UB COVID-19 Information Digest Friday, 25 June 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JUNE 25, 2021, 02:09 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	67,492	[1,684]	1,095	[26]	61,341	5,056	28,146	457	1,282,735

map.html

Botswana

65,808 Total confirmed cases

1,069 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 24 JUNE 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 25 June 2021

NEWS

COVID-19 impact on SADC labour markets: Evidence from high-frequency data and other sources. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/34149243

Preparing for the next pandemic: Lessons from rapid scale-up of SARS-CoV-2 testing in a South African high-throughput automated HIV molecular laboratory. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/34139371

Africans ‘dangerously exposed’ by lack of Covid jabs, says WHO. Third wave could be Africa’s worst yet, official says, with health systems in some parts close to overwhelmed. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/24/africans-dangerously-exposed-by-lack-of-covid-jabs-says-who

Rich countries ‘deliberately’ keeping Covid vaccines from Africa, says envoy. Questions raised over failure of Covax scheme to provide promised doses to the continent. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/24/rich-countries-deliberately-keeping-covid-vaccines-from-africa-says-envoy

Afrigen gears up to deliver Africa’s first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/afrigen-gears-up-deliver-africas-first-covid-19-mrna-vaccine-2021-06-24/

Wards fill up as Tunisian COVID cases rise rapidly – adviser. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tunisia/wards-fill-up-as-tunisian-covid-cases-rise-rapidly-adviser-idUSKCN2E01O9

Africa CDC says continent not winning against ‘brutal’ COVID-19 pandemic. HARARE (Reuters) – Africa is not winning its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as a third virus wave sweeps the continent and countries struggle to access enough vaccines for their populations, Africa CDC director John Nkengasong said on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-africa/africa-cdc-says-continent-not-winning-against-brutal-covid-19-pandemic-idUSKCN2E017F

Backing grows for new IMF COVID and climate fund. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-sdr-unitednations/backing-grows-for-new-imf-covid-and-climate-fund-idUSKCN2E00DO

Deleted coronavirus genome sequences trigger scientific intrigue. Partial SARS-CoV-2 sequences from early outbreaks in Wuhan were removed from a US government database by the scientists who deposited them. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01731-3

Nutrition, Immunity and a Global Pandemic. https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/nutrition-immunity-and-a-global-pandemic/

Gut Reactions: Microbes in the Digestive Tract Influence COVID Severity. Our resident bacteria help regulate the immune system and response to infections. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-reactions-microbes-in-the-digestive-tract-influence-covid-severity/

Why Are People with Obesity More Vulnerable to COVID? Chronic inflammation and immune breakdown appear to be key reasons. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-people-with-obesity-more-vulnerable-to-covid/

Structural basis for enhanced infectivity and immune evasion of SARS-CoV-2 variants. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/06/23/science.abi9745

Effect of natural mutations of SARS-CoV-2 on spike structure, conformation, and antigenicity. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/06/23/science.abi6226?rss=1

Claim that Chinese team hid early SARS-CoV-2 sequences to stymie origin hunt sparks furor. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/claim-chinese-team-hid-early-sars-cov-2-sequences-stymie-origin-hunt-sparks-furor

Directed evolution of potent neutralizing nanobodies against SARS-CoV-2 using CDR-swapping mutagenesis. https://www.cell.com/cell-chemical-biology/fulltext/S2451-9456(21)00264-6

Clinical Outcomes for Patients With Anosmia 1 Year After COVID-19 Diagnosis. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781319

African authorship on African papers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventeen per cent of the world’s population lives in Africa, but only 3.9% of articles related to COVID-19 published in the top 10 medical journals is relevant to the continent. One in five African COVID-19 papers had no African authors, and 66.1% of authors on African papers were not from Africa. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/3/e004612.long

Covid-19: Third of people infected have long term symptoms. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1626

Covid-19: Israel advises against foreign travel after recording 125 new cases. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1617

Covid-19: Should we be worried about reports of myocarditis and pericarditis after mRNA vaccines? https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1635

Depression and anxiety symptoms to COVID-19 outbreak among the public, medical staff and patients during the initial phase of the pandemic: an online questionnaire survey by a WeChat Mini Program. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e046350

Threat of COVID-19 impacting on a quaternary healthcare service: a retrospective cohort study of administrative data. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e045975

Efficacy and safety of remdesivir in COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e048416

RESOURCES

LitCovid is a curated literature hub for tracking up-to-date scientific information about the 2019 novel Coronavirus. Includes an interactive world map. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

RCSI will be hosting the Times Higher Education University Impact Forum, focused on improving health and transforming lives worldwide. Come join us! IMPROVING HEALTH OUTCOMES, TRANSFORMING LIVES

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

COVIDSurg’s next free data driven webinar is coming at the end of June! Join us on the Surgery2025 platform

24.06.21 1600 BST Sign up Webinar Registration – Zoom https://medtronic.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sJWm4iOrQDKhukcQErePDw to watch live @ 1400BST. Sign up to Surgery2025 to watch asynchronously! We present the world’s first look at the COVIDSurg-Cancer final locked dataset, examining how resilient elective cancer surgery was around the world during COVID-19 lockdowns. This powerful analysis will have major policy and practice implications during future waves, other system shocks and during the recovery period. We will discuss lessons for the future and pre-pandemic recovery with an international panel. The webinar will be presented live in partnership with Medtronic – sign up now! It will be then available to watch on demand via the Surgery2025 online CME platform – simply register for an account here and you will be all set to go! This content is accredited for 1 CPD point by RCSEng.

SARS-CoV-2 and the role of fomite transmission: a systematic review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/34136133?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Allosteric Cross-Talk among Spike’s Receptor-Binding Domain Mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 South African Variant Triggers an Effective Hijacking of Human Cell Receptor. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/34161095

Performance of the EUROIMMUN Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA Assay for detection of IgA and IgG antibodies in South Africa. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/34161348

OTHER NEWS

Quality shines when scientists use publishing tactic known as registered reports, study finds. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/quality-shines-when-scientists-use-publishing-tactic-known-registered-reports-study

Different evolutionary pathways of HIV-1 between fetus and mother perinatal transmission pairs indicate unique immune selection in fetuses. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00158-0

Estimated Cost-effectiveness of Solar-Powered Oxygen Delivery for Pneumonia in Young Children in Low-Resource Settings. The results of this economic evaluation suggest that solar-powered O2 is a cost-effective intervention for pediatric patients with hypoxemia in low-resource settings. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781317

Local manufacturing, local supply chains and health security in Africa: lessons from COVID-19. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e006362

Performance assessment of the county healthcare systems in Kenya: a mixed-methods analysis. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e004707

Measurement and prevalence of sexual harassment in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e047473

Evaluation of Artesunate-mefloquine as a Novel Alternative Treatment for Schistosomiasis in African Children (SchistoSAM): protocol of a proof-of-concept, open-label, two-arm, individually-randomised controlled trial. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e047147

COVID-19 infection among international travellers: a prospective analysis. 21.5 per 1000 international travellers tested positive for COVID-19. Most (69%) tested positive on arrival and 31% tested positive during follow-up. These findings suggest the need for ongoing vigilance in travellers testing negative on arrival and highlight the value of follow-up testing and contact tracing to monitor and limit secondary transmission where possible. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e050667

Social determinants of mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income and middle-income countries. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00253-9/fulltext

Maternal mental health is being affected by poverty and COVID-19. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00245-X/fulltext

Transforming global health through equity-driven funding. Black people living in Africa must be involved in setting the priorities for global health research, policies and programs that affect their daily lives, in order to move away from a funding culture that fosters colonialism, racism and white supremacy.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01422-6

FROM 24 JUNE

Antibodies from malaria-exposed Malians generally interact additively or synergistically with human vaccine-induced RH5 antibodies. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00169-5

Association of Clinical Complications of Chemotherapy and Patient-Reported Outcomes After Immediate Breast Reconstruction. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2781225

Predicting Mortality Rates After Esophagectomy for Cancer. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2781229

‘I haven’t heard much about other methods’: quality of care and person-centredness in a programme to promote the postpartum intrauterine device in Tanzania. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e005775

Parents, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders’ experiences of caring for babies born too soon in a low-resource setting: a qualitative study of essential newborn care for preterm infants in Kenya. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e043802

Adapting to, integrating and self-managing HIV as a chronic illness: a scoping review protocol. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e047870

Decolonising violence against women research: a study design for co-developing violence prevention interventions with communities in low and middle income countries (LMICs). https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11172-2

Integrity, use and care of long-lasting insecticidal nets in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10882-x

FROM 23 JUNE

Estimations of overdiagnosis in breast cancer screening vary between 0% and over 50%: why? https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e046353

Caregivers’ estimate of early childhood developmental status in rural Uganda: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e044708

Global burden of acute lower respiratory infection associated with human parainfluenza virus in children younger than 5 years for 2018: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00218-7/fulltext

Appendicitis: Take it or leave it? Comment on: Randomized trial comparing antibiotics with appendectomy for appendicitis. https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(21)00501-8/fulltext#.YNKC2LgZGwU.twitter

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Saturday, 26 June 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JUNE 26, 2021, 04:36 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	67,492	[1,684]	1,095	[26]	61,341	5,056	28,146	457	1,282,735

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 06-26-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

67,492 Total confirmed cases

1,095 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 25 JUNE 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 26 June 2021

NEWS

‘We were never a priority’: Zimbabwe Covid ‘hotspots’ face strict lockdown. Tighter restrictions in 12 mostly rural areas come as health service struggles to cope with third wave of infections. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jun/25/we-were-never-a-priority-zimbabwe-covid-hotspots-face-strict-lockdown

Just give us the vaccines, WHO pleads, as poor countries go wanting. https://www.reuters.com/world/just-give-us-vaccines-who-pleads-poor-countries-go-wanting-2021-06-25/

Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi contracts COVID-19. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tunisia-coronavirus-government/tunisian-prime-minister-hichem-mechichi-contracts-covid-19-idUSKCN2E11W9

WHO’s Tedros says vaccine shortage in poor countries a global failure. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/whos-tedros-says-vaccine-shortage-poor-countries-global-failure-2021-06-25/

Tanzania’s president urges public not to ignore pandemic. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tanzanias-president-urges-public-not-ignore-pandemic-2021-06-25/

Is one vaccine dose enough if you’ve had COVID? What the science says. Research shows that a previous coronavirus infection plus one dose of vaccine provides powerful protection — but concerns linger. Many people who’ve been infected with the coronavirus might be able to safely skip the second jab of any two-dose vaccine regimen, a growing number of studies suggest. These results could help to stretch scarce vaccine supplies and are already influencing vaccination policies in some countries. But questions remain about whether the findings hold for all individuals and all vaccines — and therefore how policymakers should respond to the findings. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01609-4

Nutrition, the Immune System and a Global Pandemic. https://www.scientificamerican.com/custom-media/nutrition-the-immune-system-and-a-global-pandemic/

SARS-CoV-2 and the role of fomite transmission: a systematic review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/34136133?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Performance of the EUROIMMUN Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA Assay for detection of IgA and IgG antibodies in South Africa. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/publication/34161348

An automatic pipeline for the design of irreversible derivatives identifies a potent SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitor. https://www.cell.com/cell-chemical-biology/fulltext/S2451-9456(21)00263-4

Assessment of a COVID-19 Control Plan on an Urban University Campus During a Second Wave of the Pandemic. These findings suggest that using frequent testing, vigorous contact tracing, rapid isolation and quarantine, and a strong leadership structure to ensure rapid decision-making and adaption to emerging data, controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 on an urban campus was feasible despite worsening local transmission during the semester. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781349

Utility of Mass SARS-CoV-2 Testing of Asymptomatic Patients Before Ambulatory and Inpatient Preplanned Procedures Requiring Moderate Sedation or General Anesthesia. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781353

Comparison of COVID-19 Vaccine Approvals at the US Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency, and Health Canada. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781352

Covid-19: US doctors suggest new ways to target vaccine hesitancy. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1640

Covid-19: Hunger spreads and food prices soar amid pandemic, warns UN food agency. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1643

Hypertension is the major predictor of poor outcomes among inpatients with COVID-19 infection in the UK: a retrospective cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e047561

Temporal trends of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Kenya. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24062-3

Distinct clinical and immunological profiles of patients with evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23267-w

Engineered ACE2 receptor therapy overcomes mutational escape of SARS-CoV-2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24013-y

Design of COVID-19 staged alert systems to ensure healthcare capacity with minimal closures. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23989-x

Sequence signatures of two public antibody clonotypes that bind SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24123-7

RESOURCES

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

COVIDSurg’s next free data driven webinar is coming at the end of June! Join us on the Surgery2025 platform

OTHER NEWS

When is ‘self-plagiarism’ OK? New guidelines offer researchers rules for recycling text. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/when-self-plagiarism-ok-new-guidelines-offer-researchers-rules-recycling-text

Mortality trends and access to care for cardiovascular diseases in Agincourt, rural South Africa: a mixed-methods analysis of verbal autopsy data. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e048592

Factors associated with incomplete immunisation in children aged 12–23 months at subnational level, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e047445

Impact of an accelerated melting of Greenland on malaria distribution over Africa. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24134-4

Maps and metrics of insecticide-treated net access, use, and nets-per-capita in Africa from 2000-2020. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23707-7

Two decades of neuroscience publication trends in Africa. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23784-8

Using mobile phone data to reveal risk flow networks underlying the HIV epidemic in Namibia. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23051-w

FROM 25 JUNE

Local manufacturing, local supply chains and health security in Africa: lessons from COVID-19. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e006362

Performance assessment of the county healthcare systems in Kenya: a mixed-methods analysis. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e004707

Measurement and prevalence of sexual harassment in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e047473

Social determinants of mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income and middle-income countries. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00253-9/fulltext

Maternal mental health is being affected by poverty and COVID-19. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00245-X/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Monday 28 June 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JUNE 28, 2021, 03:52 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	67,492	[1,684]	1,095	[26]	61,341	5,056	28,146	457	1,282,735

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 06-28-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

67,492 Total confirmed cases

1,095 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 27 JUNE 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 28 June 2021

BWgovernment June 25 at 6:44 PM ·

STAY HOME DURING THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS!

