what advice to apply to intergenerational mixing.
more
Community Health Volunteers