Update 2021; Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals
Available in English, French, Chinese, Arabic, Russian
8 February 2021
An Action Framework and annexe to Immunization Agenda 2030 (Draft version)
27 January 2021
31 March 2021
This article is part of a series of explainers on vaccine development and distribution. Learn more about vaccines – from how they work and how they’re made to ensuring safety and equitable access – in WHO’s Vaccines Explained series.
Vaccines are a critical tool in the battl...e against COVID-19, and getting vaccinated is one of the best ways to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.
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“Guide to facilitate the implementation of the WHO/UNICEF “Guidance on developing a national deployment and vaccination plan for COVID-19 vaccines” for Africa
t contains action-oriented lists of critical topics to address and checklists tailored to the context of African Union Member States.
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The contents of this guide aim to guide the development of one comprehensive national deployment and vaccination plan, as proposed and outlined by the guidance – and underlines the need for countries to develop their vaccination plans.
This guide is not meant as a tool to assess deployment readiness. The recommendation to Member States is to use the VIRAT/VRAF 2.0 tool for that, which builds on the COVAX Vaccine Introduction Readiness Assessment Tool (VIRAT) and the World Bank’s Vaccine Readiness Assessment Framework (VRAF).
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Updated Treatment Guidelines
The roadmap describes the actions needed to
achieve the three development goals for TB
vaccines set by the WHO:
1. A safe, effective and affordable TB vaccine
for adolescents and adults.
2. An affordable TB vaccine for neonates and
infants with improved safety and efficacy.
3. A therapeutic v...accine to improve TB
treatment outcomes
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For patients on HFNO with persistent hypoxaemia or respiratory distress:
• Check the equipment: inspect the exterior of the machine, the tubing (circuit), the prong for any sign of mechanical damage, confirm it fits and the filters are in place. Ensure the settings are appropriate and flow is max...imized.
• Check the oxygen source: there is sufficient oxygen available and flowing through the device. If FiO2 > 50% of oxygen is needed, the device must have a blender.
• Check there is no obstruction with secretions: patients with COVID-19 may have very thick secretions which may block small and large airways and cause sudden respiratory deterioration.
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The World Health Organization Global TB Report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic, and progress in the response, at global, regional and country levels.
The 2022 edition features data on disease trends and the response to the epidemic from 215 countries and area...s, including all 194 World Health Organization (WHO) Member States. It provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic, progress in the response at global, regional and country levels, as well as on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB services.
TB remains one of the top infectious killers in the world. This year’s report presents data on an increase in the number of people falling ill with TB and drug resistant TB for the first time in many years. Increases were also reported on the number of TB deaths, highlighting the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises on the TB response that has reversed years of progress. It also presents the status of progress towards targets set at the first-ever United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on TB in 2018 as well as the targets of the WHO End TB Strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals.
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This document summarizes the results of the WHO-commissioned full value proposition for new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines. The assessment was commissioned to provide early evidence for national and global decision-makers involved in TB vaccine development and implementation, who include stakeholders in...volved in vaccine research, financing, regulation and policy-making, manufacturing, introduction and procurement. The goal is to accelerate development of effective vaccines against TB and their rapid introduction into countries.
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This document outlines the working structure and guiding principles for collaboration of COVAX, the Vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A). The working structure of COVAX continues to adapt to emerging needs and the changing trajectory of the pandemic. Some components of... the pandemic response capabilities united under COVAX may eventually be integrated into regional, national and sub national health systems, routine immunization programmes and future global pandemic preparedness and response (PPR) structures. Therefore, the working structures outlined in this document continue to evolve and the document provides a snapshot of the COVAX ways of working in the first half of 2022.
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At the forefront of DNDi’s efforts to develop new treatments is the need to understand the realities and treatment needs of patients and health care staff in the field. The ultimate goal for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a truly simplified
treatment which can be orally administered, impl...emented at the primary health care level, and effective against both stages of the disease.
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Leishmaniasis is a complex vector-borne disease involving in its transmission several species of protozoan parasites called Leishmania, a wide variety of animal reservoirs and phlebotomine sandflies vectors. Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common form of the disease, and its clinical manife...stations vary from few papules to multiple ulcers affecting the skin but also the mucous membranes, leaving permanent scars and serious disability. It is a disfiguring and stigmatizing disease that often has a devastating psychosocial and economic impact on the affected resources limited communities.
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Accessed on 04.04.2023
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is an international
non-profit organization that discovers, develops, and delivers safe,
effective, and affordable treatments for the most neglected patients
The waves of yellow fever transmission in the Region of the Americas in 2016–2018 involved the largest number of human and epizootic cases to be reported in several decades. Yellow fever is a serious viral hemorrhagic disease that poses a challenge for health professionals. It requires early recog...nition of signs and symptoms, which are often nonspecific, and it can mimic other acute febrile syndromes. Early detection of suspected or confirmed cases, monitoring of vital signs, life support measures, and treatment of acute kidney failure continue to be the recommended strategies for case management. This report is the result of discussions among experienced specialists in the Americas on the clinical management of yellow fever patients, especially during outbreaks and epidemics, in the context of current medical and scientific evidence and taking into account the technical guidelines already available in the countries of the Region. It includes flowcharts for initially addressing patients with clinical suspicion of yellow fever and proposes a minimum package of laboratory tests that may be useful in contexts where resources are limited. In addition, it considers aspects of health system organization for dealing with yellow fever outbreaks and epidemics.
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Asthma is one of the neglected diseases in Africa with a high prevalence. Allergic fungal diseases have been reported to complicate asthma progression and treatment outcomes. However, data about fungal asthma and its associated complications are limited in Africa. We aimed to estimate the burden of ...fungal asthma among adults and children in Africa using a systematic review.
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