#LetsDefeatCOVID19Together #AReFenyengCOVID19Mmogo 🇧🇼

NEWS

South Africa tightens Covid rules as ‘devastating wave’ gathers pace. President announces new restrictions amid warnings surge across continent could be ‘worst yet’. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/27/south-africa-expected-tighten-covid-rules-third-wave-gathers-pace

South Africa to tighten COVID-19 restrictions for 14 days. JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa will tighten COVID-19 restrictions for 14 days as current containment measures are insufficient to cope with the speed and scale of new infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-safrica/south-africa-to-tighten-covid-19-restrictions-for-14-days-idUSKCN2E30H3

Delta COVID-19 variant starting to dominate in S.Africa, scientists say. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/delta-variant-starting-dominate-safrica-scientists-say-2021-06-26/

Namibia to suspend first doses as COVID-19 vaccine supplies run low – memo. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/namibia-suspend-first-doses-covid-19-vaccine-supplies-run-low-memo-2021-06-26/

WHO urges fully vaccinated people to continue to wear masks as delta Covid variant spreads. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/25/delta-who-urges-fully-vaccinated-people-to-continue-to-wear-masks-as-variant-spreads.html

ACIP Backs Flu and COVID Vaccine Co-Administration— Committee also voted on dengue, rabies vaccines for kids. https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/acip/93283?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2021-06-26&eun=g1652901d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20Top%20Cat%20HeC%20%202021-06-26&utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_dual-gmail-definition

Liver Fibrosis Linked to Lower Response to COVID Vaccine — Third dose may be needed in this population as well as some transplant patients, says researcher. https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/easl/93304?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2021-06-26&eun=g1652901d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20Top%20Cat%20HeC%20%202021-06-26&utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_dual-gmail-definition

FDA Authorizes IL-6 Inhibitor for Severe COVID-19 Patients — Tocilizumab received EUA for hospitalized patients receiving steroids. https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/93277?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2021-06-26&eun=g1652901d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20Top%20Cat%20HeC%20%202021-06-26&utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_dual-gmail-definition

Antibody landscape against SARS-CoV-2 proteome reveals significant differences between non-structural/ accessory proteins and structural proteins. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)00789-0

Knowledge of Health Care Workers Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic Response Plan; A Study from a University Affiliated Hospital in Jordan. https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(21)01535-8

RESOURCES

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

COVIDSurg’s next free data driven webinar is coming at the end of June! Join us on the Surgery2025 platform

OTHER NEWS

Putting people first in managing their health: new WHO guideline on self-care interventions. https://www.who.int/news/item/23-06-2021-putting-people-first-in-managing-their-health-new-who-guideline-on-self-care-interventions

Evaluating a Novel Prehospital Emergency Trauma Care Assessment Tool (PETCAT) for Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Sierra Leone. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00268-021-06140-1?utm_source=toc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=toc_268_45_8&utm_content=etoc_springer_20210627

The Burden of Disease and Pathology at a Rapidly Expanding Tertiary Paediatric Surgical Unit in South Africa. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00268-021-06144-x?utm_source=toc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=toc_268_45_8&utm_content=etoc_springer_20210627

Evaluation of Interventions Addressing Timely Access to Surgical Care in Low-Income and Low-Middle-Income Countries as Outlined by the LANCET Commission 2030 Global Surgery Goals: A Systematic Review, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00268-021-06152-x?utm_source=toc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=toc_268_45_8&utm_content=etoc_springer_20210627

Impact factor abandoned by Dutch university in hiring and promotion decisions. Faculty and staff members at Utrecht University will be evaluated by their commitment to open science. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01759-5

FROM 26 JUNE

Mortality trends and access to care for cardiovascular diseases in Agincourt, rural South Africa: a mixed-methods analysis of verbal autopsy data. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e048592

Factors associated with incomplete immunisation in children aged 12–23 months at subnational level, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e047445

Impact of an accelerated melting of Greenland on malaria distribution over Africa. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24134-4

Maps and metrics of insecticide-treated net access, use, and nets-per-capita in Africa from 2000-2020. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23707-7

Two decades of neuroscience publication trends in Africa. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23784-8

Using mobile phone data to reveal risk flow networks underlying the HIV epidemic in Namibia. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-23051-w

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Tuesday, 29 June 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JUNE 29, 2021, 03:20 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	69,680	[1,188]	1,125	[30]	63,932	4,623	29,052	469	1,304,362

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 06-29-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

69,680 Total confirmed cases

1,125 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 27 JUNE 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 29 June 2021

BWgovernment June 25 at 6:44 PM ·

STAY HOME DURING THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS!

#LetsDefeatCOVID19Together #AReFenyengCOVID19Mmogo 🇧🇼

NEWS

Online First: COVID-19 in South Africa. http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj

Tanzania to spend $470 million on vaccines, coronavirus-damaged economy. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tanzania-spend-470-million-vaccines-coronavirus-damaged-economy-2021-06-28/

Coronavirus in Africa: Concern grows over third wave of infections, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53181555

IMF says Africa urgently needs vaccines to halt repeated COVID waves. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-imf-africa/imf-says-africa-urgently-needs-vaccines-to-halt-repeated-covid-waves-idUSKCN2E4288

Nigeria adds South Africa to its COVID-19 ‘red list’ for arriving travellers. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/nigeria-adds-south-africa-its-covid-19-red-list-arriving-travellers-2021-06-28/

Turkey halts flights from six countries due to coronavirus variants. Turkey has halted flights and all direct travel from Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka due to new variants of the coronavirus, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. https://www.reuters.com/news/archive/africa-news?view=page&page=2&pageSize=10

The COVID pandemic’s lingering impact on clinical trials. Medical researchers are beginning to shift their focus away from COVID-19 — but the pandemic could continue to affect studies focused on other diseases. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01569-9

Pandemic pressures made parents consider quitting academia. A survey of US medical scientists also found that more women than men have thought about leaving since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01761-x

SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617 is resistant to Bamlanivimab and evades antibodies induced by infection and vaccination. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)00828-7

FDA-authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective per real-world evidence synthesized across a multi-state health system. https://www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(21)00238-5

Real-time analysis of a mass vaccination effort confirms the safety of FDA-authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. https://www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(21)00237-3

Building resilient health systems in Africa beyond the COVID-19 pandemic response. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e006108

Covid-19: Should we be worried about reports of myocarditis and pericarditis after mRNA vaccines? https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1635

What are the measures taken to prevent COVID-19 infection among healthcare workers? A retrospective study in a cluster of primary care clinics in Singapore. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e049190

Presymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a secondary analysis using published data. There is substantial potential for presymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 across a range of different contexts. This highlights the need for rapid case detection, contact tracing and quarantine. The transmission patterns that we report reflect the combination of biological infectiousness and transmission opportunities which vary according to context. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e041240

Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. In comparison to SOC or placebo, IVM did not reduce all-cause mortality, length of stay or viral clearance in RCTs in COVID-19 patients with mostly mild disease. IVM did not have an effect on AEs or severe AEs. IVM is not a viable option to treat COVID-19 patients. https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciab591/6310839#.YNqH4HwbqfB.twitter

RESOURCES

Amplifying the Voices of a Global Research Community: A PLOS Perspective. Date and time Wed, June 30, 2021 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM SAST REGISTER—FREE– https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amplifying-the-voices-of-a-global-research-community-a-plos-perspective-tickets-157653498859

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

COVIDSurg’s next free data driven webinar is coming at the end of June! Join us on the Surgery2025 platform

OTHER NEWS

Algorithm for the support of non-related (serious) adverse events in an Ebola vaccine trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e005726

How can I manage compassion fatigue? https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1495

How can countries create outbreak response policies that are sensitive to maternal health? https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1271

What factors are associated with pre-pregnancy nutritional status? Baseline analysis of the KITE cohort: a prospective study in northern Ethiopia. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e043484

Retraction—Family planning in COVID-19 times: access for all. In this invited Comment,1 significant portions of text were used verbatim from several other pieces of published work without proper attribution. Although the sources were cited, the verbatim text should have been indicated by quotation marks. I therefore wish to retract this Comment. I sincerely regret the lapse. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00292-8/fulltext#%20

Mortality trends and access to care for cardiovascular diseases in Agincourt, rural South Africa: a mixed-methods analysis of verbal autopsy data. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e048592https://www.devex.com/news/african-development-bank-plans-to-build-resilient-health-systems-100241

African Development Bank plans to build resilient health systems. https://www.devex.com/news/african-development-bank-plans-to-build-resilient-health-systems-100241

Synthesizing postpartum care pathways, facilitators, and barriers for women after cesarean section: a qualitative analysis from rural Rwanda. https://www.joghr.org/article/23615-synthesizing-postpartum-care-pathways-facilitators-and-barriers-for-women-after-cesarean-section-a-qualitative-analysis-from-rural-rwanda

FROM 28 JUNE

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Wednesday, 30 June 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JUNE 30, 2021, 02:39 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	69,680	[1,188]	1,125	[30]	63,932	4,623	29,052	469	1,304,362

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 06-30-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

69,680 Total confirmed cases

1,125 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 27 JUNE 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 30 June 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

NEWS

Covid-19: The countries that have mandatory vaccination for health workers. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1645

Covid-19: Upgrading to FFP3 respirators cuts infection risk, research finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1663

Use of airborne precautions for covid-19 in healthcare settings, https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/06/28/use-of-airborne-precautions-for-covid-19-in-healthcare-settings/

Covid-19, equity, and inclusiveness. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1631

Covid-19: Third vaccine dose boosts immune response but may not be needed, say researchers. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1659?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

WHO Urges Vaccinated People to Wear Masks; CDC Still Says No Need. World Health Organization leaders advised caution as new variants threaten progress against the pandemic. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/who-urges-vaccinated-people-to-wear-masks-cdc-still-says-no-need/

How Dangerous Is the Delta Variant, and Will It Cause a COVID Surge in the U.S.? A new, more transmissible form of SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly spreading in the country and poses a threat to unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-dangerous-is-the-delta-variant-and-will-it-cause-a-covid-surge-in-the-u-s/

Structure-guided T cell vaccine design for SARS-CoV-2 variants and sarbecoviruses. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00797-2

Lessons from countries implementing find, test, trace, isolation and support policies in the rapid response of the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e047832

Single-shot COVID-19 vaccine produces immune response against variants. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/single-shot-covid-19-vaccine-produces-immune-response-against-variants?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

RESOURCES

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

OTHER NEWS

Why So Many Formats When One Will Do? A Call for a Single Manuscript Submission Format.. : Annals of Surgery https://journals.lww.com/annalsofsurgery/Citation/9000/Why_So_Many_Formats_When_One_Will_Do__A_Call_for_a.93512.aspx

It’s official: China has eliminated malaria. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/it-s-official-china-has-eliminated-malaria

Sex Differences in Academic Productivity Across Academic Ranks and Specialties in Academic Medicine. A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. These findings suggest that future investigation should be conducted regarding the causes of women’s decreased citation-related publication productivity within the field and interventions should be developed to provide a more equitable environment for all physicians, regardless of sex. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781500

Implications of Sex Disparities in the h-Index for Academic Medicine. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781502

Gender equality by 2045: reimagining a healthier future for women and girls. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1621

An easier way to submit research at PLOS. To help authors save time and effort in the article submission process, all PLOS journals offer format-free initial submission for authors submitting research articles. Learn more about this service before you get started on your next submission. What is Format-Free Submission? Format-free submission is part of our 3-step submission process which includes: Initial submission. Participating journals waive all formatting requirements and will request formatting changes only after initial editorial evaluation or initial peer review depending on the journal.

Together, these 3 steps are designed to help ease initial submission so you spend as little time in the article submission process as possible. https://theplosblog.plos.org/2021/06/an-easier-way-to-submit-research-at-plos/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=strengthsandbenefits&utm_content=formatfree

29 JUNE

Algorithm for the support of non-related (serious) adverse events in an Ebola vaccine trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e005726

How can I manage compassion fatigue? https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1495

How can countries create outbreak response policies that are sensitive to maternal health? https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1271

What factors are associated with pre-pregnancy nutritional status? Baseline analysis of the KITE cohort: a prospective study in northern Ethiopia. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e043484

African Development Bank plans to build resilient health systems. https://www.devex.com/news/african-development-bank-plans-to-build-resilient-health-systems-100241

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Thursday, 1 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 1, 2021, 02:39 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	69,680	[1,188]	1,125	[30]	63,932	4,623	29,052	469	1,304,362

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-01-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

69,680 Total confirmed cases

1,125 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 27 JUNE 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 30 June 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 1 JULY 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

NEWS

How long does covid-19 immunity last? https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1605

Covid tourism freeze could cost global economy $4tn by year end. Turkey, Ecuador and South Africa will be among hardest hit as pandemic-related losses reach $2.4tn, says UN report. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/30/covid-tourism-freeze-could-cost-global-economy-4tn-by-year-end

World Bank says will boost COVID-19 vaccine funding to $20 billion. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-world-bank/world-bank-says-will-boost-covid-19-vaccine-funding-to-20-billion-idUSKCN2E62CW

Aspen to partner with finance institutions to boost vaccine know-how. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/aspen-partner-with-finance-institutions-boost-vaccine-know-how-2021-06-30/

Unequal access to vaccines skews global recovery, says IMF chief economist. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-inflation-usa/unequal-access-to-vaccines-skews-global-recovery-says-imf-chief-economist-idUSKCN2E61I7

Audio Interview: Another New Covid-19 Vaccine. In this audio interview conducted on June 29, 2021, the editors discuss the encouraging results of a phase 3 study of the Novavax vaccine NVX-CoV2373, as well as new data on the effect of vaccines on the severity of disease. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2110939?query=featured_home

Prevention and Attenuation of Covid-19 with the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 Vaccines. Authorized mRNA vaccines were highly effective among working-age adults in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection when administered in real-world conditions, and the vaccines attenuated the viral RNA load, risk of febrile symptoms, and duration of illness among those who had breakthrough infection despite vaccination. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2107058?query=featured_home

Safety and Efficacy of NVX-CoV2373 Covid-19 Vaccine. A two-dose regimen of the NVX-CoV2373 vaccine administered to adult participants conferred 89.7% protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and showed high efficacy against the B.1.1.7 variant. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2107659?query=featured_home

SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Response in Persons with Past Natural Infection. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2103825?query=featured_home

Covid-19 and the Investigator Pipeline. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2100086?query=featured_secondary

Protecting Olympic Participants from Covid-19 — The Urgent Need for a Risk-Management Approach. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2108567?query=featured_secondary

Alcohol-Related Diseases Increased as Some People Drank More During the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2781739

Effects of Wearing an N95 Respirator or Cloth Mask Among Adults at Peak Exercise. A Randomized Crossover Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781514

Infection Risk of COVID-19 in Dentistry Remains Unknown: A Preliminary Systematic Review. Conclusions: Although it seems that there are almost no reported cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2 during dental treatments, occupational or nosocomial transmission could not be ruled out. Hence, further prospective assessment of COVID-19 transmission is urgently required, and careful and protective measurements are necessary to avoid infection during dental practice. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34191900/

RESOURCES

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

OTHER NEWS

Vaccine made of live malaria parasites shows early success. Strategy uses a combination of parasites and medicines to generate immunity while avoiding symptoms. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01806-1

Beyond coronavirus: the virus discoveries transforming biology. SARS-CoV-2 is just one of nonillions of viruses on our planet, and scientists are rapidly identifying legions of new species. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01749-7

Journal impact factor gets a sibling that adjusts for scientific field. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/journal-impact-factor-gets-sibling-adjusts-scientific-field

Assessment of 25-Year Survival of Women With Estrogen Receptor–Positive/ERBB2-Negative Breast Cancer Treated With and Without Tamoxifen Therapy. A Secondary Analysis of Data From the Stockholm Tamoxifen Randomized Clinical Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781511

Timing and Length of Nocturnal Sleep and Daytime Napping and Associations With Obesity Types in High-, Middle-, and Low-Income Countries. These findings suggest that encouraging earlier bedtime and avoiding short nocturnal sleep may benefit weight control. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781513

Modeling Cervical Cancer Screening Strategies With Varying Levels of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781509

Effectiveness and safety of reactive focal mass drug administration (rfMDA) using dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine to reduce malaria transmission in the very low-endemic setting of Eswatini: a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e005021

Exploring smoke: an ethnographic study of air pollution in rural Malawi. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e004970

Dietary alteration of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids for headache reduction in adults with migraine: randomized controlled trial. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1448

Dietary omega 3 fatty acids for migraine. The linked study by Ramsden and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.n1448) now provides good evidence that a diet rich in omega 3 (n-3) fatty acids reduces headache frequency compared with a diet with normal intake of omega 3 and omega 6 (n-6) fatty acids. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1535

Threats to the effectiveness of insecticide-treated bednets for malaria control: thinking beyond insecticide resistance. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00216-3/fulltext

Ultra-processed food consumption and adult obesity risk: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. Our study suggests that UPF consumption is associated with an increased risk of excess weight or abdominal obesity. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34190668/

FROM 30 JUNE

It’s official: China has eliminated malaria. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/it-s-official-china-has-eliminated-malaria

Implications of Sex Disparities in the h-Index for Academic Medicine. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781502

Gender equality by 2045: reimagining a healthier future for women and girls. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1621

29 JUNE

Algorithm for the support of non-related (serious) adverse events in an Ebola vaccine trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e005726

How can I manage compassion fatigue? https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1495

How can countries create outbreak response policies that are sensitive to maternal health? https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1271

What factors are associated with pre-pregnancy nutritional status? Baseline analysis of the KITE cohort: a prospective study in northern Ethiopia. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e043484

African Development Bank plans to build resilient health systems. https://www.devex.com/news/african-development-bank-plans-to-build-resilient-health-systems-100241

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Friday, 2 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 2, 2021, 03:05 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	71,443	[1,763]	1,158	[33]	63,932	4,623	29,052	469	1,304,362

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-02-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

71,443 Total confirmed cases

1,158 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 27 JUNE 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 30 June 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 2 JULY 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

NEWS

S.African medics threaten court action as staff shortages hit COVID response. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/safrican-medical-body-threatens-court-action-over-internships-2021-07-01/

WTA rules no Asian tournament swing due to COVID-19 restrictions. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/wta-rules-no-asian-tournament-swing-due-covid-19-restrictions-2021-07-01/

Scientists identify long-sought marker for COVID vaccine success. Knowing which signatures in the blood predict protection against COVID-19 could speed the development of new vaccines. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01778-2

Mix-and-match COVID vaccines: the case is growing, but questions remain. A slew of studies suggests that mixing vaccines provokes potent immune responses, but scientists still want answers on real-world efficacy and rare side effects. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01805-2

COVID, Quickly, Episode 10: Long Haulers, Delta Woes and Barbershop Shots. https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/covid-quickly-episode-10-long-haulers-delta-woes-and-barbershop-shots/

Scientists quit journal board, protesting ‘grossly irresponsible’ study claiming COVID-19 vaccines kill. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/scientists-quit-journal-board-protesting-grossly-irresponsible-study-claiming-covid-19

Can immune responses alone reveal which COVID-19 vaccines work best? https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/can-immune-responses-alone-reveal-which-covid-19-vaccines-work-best

SARS-CoV-2 immune evasion by the B.1.427/B.1.429 variant of concern. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/06/30/science.abi7994?rss=1

Ultrapotent antibodies against diverse and highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/06/30/science.abh1766?rss=1

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on the total CD4+ and CD8+ T cell reactivity in infected or vaccinated individuals. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00204-4

Sharing Technology and Vaccine Doses to Address Global Vaccine Inequity and End the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2781756

Ethical Considerations of Offering Benefits to COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2781755

Covid-19: Pfizer vaccine could provide lasting immunity, small study suggests. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1675

COVID-19 international border surveillance at Toronto’s Pearson Airport: a cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e050714

Responsive and agile vaccination strategies against COVID-19 in India. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00284-9/fulltext

RESOURCES

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Q&A. Conversations with Frontline Clinicians and Experts About the COVID-19 Pandemic. Free Video and Podcast CME https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/pages/covid-19-interviews?utm_campaign=COVIDQA_B&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=house&utm_content=leader&utm_term=728×90

OTHER NEWS

Plastics have become an essential material of the modern global consumer economy, yet many of the properties that make them useful in so many applications also make them a serious environmental threat. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6550/34

Depressive symptoms among people with HIV/AIDS in Northwest Ethiopia: comparative study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048931

Cross-sectional hospital-based study on the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus markers among healthcare workers, NWR, Cameroon. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045716

Systematic Study and Meta-Analysis of Risk Factors Associated with Cholera Outbreaks in Africa: A Review. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=110195&utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=chenling

We need people’s WHO to solve vaccine inequity, and we need it now. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006598

CUGH’s Past and Current Efforts to Reduce Disparities, Inequalities, and Decolonize its Activities (June 2021)

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/CUGH-s-Efforts-to-Reduce-Disparities–Inequalities-and-Decolonize-its-Activities.html?soid=1112846108446&aid=ztD5gw4g70I

FROM 1 JULY

Journal impact factor gets a sibling that adjusts for scientific field. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/journal-impact-factor-gets-sibling-adjusts-scientific-field

Modeling Cervical Cancer Screening Strategies With Varying Levels of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781509

Exploring smoke: an ethnographic study of air pollution in rural Malawi. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e004970

Dietary alteration of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids for headache reduction in adults with migraine: randomized controlled trial. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1448

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Saturday, 3 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 3, 2021, 03:23 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	71,443	[1,763]	1,158	[33]	63,932	4,623	29,052	469	1,304,362

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-03-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

71,443 Total confirmed cases

1,158 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 27 JUNE 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 30 June 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 2 JULY 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

NEWS

Saudi Arabia bans entry from UAE, Vietnam, Ethiopia and Afghanistan -agency. Saudi Arabia will restrict travel to and entry from Ethiopia, UAE, Vietnam and Afghanistan over coronavirus concerns, the state news agency (WAS) reported on Saturday. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-bans-entry-uae-vietnam-ethiopia-afghanistan-agency-2021-07-02/

South Africa hits record 24,000 new COVID-19 cases in third wave. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-safrica/south-africa-hits-record-24000-new-covid-19-cases-in-third-wave-idUSKCN2E82B6

S.African medics threaten court action as staff shortages hit COVID response. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/safrican-medical-body-threatens-court-action-over-internships-2021-07-01/

Ugandan police hunt phoney doctor, arrest two nurses in COVID vaccine scam. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ugandan-police-hunt-phoney-doctor-arrest-two-nurses-covid-vaccine-scam-2021-07-01/

Coronavirus: Research, Commentary, and News. https://www.sciencemag.org/collections/coronavirus

Cell Press Coronavirus Resource Hub. https://www.cell.com/COVID-19?utm_source=CellPressTheLancetandSocietiesPublishing&utm_medium=brighttalk&utm_campaign=486735?utm_medium=homepage

Frequency of Thrombocytopenia and Platelet Factor 4/Heparin Antibodies in Patients With Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2781791

Sparks through the stubble: dying in a pandemic. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01439-2/fulltext

Sleep problems during COVID-19 pandemic and its’ association to psychological distress: A systematic review and meta-analysis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8192091/

RESOURCES

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

OTHER NEWS

Gender Disparity in Citations in High-Impact Journal Articles. These findings suggest that gender-based differences in article citations may be a key contributor to disparities in the advancement and promotion of women in academic medicine. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781617

Gender Disparities in Journal Citations—Another Metric of Inequity in Academia. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781619

Process evaluation of an implementation strategy to support uptake of a tuberculosis treatment adherence intervention to improve TB care and outcomes in Malawi. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048499

Sustainability drivers and inhibitors for the health system performance improvement projects in selected health facilities in Kenya: a qualitative study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e035475

Perspectives of education sector stakeholders on a teacher training module to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma in Western Kenya. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11331-5

Fertility drugs do not increase breast cancer risk, study finds. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210621123746.htm

FROM 2 JULY

Depressive symptoms among people with HIV/AIDS in Northwest Ethiopia: comparative study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048931

Cross-sectional hospital-based study on the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus markers among healthcare workers, NWR, Cameroon. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045716

We need people’s WHO to solve vaccine inequity, and we need it now. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006598

CUGH’s Past and Current Efforts to Reduce Disparities, Inequalities, and Decolonize its Activities (June 2021)

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/CUGH-s-Efforts-to-Reduce-Disparities–Inequalities-and-Decolonize-its-Activities.html?soid=1112846108446&aid=ztD5gw4g70I

FROM 1 JULY

Journal impact factor gets a sibling that adjusts for scientific field. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/journal-impact-factor-gets-sibling-adjusts-scientific-field

Modeling Cervical Cancer Screening Strategies With Varying Levels of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781509

Exploring smoke: an ethnographic study of air pollution in rural Malawi. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e004970

Dietary alteration of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids for headache reduction in adults with migraine: randomized controlled trial. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1448

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Monday, 5 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 5, 2021, 01:42 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	71,443	[1,763]	1,158	[33]	63,932	4,623	29,052	469	1,304,362

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-05-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

71,443 Total confirmed cases

1,158 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 27 JUNE 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 5 July 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 2 JULY 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

NEWS

Update–Research and Development Priorities for COVID-19 in Africa. https://www.aasciences.africa/publications/update-research-and-development-goals-covid-19-africa

Experimental Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Content in Inhaled Air With or Without Face Masks in Healthy Children. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2781743

South Africa hits a new record with 26,000 daily COVID-19 cases. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-hits-new-record-with-26000-daily-covid-19-cases-2021-07-03/

South Africa approves China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine – health ministry. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/south-africa-approves-chinas-sinovac-covid-19-vaccine-domestic-use-health-2021-07-03/

Health service buckling as third coronavirus wave fuelled by Delta variant sweeps across South Africa. With new cases soaring by 25% President Cyril Ramaphosa warns of massive resurgence of infections. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/04/health-service-buckling-as-third-coronavirus-wave-fuelled-by-delta-variant-sweeps-across-south-africa

The Role of Nutrition in COVID-19 Susceptibility and Severity of Disease: A Systematic Review. https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/151/7/1854/6274856#.YOJ5VOklqTA.twitter

Mathematical assessment of the role of denial on COVID-19 transmission with non-linear incidence and treatment functions. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621001150

Assessment of infection prevention and control measures adopted by eye care practitioners in Ghana and South Africa against COVID-19. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621000703

Bacteriological profile and antimicrobial efficacy of alcohol-based hand rubs among health care workers and family caregivers at the children’s university teaching hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S246822762100079X

Serologic response to SARS-CoV-2 in an African population. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S246822762100106X

Africa CDC Vaccine Dashboard, https://africacdc.org/covid-19-vaccination/ Find any country.

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

OTHER NEWS

Addressing weight stigma and anti-obesity rhetoric in policy changes to prevent eating disorders. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01109-0/fulltext

Countdown on health and climate change: too important for methodological errors. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00884-9/fulltext

Child malnutrition: hungry for action. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(21)00170-X/fulltext

Effect of HIV infection on growth and bone density in peripubertal children in the era of antiretroviral therapy: a cross-sectional study in Zimbabwe. Despite ART, HIV is associated with substantial skeletal deficits towards the end of puberty. The extent of bone deficits associated with TDF and its widespread use in children in sub-Saharan Africa are a concern for future adult fracture risk. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(21)00133-4/fulltext

HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aids-children/hiv-generic-drug-for-babies-distributed-in-africa-says-unitaid-idUSKCN2EA051

Application of next generation sequencing in HIV drug resistance studies in Africa, 2005-2019: A systematic review. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621001332?dgcid=rss_sd_all

Internet of medical things, policies and geriatrics: An analysis of the national digital health strategy for South Africa 2019–2024 from the policy triangle framework perspective. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621000636

Effectiveness of peer to peer strategy in reducing accidents and injuries at a selected platinum mine in Zimbabwe. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621000338

Predictors associated with the variation of CD4 cell count and body mass index (BMI) for HIV positive adults under ART. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621001241

In-person versus virtual suturing and knot-tying curricula: Skills training during the COVID-19 era. https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(21)00562-6/fulltext#.YOI3T-7LwuM.twitter

Aspirin and cancer survival: a systematic review and meta-analyses of 118 observational studies of aspirin and 18 cancers. There is a considerable body of evidence suggestive of about a 20% reduction in mortality in patients with cancer who take aspirin, and the benefit appears not to be restricted to one or a few cancers. Aspirin, therefore, appears to deserve serious consideration as an adjuvant treatment of cancer, and patients with cancer, and their carers, have a right to be informed of the available evidence. https://ecancer.org/en/journal/article/1258-aspirin-and-cancer-survival-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analyses-of-118-observational-studies-of-aspirin-and-18-cancers#.YOI3RqwbEVA.twitter

FROM 3 JULY

Disparities in Gender and Race Among Physician-Scientists. A Call to Action and Strategic Recommendations. https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Abstract/9000/Disparities_in_Gender_and_Race_Among.96649.aspx?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=amexpress&utm_content=newsletter

FROM 3 JULY

Gender Disparities in Journal Citations—Another Metric of Inequity in Academia. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781619

Fertility drugs do not increase breast cancer risk, study finds. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210621123746.htm

FROM 2 JULY

Depressive symptoms among people with HIV/AIDS in Northwest Ethiopia: comparative study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048931

Cross-sectional hospital-based study on the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus markers among healthcare workers, NWR, Cameroon. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045716

We need people’s WHO to solve vaccine inequity, and we need it now. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006598

CUGH’s Past and Current Efforts to Reduce Disparities, Inequalities, and Decolonize its Activities (June 2021)

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/CUGH-s-Efforts-to-Reduce-Disparities–Inequalities-and-Decolonize-its-Activities.html?soid=1112846108446&aid=ztD5gw4g70I

FROM 1 JULY

Journal impact factor gets a sibling that adjusts for scientific field. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/journal-impact-factor-gets-sibling-adjusts-scientific-field

Modeling Cervical Cancer Screening Strategies With Varying Levels of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781509

Exploring smoke: an ethnographic study of air pollution in rural Malawi. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e004970

Dietary alteration of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids for headache reduction in adults with migraine: randomized controlled trial. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1448

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Tuesday, 6 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 6, 2021, 03:24 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	73,97771,443	[2,534]	1,188	[30]	68,069	4,720	30,8332	495	1,340,900

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-06-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

71,443 Total confirmed cases

1,158 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 4 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Country Botswana

Region Southern

Cases 71,443

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 2,977

Cases/1M 29,767.90

Active Cases 3,962

Active/100k 165.10

Country South Africa

Region Southern

Cases 2,062,896

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 3,479

Cases/1M 34,787.50

Active Cases 192,974

Active/100k 325.40

Country Namibia

Region Southern

Cases 95,703

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 3,828

Cases/1M 38,281.20

Active Cases 23,671

Active/100k 946.80

Country Zimbabwe

Region Southern

Cases 54,474

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 366

Cases/1M 3,656.00

Active Cases 12,357

Active/100k 82.90

Country Angola

Region Southern

Cases 39,172

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 119

Cases/1M 1,190.60

Active Cases 4,748

Active/100k 14.40

Country Zambia

Region Southern

Cases 164,282

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 893

Cases/1M

Active Cases 18,711

Active/100k 101.70

Country Malawi

Region Southern

Cases 36,926

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 193

Cases/1M 1,933.30

Active Cases 2,392

Active/100k 12.50

Country Lesotho

Region Southern

Cases 11,568

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 551

Cases/1M 5,508.60

Active Cases 4,747

Active/100k 226.00

Country Eswatini

Region Southern

Cases 19,084

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 1,590

Cases/1M 15,903.30

Active Cases 299

Active/100k 24.90

Country Democratic Republic of the Congo

Region Central

Cases 42,181

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 47

Cases/1M 470.80

Active Cases 12,709

Active/100k 14.20

Country Mozambique

Region Southern

Cases 80,151

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 256

Cases/1M 2,560.70

Active Cases 7,613

Active/100k 24.30

Country Madagascar

Region Eastern

Cases 42,243

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 153

Cases/1M 1,525.00

Active Cases -326

Active/100k -1.20

Country Tanzania

Region Eastern

Cases 509

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase Unknown

Cases/100k 1

Cases/1M 8.50

Active Cases 310

Active/100k 0.50

Country Ethiopia

Region Eastern

Cases 276,435

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 240

Cases/1M 2,403.80

Active Cases 11,079

Active/100k 9.60

Country Kenya

Region Eastern

Cases 185,868

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 345

Cases/1M 3,454.80

Active Cases 54,568

Active/100k 101.40

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 5 July 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 6 JULY 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

NEWS

Ivory Coast sends mobile clinics to speed up COVID vaccinations. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/ivory-coast-sends-mobile-clinics-speed-up-covid-vaccinations-2021-07-05/

Delta variant drives Africa COVID threat to ‘whole new level´: WHO warns; ‘dominant’ in Europe by August. https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/07/1095152

Coronavirus – Rwanda: COVID-19 update (1 July 2021). https://www.africanews.com/2021/07/02/coronavirus-rwanda-covid-19-update-1-july-2021/

Africa’s post-COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery. https://www.africanews.com/2021/07/02/africa-s-post-covid-19-pandemic-economic-recovery/

A timeline of South Africa’s vaccine mistakes. https://qz.com/africa/2029193/south-africa-vaccine-program-what-went-wrong/

Africa suffers record number of COVID cases.

African nations combined saw a daily average of 36,141 new COVID-19 cases from June 28 to July 4 as the pandemic flares up across the continent, surpassing the 32,609 daily cases registered in early January, during the previous high point of the virus. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-africa-covid-cases.html

TRAIN WRECKED South Africa suspend training for second time in a WEEK with whole squad in isolation after another positive Covid test. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/15496376/south-africa-rugby-lions-coronavirus/

RESOURCES

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

OTHER NEWS

HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aids-children/hiv-generic-drug-for-babies-distributed-in-africa-says-unitaid-idUSKCN2EB14G

World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE) recommendation on COVID-19 certificates for international travel. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006651

Equity and expertise in the UN Food Systems Summit. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006569

Incentive preferences for community health volunteers in Kenya: findings from a discrete choice experiment. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048059

Substance use disorders and adherence to antituberculosis medications in Southwest Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e043050

Revisiting blood pressure thresholds to define hypertension during pregnancy: is 140/90 mmHg too high? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00285-0/fulltext

Blood pressure thresholds in pregnancy for identifying maternal and infant risk: a secondary analysis of Community-Level Interventions for Pre-eclampsia (CLIP) trial data. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00219-9/fulltext#%20

Keeping an eye on eye care: monitoring progress towards effective coverage. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00212-6/fulltext

FROM 5 JULY

Addressing weight stigma and anti-obesity rhetoric in policy changes to prevent eating disorders. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01109-0/fulltext

Countdown on health and climate change: too important for methodological errors. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00884-9/fulltext

Child malnutrition: hungry for action. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(21)00170-X/fulltext

HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aids-children/hiv-generic-drug-for-babies-distributed-in-africa-says-unitaid-idUSKCN2EA051

Effectiveness of peer to peer strategy in reducing accidents and injuries at a selected platinum mine in Zimbabwe. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621000338

Predictors associated with the variation of CD4 cell count and body mass index (BMI) for HIV positive adults under ART. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621001241

In-person versus virtual suturing and knot-tying curricula: Skills training during the COVID-19 era. https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(21)00562-6/fulltext#.YOI3T-7LwuM.twitter

Find recent back issues at https://maggiesmusings688820798.com/covid-info-digest/

And

https://maggiesmusings688820798.com/covid-info-digest-part-3/

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Tuesday, 6 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 6, 2021, 03:24 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	73,97771,443	[2,534]	1,188	[30]	68,069	4,720	30,8332	495	1,340,900

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-06-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

71,443 Total confirmed cases

1,158 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 4 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Country Botswana

Region Southern

Cases 71,443

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 2,977

Cases/1M 29,767.90

Active Cases 3,962

Active/100k 165.10

Country South Africa

Region Southern

Cases 2,062,896

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 3,479

Cases/1M 34,787.50

Active Cases 192,974

Active/100k 325.40

Country Namibia

Region Southern

Cases 95,703

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 3,828

Cases/1M 38,281.20

Active Cases 23,671

Active/100k 946.80

Country Zimbabwe

Region Southern

Cases 54,474

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 366

Cases/1M 3,656.00

Active Cases 12,357

Active/100k 82.90

Country Angola

Region Southern

Cases 39,172

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 119

Cases/1M 1,190.60

Active Cases 4,748

Active/100k 14.40

Country Zambia

Region Southern

Cases 164,282

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 893

Cases/1M

Active Cases 18,711

Active/100k 101.70

Country Malawi

Region Southern

Cases 36,926

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 193

Cases/1M 1,933.30

Active Cases 2,392

Active/100k 12.50

Country Lesotho

Region Southern

Cases 11,568

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 551

Cases/1M 5,508.60

Active Cases 4,747

Active/100k 226.00

Country Eswatini

Region Southern

Cases 19,084

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 1,590

Cases/1M 15,903.30

Active Cases 299

Active/100k 24.90

Country Democratic Republic of the Congo

Region Central

Cases 42,181

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 47

Cases/1M 470.80

Active Cases 12,709

Active/100k 14.20

Country Mozambique

Region Southern

Cases 80,151

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 256

Cases/1M 2,560.70

Active Cases 7,613

Active/100k 24.30

Country Madagascar

Region Eastern

Cases 42,243

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 153

Cases/1M 1,525.00

Active Cases -326

Active/100k -1.20

Country Tanzania

Region Eastern

Cases 509

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase Unknown

Cases/100k 1

Cases/1M 8.50

Active Cases 310

Active/100k 0.50

Country Ethiopia

Region Eastern

Cases 276,435

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 240

Cases/1M 2,403.80

Active Cases 11,079

Active/100k 9.60

Country Kenya

Region Eastern

Cases 185,868

Date July 4, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 345

Cases/1M 3,454.80

Active Cases 54,568

Active/100k 101.40

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 5 July 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 6 JULY 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

NEWS

Delta variant drives Africa COVID threat to ‘whole new level´: WHO warns; ‘dominant’ in Europe by August. https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/07/1095152

Coronavirus – Rwanda: COVID-19 update (1 July 2021). https://www.africanews.com/2021/07/02/coronavirus-rwanda-covid-19-update-1-july-2021/

Africa’s post-COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery. https://www.africanews.com/2021/07/02/africa-s-post-covid-19-pandemic-economic-recovery/

A timeline of South Africa’s vaccine mistakes. https://qz.com/africa/2029193/south-africa-vaccine-program-what-went-wrong/

Africa suffers record number of COVID cases.

African nations combined saw a daily average of 36,141 new COVID-19 cases from June 28 to July 4 as the pandemic flares up across the continent, surpassing the 32,609 daily cases registered in early January, during the previous high point of the virus. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-africa-covid-cases.html

TRAIN WRECKED South Africa suspend training for second time in a WEEK with whole squad in isolation after another positive Covid test. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/15496376/south-africa-rugby-lions-coronavirus/

RESOURCES

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

OTHER NEWS

HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aids-children/hiv-generic-drug-for-babies-distributed-in-africa-says-unitaid-idUSKCN2EB14G

World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE) recommendation on COVID-19 certificates for international travel. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006651

Equity and expertise in the UN Food Systems Summit. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006569

Incentive preferences for community health volunteers in Kenya: findings from a discrete choice experiment. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048059

Substance use disorders and adherence to antituberculosis medications in Southwest Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e043050

Revisiting blood pressure thresholds to define hypertension during pregnancy: is 140/90 mmHg too high? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00285-0/fulltext

Keeping an eye on eye care: monitoring progress towards effective coverage. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00212-6/fulltext

FROM 5 JULY

Addressing weight stigma and anti-obesity rhetoric in policy changes to prevent eating disorders. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01109-0/fulltext

Countdown on health and climate change: too important for methodological errors. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00884-9/fulltext

Child malnutrition: hungry for action. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(21)00170-X/fulltext

HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aids-children/hiv-generic-drug-for-babies-distributed-in-africa-says-unitaid-idUSKCN2EA051

Effectiveness of peer to peer strategy in reducing accidents and injuries at a selected platinum mine in Zimbabwe. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621000338

Predictors associated with the variation of CD4 cell count and body mass index (BMI) for HIV positive adults under ART. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621001241

In-person versus virtual suturing and knot-tying curricula: Skills training during the COVID-19 era. https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(21)00562-6/fulltext#.YOI3T-7LwuM.twitter

Find recent back issues at https://maggiesmusings688820798.com/covid-info-digest/

And

https://maggiesmusings688820798.com/covid-info-digest-part-3/

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Tuesday, 6 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 6, 2021, 03:24 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	73,97771,443	[2,534]	1,188	[30]	68,069	4,720	30,8332	495	1,340,900

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-06-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

71,443 Total confirmed cases

1,158 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 4 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 5 July 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 6 JULY 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

NEWS

Delta variant drives Africa COVID threat to ‘whole new level´: WHO warns; ‘dominant’ in Europe by August. https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/07/1095152

Coronavirus – Rwanda: COVID-19 update (1 July 2021). https://www.africanews.com/2021/07/02/coronavirus-rwanda-covid-19-update-1-july-2021/

Africa’s post-COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery. https://www.africanews.com/2021/07/02/africa-s-post-covid-19-pandemic-economic-recovery/

A timeline of South Africa’s vaccine mistakes. https://qz.com/africa/2029193/south-africa-vaccine-program-what-went-wrong/

Africa suffers record number of COVID cases.

African nations combined saw a daily average of 36,141 new COVID-19 cases from June 28 to July 4 as the pandemic flares up across the continent, surpassing the 32,609 daily cases registered in early January, during the previous high point of the virus. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-africa-covid-cases.html

RESOURCES

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

OTHER NEWS

HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aids-children/hiv-generic-drug-for-babies-distributed-in-africa-says-unitaid-idUSKCN2EB14G

World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE) recommendation on COVID-19 certificates for international travel. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006651

Equity and expertise in the UN Food Systems Summit. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006569

Incentive preferences for community health volunteers in Kenya: findings from a discrete choice experiment. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048059

Substance use disorders and adherence to antituberculosis medications in Southwest Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e043050

Revisiting blood pressure thresholds to define hypertension during pregnancy: is 140/90 mmHg too high? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00285-0/fulltext

Keeping an eye on eye care: monitoring progress towards effective coverage. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00212-6/fulltext

FROM 5 JULY

Addressing weight stigma and anti-obesity rhetoric in policy changes to prevent eating disorders. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01109-0/fulltext

Countdown on health and climate change: too important for methodological errors. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00884-9/fulltext

Child malnutrition: hungry for action. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(21)00170-X/fulltext

HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aids-children/hiv-generic-drug-for-babies-distributed-in-africa-says-unitaid-idUSKCN2EA051

Effectiveness of peer to peer strategy in reducing accidents and injuries at a selected platinum mine in Zimbabwe. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621000338

Predictors associated with the variation of CD4 cell count and body mass index (BMI) for HIV positive adults under ART. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227621001241

In-person versus virtual suturing and knot-tying curricula: Skills training during the COVID-19 era. https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(21)00562-6/fulltext#.YOI3T-7LwuM.twitter

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Wednesday, 7 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 7, 2021, 03:22 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	73,977	[2,534]	1,188	[30]	68,069	4,720	30,8332	495	1,340,900

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-07-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

73,977 Total confirmed cases

1,188 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 5 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 7af July 2021

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 6 JULY 2021

BWgovernment

June 28 at 7:36 PM ·

𝗚𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬

𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗛𝗢𝗟

NEWS

COVAX says it’s negotiating with new vaccine suppliers. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/covax-says-its-negotiating-with-new-vaccine-suppliers-2021-07-06/

Tunisia to buy 3.5 mln doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/tunisia-buy-35-mln-doses-johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine-2021-07-06/

EU says it plans more COVID-19 vaccine donations as world faces two-track pandemic. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/eu-says-it-plans-more-covid-19-vaccine-donations-world-faces-two-track-pandemic-2021-07-06/

Mounting evidence suggests Sputnik COVID vaccine is safe and effective. Russia’s vaccine is in use in nearly 70 nations, but its adoption has been slowed by controversies and questions over rare side effects, and it has yet to garner World Health Organization approval. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01813-2

COVID vaccines to reach poorest countries in 2023 — despite recent pledges. Amid a COVID surge in Africa, vaccine promises from richer nations are not enough to bring an early end to the pandemic, experts say. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01762-w

A Tsunami of Disability Is Coming as a Result of ‘Long COVID’. We need to plan for a future where millions of survivors are chronically ill. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-tsunami-of-disability-is-coming-as-a-result-of-lsquo-long-covid-rsquo/

Kynurenic acid may underlie sex-specific immune responses to COVID-19. https://stke.sciencemag.org/content/14/690/eabf8483

COVID-19 affects men and women differently. So why don’t clinical trials report gender data? https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/covid-19-affects-men-and-women-differently-so-why-don-t-clinical-trials-report-gender

Africa CDC ramps up training on SARS-CoV-2 genomics and bioinformatics. https://africacdc.org/news-item/africa-cdc-ramps-up-training-on-sars-cov-2-genomics-and-bioinformatics/

Association Between Administration of IL-6 Antagonists and Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19. A Meta-analysis. The WHO Rapid Evidence Appraisal for COVID-19 Therapies (REACT) Working Group. Conclusions and Relevance In this prospective meta-analysis of clinical trials of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, administration of IL-6 antagonists, compared with usual care or placebo, was associated with lower 28-day all-cause mortality. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2781880

IL-6 Receptor Antagonist Therapy for Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19. Who, When, and How? https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2781881

Seroprevalence of and Risk Factors Associated With SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Health Care Workers During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781622

Addressing disruptions in childhood routine immunisation services during the COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives from Nepal, Senegal and Liberia. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e005031

Rugby: Lions look to play down COVID-19 crisis in South Africa. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/rugby–lions-look-to-play-down-covid-19-crisis-in-south-africa-15166902

RESOURCES

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

OTHER NEWS

Bill Gates Should Stop Telling Africans What Kind of Agriculture Africans Need. Among other things, we might simply not agree. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bill-gates-stop-telling-africans-what-kind-of-agriculture-africans-need/

The Plasmodium falciparum ABC transporter ABCI3 confers parasite strain-dependent pleiotropic antimalarial drug resistance. https://www.cell.com/cell-chemical-biology/fulltext/S2451-9456(21)00305-6

Prevalence of abdominal obesity and its association with cardiovascular risk among the adult population in Burkina Faso: findings from a nationwide cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e049496

Introducing the non-invasive prenatal testing for detection of Down syndrome in China: a cost-effectiveness analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e046582

The digital divide: Overcoming barriers to digital learning in post-Covid-19 South Africa. https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/499/217529.html

Evaluation of point-of-care algorithms to detect diabetes during screening for latent TB infection. RESULTS: Of 472 participants, 13% had DM and half were unaware of their diagnosis. Limiting HbA1c testing to ages ≥30 years with a RBG level of 120–180 mg/dL helped identify most participants with DM (sensitivity 85%, specificity 99%) at an average test cost of US$2.56 per person compared to US$9.56 per person using HbA1c for all patients.

https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iuatld/ijtld/2021/00000025/00000007/art00005;jsessionid=3hnk9m24mpb6o.x-ic-live-01

FROM 6 JULY

HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aids-children/hiv-generic-drug-for-babies-distributed-in-africa-says-unitaid-idUSKCN2EB14G

World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE) recommendation on COVID-19 certificates for international travel. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006651

Equity and expertise in the UN Food Systems Summit. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006569

Incentive preferences for community health volunteers in Kenya: findings from a discrete choice experiment. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048059

Substance use disorders and adherence to antituberculosis medications in Southwest Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e043050

Revisiting blood pressure thresholds to define hypertension during pregnancy: is 140/90 mmHg too high? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00285-0/fulltext

Keeping an eye on eye care: monitoring progress towards effective coverage. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00212-6/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Thursday, 8 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 8, 2021, 03:22 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	73,977	[2,534]	1,188	[30]	68,069	4,720	30,8332	495	1,340,900

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-08-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

73,977 Total confirmed cases

1,188 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 6 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 7af July 2021

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 8 JULY 2021

NEWS

Handwashing ‘impossible’ for one in three amid COVID-19. https://www.scidev.net/global/news/handwashing-impossible-for-one-in-three-amid-covid-19/?utm_source=SciDev.Net&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12508376_2021-07-07%20Daily%20Email%20Digest%20-%20Template&dm_i=1SCG,7G3IW,5R8D9U,U9G4M,1

Tunisia reports daily record near 10,000 coronavirus cases, 134 deaths. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tunisia/tunisia-reports-daily-record-near-10000-coronavirus-cases-134-deaths-idUSKCN2ED2KJ

Germany to donate all remaining AstraZeneca vaccines in Aug. The cabinet decided that at least 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be given to the COVAX consortium, which aims to ensure poor countries get access to vaccines. Almost all vaccination has taken place in rich countries so far. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-vaccines/germany-to-donate-all-remaining-astrazeneca-vaccines-in-aug-idUSKCN2ED1TG

UK to track COVID-19 variants with genomic sequencing across the world. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-genome/uk-to-track-covid-19-variants-with-genomic-sequencing-across-the-world-idUSKCN2ED1G3

Nigerian lawmakers approve $2.4 billion to fight violence, fund vaccines. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-lawmakers-approve-24-billion-fight-violence-fund-vaccines-2021-07-07/

COVID and the brain: researchers zero in on how damage occurs. Growing evidence suggests that the coronavirus causes ‘brain fog’ and other neurological symptoms through multiple mechanisms. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01693-6

Daily briefing: The evidence is stacking up for Sputnik V vaccine. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01864-5

What Fighting COVID and Fighting Drug Addiction Have in Common In both cases, harm reduction is a better strategy than draconian rules that feel virtuous but don’t actually work. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-fighting-covid-and-fighting-drug-addiction-have-in-common/

‘Too good to be true’: Doubts swirl around trial that saw 77% reduction in COVID-19 mortality. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/too-good-be-true-doubts-swirl-around-trial-saw-77-reduction-covid-19-mortality

Audio Interview: How Well Are Covid-19 Vaccines Working? https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2111369?query=featured_home

Effectiveness of an Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Chile. Our results suggest that the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectively prevented Covid-19, including severe disease and death, a finding that is consistent with results of phase 2 trials of the vaccine. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2107715?query=featured_home

Infection and Vaccine-Induced Neutralizing-Antibody Responses to the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617 Variants. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2107799?query=featured_home

Beyond the First Dose — Covid-19 Vaccine Follow-through and Continued Protective Measures. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2104527?query=featured_home

Lay Epidemiology and Vaccine Acceptance. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2781943

Assessment of Prolonged Physiological and Behavioral Changes Associated With COVID-19 Infection. Symptom data were collected only during the acute phase of infection, which limited our ability to compare long-term physiological and behavioral changes with long-term symptoms. In the future, with larger sample sizes and more comprehensive participant-reported outcomes, it will be possible to better understand factors associated with interindividualized variability in COVID-19 recovery. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781687

Covid-19: Vaccines journal retracts controversial paper after editorial board members quit. A research paper that was promoted by anti-vaccination activists has been retracted by the journal Vaccines after several members of its editorial board resigned. The peer reviewed article, “The Safety of Covid-19 Vaccinations—We Should Rethink the Policy,” misinterpreted data to conclude that “for three deaths prevented by vaccination we have to accept two inflicted by vaccination.” https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1726

Mandatory covid-19 vaccination for care home workers. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1684

Passive and active immunity in infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy: prospective cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e053036

Role of efficient testing and contact tracing in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic: a network modelling study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045886

RESOURCES

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

OTHER NEWS

UNESCO highlights gaps in science spending. https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/news/unesco-highlights-gaps-in-science-spending/?utm_source=SciDev.Net&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12508376_2021-07-07%20Daily%20Email%20Digest%20-%20Template&dm_i=1SCG,7G3IW,5R8D9U,U9G4M,1

Kenya in rush to vaccinate 4m children as measles cases surge. WHO reports measles outbreaks in eight African countries amid huge fall-off in jabs during Covid. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jul/07/kenya-in-rush-to-vaccinate-4m-children-as-measles-cases-surge

Research managers are essential to a healthy research culture. But for maximal benefit, more of these academic administrators need to get involved in the scholarly aspect of research. There are some 20,000 RMAs working in universities; most are in high-income countries, but expansion is under way in lower-income nations, particularly in Africa. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01823-0

Landmark research integrity survey finds questionable practices are surprisingly common. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/landmark-research-integrity-survey-finds-questionable-practices-are-surprisingly-common

Translocated microbiome composition determines immunological outcome in treated HIV infection. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00653-X

Common elective orthopaedic procedures and their clinical effectiveness: umbrella review of level 1 evidence. Results Randomised controlled trial evidence supports the superiority of carpal tunnel decompression and total knee replacement over non-operative care. No randomised controlled trials specifically compared total hip replacement or meniscal repair with non-operative care. Trial evidence for the other six procedures showed no benefit over non-operative care. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1511

Symptoms of common mental disorders and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among adults living with HIV in rural Zimbabwe: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e049824

Measuring research capacity development in healthcare workers: a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e046796

Acceptability of patient-centered hypertension education delivered by community health workers among people living with HIV/AIDS in rural Uganda. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11411-6

The Multiple Lenses on the Community Health System: Implications for Policy, Practice and Research. https://www.ijhpm.com/article_4077_81fe5390eb70c86f3110c705a6e4a32c.pdf

FROM 7 JULY

Introducing the non-invasive prenatal testing for detection of Down syndrome in China: a cost-effectiveness analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e046582

The digital divide: Overcoming barriers to digital learning in post-Covid-19 South Africa. https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/499/217529.html

https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iuatld/ijtld/2021/00000025/00000007/art00005;jsessionid=3hnk9m24mpb6o.x-ic-live-01

Find recent back issues at https://maggiesmusings688820798.com/covid-info-digest/

And

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Saturday, 10 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 10, 2021, 02:11 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	75,388	[1,411]	1,202	[14]	69,914	4,272	31,415	501	1,351,857

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-10-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

75,388 Total confirmed cases

1,202 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 8 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 10 July 2021

NEWS

Lessons from two SARS-CoV-2 waves in South Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00313-2/fulltext

Difference in mortality among individuals admitted to hospital with COVID-19 during the first and second waves in South Africa: a cohort study. In South Africa, the second wave was associated with higher incidence of COVID-19, more rapid increase in admissions to hospital, and increased in-hospital mortality. Although some of the increased mortality can be explained by admissions in the second wave being more likely in older individuals, in the public sector, and by the increased health system pressure, a residual increase in mortality of patients admitted to hospital could be related to the new Beta lineage. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00289-8/fulltext

Roche Suspends Patents on Tocilizumab in LMICs After WHO Recommends it as Treatment for Severe COVID-19. https://healthpolicy-watch.news/roche-suspends-patents-on-tocilizumab-for-lmics-after-who-recommends-it-as-treatment-for-severe-covid/

Arab countries pledge aid as Tunisia struggles with COVID pandemic. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tunisia-aid/arab-countries-pledge-aid-as-tunisia-struggles-with-covid-pandemic-idUSKCN2EF2DB

Senegal to build COVID-19 vaccine plant in bid to expand African access. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-senegal-vaccine/senegal-to-build-covid-19-vaccine-plant-in-bid-to-expand-african-access-idUSKCN2EF1O4

Factbox-Countries weigh need for booster COVID-19 shots.Pfizer and its partner BioNTech plan to ask U.S. and European regulators to approve a booster dose following a two-shot regimen of their COVID-19 vaccine, based on evidence of greater risk of infection six months after inoculation. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pfizer-booster-fac/factbox-countries-weigh-need-for-booster-covid-19-shots-idUSKCN2EF1K9

Quarter-dose of Moderna COVID vaccine still rouses a big immune response. Results hint that dose stretching could help to address the world’s acute vaccine shortage.’ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01893-0

Daily briefing: How COVID damages the brain. The coronavirus’s damaging effects on the brain, the month’s most spectacular science images and whether COVID will become a disease of the young. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01900-4

The quest to find genes that drive severe COVID. Genome studies have discovered some genetic risk factors for disease — and could point to treatments. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01827-w

Mix-and-Match COVID Vaccines: The Case Is Growing, but Questions Remain. Studies suggest mixing vaccines provokes potent immune responses, but scientists want answers on real-world efficacy and rare side effects. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mix-and-match-covid-vaccines-the-case-is-growing-but-questions-remain/

Why is COVID-19 associated with mental illness? https://www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(21)00240-3

Delta variant of COVID-19 is forcing Asian countries to lock down, while Africa suffers its worst week a year and a half into the pandemic. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/delta-variant-of-covid-19-is-forcing-asian-countries-to-lock-down-while-africa-suffers-its-worst-week-a-year-and-a-half-into-the-pandemic/ar-AALY43d?ocid=uxbndlbing

RESOURCES

American College of Surgeons 2021 Quality & Safety Conference VIRTUAL will run from Monday, July 12 through Friday, July 16. Online registration is FREE and provides an open-access pass to all sessions. Registration is required for all attendees. Register Online Now. https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/quality-safety-conference/register

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

LitCovid is a curated literature hub for tracking up-to-date scientific information about the 2019 novel Coronavirus. Includes an interactive world map. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coronavirus/

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Q&A. Conversations with Frontline Clinicians and Experts About the COVID-19 Pandemic. Free Video and Podcast CME https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/pages/covid-19-interviews?utm_campaign=COVIDQA_B&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=house&utm_content=leader&utm_term=728×90

OTHER NEWS

Data saves lives. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1694

PROTOCOL: Economics of healthcare access in low-income and middle-income countries: a protocol for a scoping review of the economic impacts of seeking healthcare on slum-dwellers compared with other city residents. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045441

Initial implementation of PrEP in Zambia: health policy development and service delivery scale-up. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e047017

Geographical variations and factors associated with recent HIV testing prevalence in Ghana: spatial mapping and complex survey analyses of the 2014 demographic and health surveys. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045458

Use of Feedback Data to Reduce Surgical Site Infections and Optimize Antibiotic Use in Surgery. A Systematic Scoping Review. https://journals.lww.com/annalsofsurgery/Abstract/9000/Use_of_Feedback_Data_to_Reduce_Surgical_Site.93555.aspx

FROM 9 JULY

Decolonising global health: beyond ‘reformative’ roadmaps and towards decolonial thought. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006371

Decolonising global health: where are the Southern voices? https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006576

Model for developing context-sensitive responses to vulnerability in research: managing ethical dilemmas faced by frontline research staff in Kenya. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e004937

Undernutrition and associated factors in orphan children aged 6–59 months in Gambella Southwest, Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045892

Protocol: Implementation science protocol for a participatory, theory-informed implementation research programme in the context of health system strengthening in sub-Saharan Africa (ASSET-ImplementER). https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048742

Nutritional basis of type 2 diabetes remission. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1449

FROM 8 JULY

Kenya in rush to vaccinate 4m children as measles cases surge. WHO reports measles outbreaks in eight African countries amid huge fall-off in jabs during Covid. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jul/07/kenya-in-rush-to-vaccinate-4m-children-as-measles-cases-surge

Landmark research integrity survey finds questionable practices are surprisingly common. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/landmark-research-integrity-survey-finds-questionable-practices-are-surprisingly-common

Translocated microbiome composition determines immunological outcome in treated HIV infection. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00653-X

Symptoms of common mental disorders and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among adults living with HIV in rural Zimbabwe: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e049824

Measuring research capacity development in healthcare workers: a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e046796

Acceptability of patient-centered hypertension education delivered by community health workers among people living with HIV/AIDS in rural Uganda. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11411-6

The Multiple Lenses on the Community Health System: Implications for Policy, Practice and Research. https://www.ijhpm.com/article_4077_81fe5390eb70c86f3110c705a6e4a32c.pdf

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Monday, 12 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 12, 2021, 03:15 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	75,388	[1,411]	1,202	[14]	69,914	4,272	31,415	501	1,351,857

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-12-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

75,388 Total confirmed cases

1,202 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 10 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 12 July 2021

NEWS

The Power of Local Celebrities in the Fight against Vaccine Hesitancy. They can play a key role in the fight against misinformation. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-power-of-local-celebrities-in-the-fight-against-vaccine-hesitancy/?s=04&fbclid=IwAR0IjeOUhfytYZAsuM-IZPh61mVK_4lNNO1UqsYPYPx-CKT6twwFr3k-CuE

Africa can’t be left to go it alone when it comes to Covid vaccines. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/10/africa-covid-vaccines-europe-us

Epidemiology, not geopolitics, should guide COVID-19 vaccine donations. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01323-4/fulltext?utm_campaign=lancetcovid21&utm_content=172581890&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&hss_channel=tw-27013292

Ugandan minister blames west for Covid vaccine shortage. Chris Baryomunsi says Uganda unable to obtain more shots because ‘western world has focused on its population’. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/11/ugandan-minister-blames-west-for-countrys-covid-vaccine-shortage

South Africa extends tight COVID-19 restrictions for another 14 days. South Africa extended tight COVID-19 rules on Sunday for another 14 days, maintaining restrictions that include a ban on gatherings, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and a prohibition on the sale of alcohol. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-safrica/south-africa-extends-tight-covid-19-restrictions-for-another-14-days-idUSKBN2EH0GJ

Virus variants threaten global recovery, G20 warns. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/g20-signs-off-tax-crackdown-warns-virus-variants-2021-07-10/

Arab countries pledge aid as Tunisia struggles with COVID pandemic. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/arab-countries-pledge-aid-tunisia-struggles-with-covid-pandemic-2021-07-09/

After the pandemic: perspectives on the future trajectory of COVID-19. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03792-w

SARS-COV-2 spike binding to ACE2 in living cells monitored by TR-FRET. https://www.cell.com/cell-chemical-biology/fulltext/S2451-9456(21)00307-X

WHO COVID-19 therapeutic guidelines. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01331-3/fulltext

COVID-19 in Africa: the role of research. Sharing experiences and perspectives on how Tanzania and South Africa’s research communities have tackled the pandemic. https://tdr.who.int/home/global-health-matters-podcast/covid-19-in-africa-the-role-of-research

Africa’s scientists set out their Covid-19 research priorities. https://www.news24.com/health24/medical/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/africas-scientists-set-out-their-covid-19-research-priorities-20210707

Association of Country-wide Coronavirus Mortality with Demographics, Testing, Lockdowns, and Public Wearing of Masks. https://www.ajtmh.org/view/journals/tpmd/103/6/article-p2400.xml

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

OTHER NEWS

Efficacy, acceptability, and safety of muscle relaxants for adults with non-specific low back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. Muscle relaxants are the third most frequently prescribed drugs for low back pain, but this analysis finds very low certainty evidence that they might offer a small, non-clinically important reduction in pain intensity at two weeks. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1446?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

FROM 10 JULY

Data saves lives. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1694

Initial implementation of PrEP in Zambia: health policy development and service delivery scale-up. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e047017

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Tuesday, 13 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 13, 2021, 02:41 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	80,153	[4,765]	1,253	[51]	69,931	8,969	33,393	522	1,380,809

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-13-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

80,153 Total confirmed cases

1,253 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 11 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Country Botswana

Region Southern

Cases 75,388

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 3,141

Cases/1M 31,411.70

Active Cases 4,272

Active/100k 178.00

Date Jul 11, 2021

South Africa

Region Southern

Cases 2,062,896

Date July 6, 2021

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 3,479

Cases/1M 34,787.50

Active Cases 192,974

Active/100k 325.40

Country Namibia

Region Southern

Cases 106,879

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 4,275

Cases/1M 42,751.60

Active Cases 26,281

Active/100k 1,051.20

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Zimbabwe

Region Southern

Cases 67,765

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 455

Cases/1M 4,548.00

Active Cases 19,963

Active/100k 134.00

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Angola

Region Southern

Cases 39,958

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 121

Cases/1M 1,214.50

Active Cases 4,696

Active/100k 14.30

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Zambia

Region Southern

Cases 176,742

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 961

Cases/1M

Active Cases 11,636

Active/100k 63.20

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Malawi

Region Southern

Cases 39,186

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 205

Cases/1M 2,051.60

Active Cases 4,082

Active/100k 21.40

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Lesotho

Region Southern

Cases 11,903

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 567

Cases/1M 5,668.10

Active Cases 4,975

Active/100k 236.90

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Eswatini

Region Southern

Cases 19,918

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 1,660

Cases/1M 16,598.30

Active Cases 760

Active/100k 63.30

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Democratic Republic of the Congo

Region Central

Cases 44,332

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 49

Cases/1M 494.80

Active Cases 14,547

Active/100k 16.20

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Mozambique

Region Southern

Cases 88,868

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 284

Cases/1M 2,839.20

Active Cases 14,269

Active/100k 45.60

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Madagascar

Region Eastern

Cases 42,499

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 153

Cases/1M 1,534.30

Active Cases -470

Active/100k -1.70

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Tanzania

Region Eastern

Cases 509

Epidemic Phase Unknown

Cases/100k 1

Cases/1M 8.50

Active Cases 310

Active/100k 0.50

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Ethiopia

Region Eastern

Cases 277,071

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 241

Cases/1M 2,409.30

Active Cases 10,739

Active/100k 9.30

Date Jul 11, 2021

Country Kenya

Region Eastern

Cases 188,942

Epidemic Phase 3

Cases/100k 351

Cases/1M 3,511.90

Active Cases 5,358

Active/100k 10.00

Date Jul 11, 2021

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 13 July 2021

NEWS

Nigeria’s Lagos state faces ‘potential third wave’ of COVID-19. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-nigeria/nigerias-lagos-state-faces-potential-third-wave-of-covid-19-idUSKBN2EI0OU

South Africa extends tight COVID-19 restrictions for another 14 days. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-extends-tight-covid-19-restrictions-another-14-days-2021-07-11/

Association Between BNT162b2 Vaccination and Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnant Women. Among pregnant women, receipt of the BNT162b2 vaccine was associated with a lower risk of incident SARS-CoV-2 infection. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782047

Estimated SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in US Patients Receiving Dialysis 1 Year After the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781907

Decolonising human rights: how intellectual property laws result in unequal access to the COVID-19 vaccine. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006169

Evaluation of the Effects of Remdesivir and Hydroxychloroquine on Viral Clearance in COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) Solidarity trial showed no effect of remdesivir or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on mortality, but the antiviral effects of these drugs are not known. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-0653

The Case for Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines for Health Care Workers. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-2366

Update Alert 6: Masks for Prevention of Respiratory Virus Infections, Including SARS-CoV-2, in Health Care and Community Settings. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/L21-0393

Update Alert: Should Remdesivir Be Used for the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19? Rapid, Living Practice Points From the American College of Physicians (Version 2). https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/L21-0389

Covid-19: Turkmenistan becomes first country to make vaccination mandatory for all adults. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1766

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

OTHER NEWS

Association of Early Antibiotic Exposure With Childhood Body Mass Index Trajectory Milestones. The findings of this study suggest these small associations with BMI trajectory milestones after early-life antibiotic exposure should not affect the individual decision to prescribe antibiotics https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781906

Toward Gender Equity in Academic Promotions. Promotion in academic medicine drives career opportunities, including leadership roles and salary increases. Yet women physicians face slower promotional timelines and are less likely to reach associate or full professorship compared with their male counterparts, a gap that has not meaningfully changed in more than 3 decades. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2782002

REVISED Knowledge and attitude of secondary school students in Nakaseke, Uganda towards HIV transmission and treatment [version 2; peer review: 2 approved with reservations]. https://aasopenresearch.org/articles/4-23

Equity and expertise in the UN Food Systems Summit. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006569

Surgical Workforce Study. Senior authors: Professor Abebe Bekele, Chair, COSECSA Examinations and Credentials committee; Professor Eric Borgstein, Secretary General, COSECSA. We want to hear from you! This study has received ethical clearance from Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), COSECSA Institutional Review Board, and COSECSA Data Governance Group. https://rdc.rcsi.com/surveys/index.php?s=EAAJ97MTPN Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey

FROM 12 JULY

FROM 10 JULY

Data saves lives. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1694

Initial implementation of PrEP in Zambia: health policy development and service delivery scale-up. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e047017

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Tuesday, 13 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 13, 2021, 02:41 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	80,153	[4,765]	1,253	[51]	69,931	8,969	33,393	522	1,380,809

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-13-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

80,153 Total confirmed cases

1,253 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 11 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 13 July 2021

NEWS

South Africa extends tight COVID-19 restrictions for another 14 days. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-extends-tight-covid-19-restrictions-another-14-days-2021-07-11/

Estimated SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in US Patients Receiving Dialysis 1 Year After the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781907

Decolonising human rights: how intellectual property laws result in unequal access to the COVID-19 vaccine. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006169

The Case for Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines for Health Care Workers. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-2366

Update Alert 6: Masks for Prevention of Respiratory Virus Infections, Including SARS-CoV-2, in Health Care and Community Settings. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/L21-0393

Covid-19: Turkmenistan becomes first country to make vaccination mandatory for all adults. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1766

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

OTHER NEWS

Equity and expertise in the UN Food Systems Summit. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006569

FROM 12 JULY

FROM 10 JULY

Data saves lives. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1694

Initial implementation of PrEP in Zambia: health policy development and service delivery scale-up. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e047017

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Tuesday, 13 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 13, 2021, 02:41 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	80,153	[4,765]	1,253	[51]	69,931	8,969	33,393	522	1,380,809

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-13-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

80,153 Total confirmed cases

1,253 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 11 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 13 July 2021

NEWS

South Africa extends tight COVID-19 restrictions for another 14 days. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-extends-tight-covid-19-restrictions-another-14-days-2021-07-11/

Estimated SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in US Patients Receiving Dialysis 1 Year After the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781907

Decolonising human rights: how intellectual property laws result in unequal access to the COVID-19 vaccine. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006169

The Case for Mandating COVID-19 Vaccines for Health Care Workers. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-2366

Update Alert 6: Masks for Prevention of Respiratory Virus Infections, Including SARS-CoV-2, in Health Care and Community Settings. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/L21-0393

Covid-19: Turkmenistan becomes first country to make vaccination mandatory for all adults. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1766

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

OTHER NEWS

Equity and expertise in the UN Food Systems Summit. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006569

FROM 12 JULY

FROM 10 JULY

Data saves lives. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1694

Initial implementation of PrEP in Zambia: health policy development and service delivery scale-up. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e047017

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Wednesday, 14 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 14, 2021, 03:48 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	80,153	[4,765]	1,253	[51]	69,931	8,969	33,393	522	1,380,809

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-14-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

80,153 Total confirmed cases

1,253 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 11 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 14 July 2021

BWgovernment

10h ·

𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐁𝐘 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘, 𝐃𝐑. 𝐌𝐎𝐊𝐆𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐒𝐈 𝐄.𝐊. 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐈 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐒𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄𝐒Allow me to conclude my Address by reverting to the

issue of COVID-19, and inform you of the following

decisions:

• The curfew period will remain as it is, from 2200 hrs

(10PM) to 0400 hrs (4AM) daily.

• To continue the suspension of trade in alcohol until

further notice.

• Schools will close on Friday 16th until August 17th

2021

• I would like to emphasise that for us to defeat

COVID-19 fully, we will have to continue diligently

adhering to COVID-19 protocols, even after taking

the vaccine.

NEWS

What constitutes success in the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01244-7/fulltext?utm_campaign=lancetcovid21&utm_content=172611737&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&hss_channel=tw-27013292

Daily briefing: Mini Moderna dose rouses big immune response. Quarter-doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine gave rise to long-lasting protective antibodies and virus-fighting T cells. Plus, the DARPA-ization of research. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01931-x

COVID Risks at the Tokyo Olympics Aren’t Being Managed, Experts Say. Current prevention measures may not be enough to prevent an outbreak. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-risks-at-the-tokyo-olympics-arent-being-managed-experts-say/

Will COVID-19 change science? Past pandemics offer clues. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/will-covid-19-change-science-past-pandemics-offer-clues

An intranasal vaccine durably protects against SARS-CoV-2 variants in mice. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)00869-X

Sputnik V Vaccine Elicits Seroconversion and Neutralizing Capacity to SARS CoV-2 after a Single Dose. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00208-1

Clinical Characterization and Prediction of Clinical Severity of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among US Adults Using Data From the US National COVID Cohort Collaborative. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781923

Donuts, drugs, booze, and guns: what governments are offering people to take covid-19 vaccines. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1737

Intention to have the seasonal influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic among eligible adults in the UK: a cross-sectional survey. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e049369

Are the rights of people with disabilities included in international guidance on WASH during the COVID-19 pandemic? Content analysis using EquiFrame/ https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e046112

Averting Future Vaccine Injustice. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2107528#.YO5dgA7hOPU.twitter

Contribution of traditional Chinese medicine combined with conventional western medicine treatment for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), current evidence with systematic review and meta-analysis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34256418/

Investing in surgical systems supports pandemic preparedness. https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/559988-investing-in-surgical-systems-supports-pandemic-preparedness

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

OTHER NEWS

Association Between Iatrogenic Delivery for Suspected Fetal Growth Restriction and Childhood School Outcomes. Meaning– Iatrogenic delivery for suspected FGR in severe SGA infants was associated with poorer school outcomes. Iatrogenic delivery for suspected FGR in infants with normal growth was not associated with poorer school outcomes. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2781857

Effectiveness of spatially targeted interventions for control of HIV, tuberculosis, leprosy and malaria: a systematic review. Studies investigating spatially targeted interventions were few in number, and mostly underpowered or otherwise limited methodologically, affecting interpretation of intervention impact. Applying advanced epidemiological methodologies supporting more robust hotspot identification and larger or more intensive interventions would strengthen the evidence-base for this increasingly important approach. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e044715

Preventing avoidable hospital admissions after emergency care in humanitarian settings: a cross-sectional review of Médecins Sans Frontières emergency departments. EDs are critical in improving the agility and access to emergency care (EC) in humanitarian settings. This study demonstrated that EC provision resulted in the majority of patients being discharged from EDs, helping prevent avoidable hospital admissions. These results could help better understand the healthcare needs of vulnerable populations, improve responsiveness to emergency conditions and support programmatic planning in humanitarian settings. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e049785

Surgical procedures for children in the public healthcare sector: a nationwide, facility-based study in Uganda. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048540

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study. Global PaedSurg Research Collaboration. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00767-4/fulltext

Decolonising Humanitarianism or Humanitarian Aid? A clear distinction must be made between humanitarianism –the active belief in the equal value of all human life and the consequent action to assist others, protect their rights, and accept and promote their agency and worldview– and the current form of humanitarian aid –the formalized system of governments, agencies, and organizations largely based in and led by the Global North. https://speakingofmedicine.plos.org/2021/07/13/decolonising-humanitarianism-or-humanitarian-aid/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=plosblogs&utm_content=speakingofmedicine

Kent Buse: Healthy societies—fixing systems not people. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/07/13/kent-buse-healthy-societies-fixing-systems-not-people/

FROM 13 JULY

Equity and expertise in the UN Food Systems Summit. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006569

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Thursday, 15 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 15, 2021, 02:31 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	80,153	[4,765]	1,253	[51]	69,931	8,969	33,393	522	1,380,809

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-15-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

80,153 Total confirmed cases

1,253 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 13 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 15 July 2021

BWgovernment

10h ·

issue of COVID-19, and inform you of the following

decisions:

• The curfew period will remain as it is, from 2200 hrs

(10PM) to 0400 hrs (4AM) daily.

• To continue the suspension of trade in alcohol until

further notice.

• Schools will close on Friday 16th until August 17th

2021

• I would like to emphasise that for us to defeat

COVID-19 fully, we will have to continue diligently

adhering to COVID-19 protocols, even after taking

the vaccine.

NEWS

Scaling Up Covid-19 Vaccination in Africa — Lessons from the HIV Pandemic. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2103313?query=featured_secondary

Study Suggests Lasting Immunity After COVID-19, With a Big Boost From Vaccination. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782139

Long COVID and kids: scientists race to find answers. Children get long COVID too, but researchers are still working to determine how frequently and how severely. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01935-7

Longitudinal analysis shows durable and broad immune memory after SARS-CoV-2 infection with persisting antibody responses and memory B and T cells. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00203-2

Monoclonal Antibodies and Vaccine Boosts. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2111903?query=featured_home

Bamlanivimab plus Etesevimab in Mild or Moderate Covid-19. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2102685?query=featured_home

Averting Future Vaccine Injustice. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2107528?query=featured_home

Safety, Immunogenicity, and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine in Adolescents. The BNT162b2 (Pfizer–BioNTech) vaccine in 12-to-15-year-old recipients had a favorable safety profile, produced a greater immune response than in young adults, and was highly effective against Covid-19. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2107456?query=featured_home

Durable Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses 8 Months after Ad26.COV2.S Vaccination. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2108829?query=featured_home

Heterologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and mRNA-1273 Vaccination. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2110716?query=featured_home

Effect of Physician-Delivered COVID-19 Public Health Messages and Messages Acknowledging Racial Inequity on Black and White Adults’ Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices Related to COVID-19. A Randomized Clinical Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781934

Health system governance and the UHC agenda: key learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006519

Covid-19: France and Greece make vaccination mandatory for healthcare workers. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1797

Covid-19: The countries that have mandatory vaccination for health workers. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1645

Impact of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection on nutritional status and subjective functional loss in a prospective cohort of COVID-19 survivors. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048948

COVID-19 pandemic leads to major backsliding on childhood vaccinations, new WHO, UNICEF data shows. 23 million children missed out on basic childhood vaccines through routine health services in 2020, the highest number since 2009 and 3.7 million more than in 2019. https://www.who.int/news/item/15-07-2021-covid-19-pandemic-leads-to-major-backsliding-on-childhood-vaccinations-new-who-unicef-data-shows

Immunity and inflammatory biomarkers in COVID-19: A systematic review. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34260778/

RESOURCES

Research Development Fellowships 2021/22. To be eligible, applicants must be a national of a country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Deadline: September 23, 2021! Who is eligible: Research active post-doctoral scientists and clinicians who are nationals of and employed in Sub-Saharan Africa who were awarded their doctorate within the last six years; and clinicians without a doctorate but who have a Masters degree or a specialist clinical qualification and between three and seven years active research experience (see detailed eligibility criteria). https://www.africaresearchexcellencefund.org.uk/research-development-fellowships-2021

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

OTHER NEWS

Local Staff Perceptions and Expectations of International Visitors in Global Surgery Rotations. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2781953

How medical dominance and interprofessional conflicts undermine patient-centred care in hospitals: historical analysis and multiple embedded case study in Morocco, https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006140

Global hospital admissions and in-hospital mortality associated with all-cause and virus-specific acute lower respiratory infections in children and adolescents aged 5–19 years between 1995 and 2019: a systematic review and modelling study. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006014

Local Staff Perceptions and Expectations of International Visitors in Global Surgery Rotations. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2781953

Gender disparity between authors in leading medical journals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e051224

Surviving maternal sepsis in low-income countries, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00294-1/fulltext

Availability of facility resources and services and infection-related maternal outcomes in the WHO Global Maternal Sepsis Study: a cross-sectional study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00248-5/fulltext

Estimating global and regional disruptions to routine childhood vaccine coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: a modelling study, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01337-4/fulltext

Measuring routine childhood vaccination coverage in 204 countries and territories, 1980–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020, Release 1. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00984-3/fulltext

FROM 14 JULY

Surgical procedures for children in the public healthcare sector: a nationwide, facility-based study in Uganda. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048540

Kent Buse: Healthy societies—fixing systems not people. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/07/13/kent-buse-healthy-societies-fixing-systems-not-people/

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Friday, 16 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 16, 2021, 02:53 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	86,133	[5,980]	1,274	[21]	73,380	11,479	35,879	531	1,394,594

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-16-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

86,133 Total confirmed cases

1,274 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 14 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 16 July 2021

NEWS

The US is boosting funding for research monkeys in the wake of COVID. The investments are promising but won’t fix the primate shortage, experts say. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01894-z

Deaths from COVID ‘incredibly rare’ among children. Studies find that overall risk of death or severe disease from COVID-19 is very low in kids. The studies did not evaluate rates of less-severe illness or debilitating ‘long COVID’ symptoms that can linger months after the acute phase of the infection has past. “ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01897-w

Kids Get ‘Long COVID’ Too. Children can suffer lingering symptoms from the disease, but researchers are still working to determine how frequently and how severely. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kids-get-long-covid-too/

Long-term Symptoms After SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children and Adolescents. This study found a low prevalence of symptoms compatible with long COVID in a randomly selected cohort of children assessed 6 months after serologic testing. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782164

There Are Few Good COVID Antivirals, but That Could Be Changing. Developing pills that block the novel coronavirus has been challenging. A new Biden administration program aims to boost the effort. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-are-few-good-covid-antivirals-but-that-could-be-changing/

This ‘super antibody’ for COVID fights off multiple coronaviruses. An newly identified immune molecule raises hopes for a vaccine against a range of viruses related to SARS-CoV-2. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01917-9

Generation of glucocorticoid-resistant SARS-CoV-2 T cells for adoptive cell therapy. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)00849-4

Association of Remdesivir Treatment With Survival and Length of Hospital Stay Among US Veterans Hospitalized With COVID-19. Meaning The findings suggest that routine use of remdesivir may be associated with increased use of hospital beds but not with improvements in survival. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781959

Black and Latinx Community Perspectives on COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviors, Testing, and Vaccines. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781957

Equity without human rights: a false COVID-19 narrative? https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006720

Caution, vaccines, testing: the only way forward. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1781

Defining covid-19 elimination. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1794

Characterisation of in-hospital complications associated with COVID-19 using the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterisation Protocol UK: a prospective, multicentre cohort study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00799-6/fulltext

Investments in surgical systems contribute to pandemic readiness and health system resilience. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41271-021-00292-z

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

OTHER NEWS

Research capacity of global health institutions in China: a gap analysis focusing on their collaboration with other low-income and middle-income countries. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e005607

Africa is not a museum: the ethics of encouraging new parenting practices in rural communities in low-income and middle-income countries. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006218

Body-mass index and diabetes risk in 57 low-income and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study of nationally representative, individual-level data in 685 616 adults. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00844-8/fulltext

COVID-19 in Africa: a lesson in solidarity. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01610-X/fulltext

FROM 15 JULY

Local Staff Perceptions and Expectations of International Visitors in Global Surgery Rotations. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2781953

Gender disparity between authors in leading medical journals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e051224

Surviving maternal sepsis in low-income countries, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00294-1/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Saturday, 17 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 17, 2021, 04:01 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	86,133	[5,980]	1,274	[21]	73,380	11,479	35,879	531	1,394,594

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-17-2021 06:22 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

86,133 Total confirmed cases

1,274 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 15 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 17 July 2021

NEWS

Botswana counts on other COVID-19 vaccines as it runs out of AstraZeneca shots. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-botswana/botswana-counts-on-other-covid-19-vaccines-as-it-runs-out-of-astrazeneca-shots-idUSKBN2EM1RZ

Europe sends aid to help Tunisia counter COVID surge. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tunisia/europe-sends-aid-to-help-tunisia-counter-covid-surge-idUSKBN2EM1ND

Mental disorders and risk of COVID-19-related mortality, hospitalisation, and intensive care unit admission: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(21)00232-7/fulltext#.YPERc4NfvSs.twitter

Effect of Oral Azithromycin vs Placebo on COVID-19 Symptoms in Outpatients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection. A Randomized Clinical Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782166

Exploring the Gap Between Excess Mortality and COVID-19 Deaths in 67 Countries. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2781968

Mere rhetoric? Using solidarity as a moral guide for deliberations on border closures, border reopenings and travel restrictions in the age of COVID-19. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006701

An aberrant inflammatory response in severe COVID-19. https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/fulltext/S1931-3128(21)00300-0

SnapShot: SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/fulltext/S1931-3128(21)00283-3

Global COVID-19 vaccine inequity: The scope, the impact, and the challenges. https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/fulltext/S1931-3128(21)00285-7

Virus hunters: Discovering the evolutionary origins of SARS-CoV-2. https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/fulltext/S1931-3128(21)00290-0

Children and SARS-CoV-2. https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/fulltext/S1931-3128(21)00297-3

Cross-sectional study of preprints and final journal publications from COVID-19 studies: discrepancies in results reporting and spin in interpretation. The COVID-19 preprints and their subsequent journal publications were largely similar in reporting of study characteristics, outcomes and spin. All COVID-19 studies published as preprints and journal publications should be critically evaluated for discrepancies and spin. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e051821

Reducing COVID-19 quarantine with SARS-CoV-2 testing: a simulation study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e050473

Factors Associated with the Incidence and Mortality of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) after 126-million Cases: A Meta-analysis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34270185/

Global agencies sign tech transfer deals to boost COVID testing in Africa, Latam. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/emb-tech-transfers-boost-antigen-testing-africa-latin-america-2021-07-15/

Senegal president threatens to close borders as COVID cases soar. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/senegal-president-threatens-close-borders-covid-cases-soar-2021-07-16/

Vaccine-starved Namibia receives Sinopharm boost. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/vaccine-starved-namibia-receives-sinopharm-boost-2021-07-16/

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

OTHER NEWS

Systematic review of academic bullying in medical settings: dynamics and consequences, https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e043256

Living with scars: how sharing mistakes can make us better doctors. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/07/16/living-with-scars-how-sharing-mistakes-can-make-us-better-doctors/

FROM 16 JULY

Africa is not a museum: the ethics of encouraging new parenting practices in rural communities in low-income and middle-income countries. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006218

COVID-19 in Africa: a lesson in solidarity. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01610-X/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Wednesday, 21 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 21, 2021, 02:41 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	91,902	[5,769]	1.328	[54]	75,782	14,792	35,879	553	1,421,742

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-21-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

91,902 Total confirmed cases

1,328 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 19 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 17 July 2021

NEWS

Delta variant takes hold in developing world as infections soar. https://www.ft.com/content/fa4f248a-a476-491d-a5ce-f128360e9f24

Masitinib is a broad coronavirus 3CL inhibitor that blocks replication of SARS-CoV-2. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/07/19/science.abg5827?rss=1

People with COVID Often Infect Their Pets. New unpublished studies show that dogs and cats with COVID-positive owners frequently have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-with-covid-often-infect-their-pets/

How COVID-19 has transformed scientific fieldwork. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/how-covid-19-has-transformed-scientific-fieldwork

Longitudinal Metabolomics of Human Plasma Reveals Prognostic Markers of COVID-19 Disease Severity. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00223-8

Effect of Canakinumab vs Placebo on Survival Without Invasive Mechanical Ventilation in Patients Hospitalized With Severe COVID-19. A Randomized Clinical Trial. Among patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19, treatment with canakinumab, compared with placebo, did not significantly increase the likelihood of survival without IMV. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2782185

Is the cure really worse than the disease? The health impacts of lockdowns during COVID-19. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006653

Risk factors for mortality of adult patients with COVID-19 hospitalised in an emerging country: a cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e050321

COVID-19 and maternal and perinatal outcomes. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00302-8/fulltext

Global minimum estimates of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood and deaths of caregivers: a modelling study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01253-8/fulltext

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

RCEM Global Emergency Medicine Handbook. A guide for emergency physicians undertaking global emergency medicine work abroad. First edition January 2021 https://www.rcem.ac.uk/docs/International/GEM%20handbook%20v3.1.pdf

OTHER NEWS

The parenting penalties faced by scientist mothers. Starting a family at a key career stage comes at a cost to birthing parents — and many end up leaving the profession as a result. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01993-x

Disability-Adjusted Life-Years Associated With Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Secondary Injury. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782052

Association of Elevated Maternal Serum Total Bile Acids With Low Birth Weight and Intrauterine Fetal Growth Restriction, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782050

BMJ GLOBAL HEALTH–July 2021 – Volume 6 – Suppl 4. Innovating with HIV self-testing in a changing epidemic: Results from the STAR (Self-Testing AfRica) Initiative. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/Suppl_4

A randomised, controlled, double blind study to assess mechanistic effects of combination therapy of dapagliflozin with exenatide QW versus dapagliflozin alone in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (RESILIENT): study protocol. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045663

Household cooking fuel type and childhood anaemia in sub-Saharan Africa: analysis of cross-sectional surveys of 123, 186 children from 29 countries. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048724

Health workers’ perspectives of a mobile health tool to improve diagnosis and management of paediatric acute respiratory illnesses in Uganda: a qualitative study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e049708

Protecting women and girls from tobacco and alcohol promotion. The combination of changing gender norms, aggressive industry marketing, and continuing population growth in low and middle income countries, however, means that without urgent action, the number of women and girls consuming tobacco and alcohol is likely to rise substantially in the coming years. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1516?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

Aiming beyond equality to reach equity: the promise and challenge of quality improvement. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n939?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

Will the COVID-19 crisis catalyse universal health reforms? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01650-0/fulltext?utm_campaign=lancetcovid21&utm_content=173431835&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&hss_channel=tw-27013292

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Thursday, 22 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 22, 2021, 03:50 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	91,902	[5,769]	1.328	[54]	75,782	14,792	35,879	553	1,421,742

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-22-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

91,902 Total confirmed cases

1,328 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 20 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 22 July 2021

𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐒 𝟑𝟎 𝐓𝐎 𝟓𝟒.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has previously communicated that it anticipates to transit to Phase two of the National Vaccine Deployment Plan in August 2021. Phase two covers adults aged 30 to 54. As at the week ending 16 July 2021, some districts were already receiving dwindling numbers of those currently targeted on Phase one (those aged 55 and above).

In view of this development, the ministry will on 22 July 2021, proceed to vaccinate those falling in the Phase two category, specifically starting with those aged 45 to 54. The reason for not inviting the whole Phase two cohort at a go, is to avoid congestion at vaccination sites.

The ministry therefore, advises adults aged 45 to 54 to register and visit their nearest vaccination site with effect from 22 July 2021. Vaccination sites will be open from 0730hrs to 1630hrs from Monday to Friday across the country. Any change in these times will be communicated

NEWS

‘SA will see a drop in COVID-19 deaths if its able to vaccinate most people in the country’ – SAPHRA. https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/sa-will-see-a-drop-in-covid-19-deaths-if-its-able-to-vaccinate-most-people-in-the-country-saphra/

S.Africa targets 35 million people vaccinated against COVID-19 by Christmas. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-safrica/s-africa-targets-35-million-people-vaccinated-against-covid-19-by-christmas-idUSKBN2ER21R

South African firm to help make Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizerbiontech-strike-south-africa-covid-19-manufacturing-deal-with-biovac-2021-07-21/

South Africa’s Biovac to start making Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in H2 2022 – CEO. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pfizer-biovac/south-africas-biovac-to-start-making-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-in-h2-2022-ceo-idUSKBN2ER18D

Pfizer will turn to a plant in Africa to help supply the continent with vaccines next year. But the agreement comes with caveats that will significantly limit its impact at a time when the fast-spreading Delta variant has driven a surge in infections and hospitalizations and sent the continent into the most devastating phase of its pandemic. Crucially, the South African producer, Biovac, will only be handling distribution and “fill-finish” — the final phase of the manufacturing process, during which the vaccine is placed in vials and packaged for shipping. It will rely on Pfizer facilities in Europe to make the vaccine substance and ship it to its Cape Town facility. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/21/business/pfizer-will-turn-to-a-plant-in-africa-to-help-supply-the-continent-with-vaccines-next-year.html

How the Delta variant achieves its ultrafast spread. Viral load is roughly 1,000 times higher in people infected with the Delta variant than those infected with the original coronavirus strain, according to a study in China. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01986-w

Tunisia president says army will take over management of COVID-19 crisis. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisia-president-says-army-will-take-over-management-covid-19-crisis-2021-07-21/

Should Children Get COVID Vaccines? What the Science Says. With vaccination campaigns underway in some countries while others weigh the options, Nature looks at the evidence for vaccinating younger people. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/should-children-get-covid-vaccines-what-the-science-says/

At Least Two Million Children Have Lost a Parent or Grandparent Caregiver to COVID. That’s at a minimum. The real number could be significantly higher. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/at-least-two-million-children-have-lost-a-parent-or-grandparent-caregiver-to-covid/

When will COVID-19 vaccines be fully approved—and does it matter whether they are? https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/when-will-covid-19-vaccines-be-fully-approved-and-does-it-matter-if-they-are

Audio Interview: The Impact of Covid-19 on Trainees and Junior Faculty. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2112375?query=featured_home

Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccines against the B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant. Only modest differences in vaccine effectiveness were noted with the delta variant as compared with the alpha variant after the receipt of two vaccine doses. Absolute differences in vaccine effectiveness were more marked after the receipt of the first dose. This finding would support efforts to maximize vaccine uptake with two doses among vulnerable populations. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2108891?query=featured_home

Household Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Children and Adolescents. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2031915?query=featured_home

SARS-CoV-2 Human Challenge Studies — Establishing the Model during an Evolving Pandemic. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2106970?query=featured_home

Prevention and Attenuation of Covid-19 with the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 Vaccines. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2107058?query=featured_home

Age-Dependent Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 and P.1 Variant by Vaccine Immune Serum Samples. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782428

Association Between COVID-19 Exposure and Self-reported Compliance With Public Health Guidelines Among Essential Employees at an Institution of Higher Education in the US. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782144

RESOURCES

African Academy of Science–The AAS has announced a fixed cost of USD 100 to allow organizations to assess their compliance against the requirements of the global standard for Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) to receive or award funds quickly and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic sooner and efficiently. Find out more. https://globalgrantcommunity.com/covid-19

American College of Surgeons. Call for Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Abstracts. Deadline 2 August 2021. All virtual conference. https://www.facs.org/clincon2021/late-breaking

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

Topic: Minimally Invasive Surgery in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) A special issue of Mini-invasive Surgery. If you have an article suitable for this special issue to submit, we are always welcome. We will waive article processing fees for all the publication and provide free language editing services. https://misjournal.net/journal/special_detail/848

Current Funding Opportunities for Cancer Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries—. NCI Center for Global Health https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/organization/cgh/research-training#current-funding-opportunities

OTHER NEWS

Second-Line Treatment of HIV-1 Infection in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dolutegravir or Darunavir in Combination with Zidovudine or Tenofovir to Treat HIV. Dolutegravir in combination with NRTIs was effective in treating patients with HIV-1 infection, including those with extensive NRTI resistance in whom no NRTIs were predicted to have activity. Tenofovir was noninferior to zidovudine as second-line therapy. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2101609?query=featured_home

Reform of research funding processes could pave the way for progress in global health. Much of the funds are directed towards salaries of the researchers from the Global North, despite the applications themselves pointing to excellent talented local researchers who will lead the studies on the ground. These excellent local researchers are often not proportionately compensated monetarily or academically for their efforts. Research ethics committees in the Global North rarely question these fundamental imbalances. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00207-2/fulltext#%20

A systematic review on ethical challenges of ‘field’ research in low-income and middle-income countries: respect, justice and beneficence for research staff? Data collection in LMICs can carry harmful consequences for the involved research staff, including threats to their physical and emotional well-being and intricate role conflicts. Further challenges comprise precarious employment conditions, inadequate remuneration, intellectual exploitation and feelings of guilt and shame that could arise due to vast socioeconomic disparities between researchers and the study population. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e005380.full?ijkey=czjeg7jBaxw2NKD&keytype=ref

Global health is dead; long live global health! Critiques of the field and its future. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006648

Creating the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts (STAGE) to advance maternal, newborn, child, adolescent health and nutrition: a new approach. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006726

Short message service (SMS) reminders for childhood immunisation in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e005035

Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e042969

Symptoms of acute transfusion reactions at a general referral hospital in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045081

Impact of Community-Based Clinical Breast Examinations in Botswana. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33405960/

Elements of a strategic approach for strengthening national mortality statistics programmes. https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/5/e001810

FROM 21 JULY

Disability-Adjusted Life-Years Associated With Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Secondary Injury. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782052

Association of Elevated Maternal Serum Total Bile Acids With Low Birth Weight and Intrauterine Fetal Growth Restriction, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782050

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Friday, 23 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 23, 2021, 0312 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	97,657	[5,755]	1,375	[47]	84,189	12,093	40,664	573	1,436,619

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-23-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

97,657 Total confirmed cases

1,375 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 21 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 23 July 2021

PUBLIC NOTICE – EXTENDED COVID-19 VACCINATION TIMES IN THE GREATER GABORONE DHMT

Following the ministry announcement on the COVID-19 vaccination roll out program transition to Phase two which effected today, the ministry is experiencing a huge turnout in its vaccination sites especially in Gaborone and surrounding areas. As a result, the ministry has taken a decision to extend times for vaccination as follows:

• 22 and 23 July 2021, vaccination sites to close at 1800hrs.

• 24 July 2021, vaccination sites to open at 0800hrs and close at 1700hrs

• 25 July 2021, vaccination sites to open at 0800hrs and close at 1200hrs.

The following vaccination sites in the Greater Gaborone DHMT will be open in the stated dates and times:

Maruapula, Travel lodge, Block 8 clinic, Lesirane clinic, Phase 4 kgotla, Tlokweng community hall, Old Naledi hall, Ramotswa kgotla and Mogoditshane kgotla.

NEWS

Vaccine inequity undermining global economic recovery. https://www.who.int/news/item/22-07-2021-vaccine-inequity-undermining-global-economic-recovery

Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity. https://data.undp.org/vaccine-equity/

Africa demands local production of COVID vaccines. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/africa-start-receiving-400-mln-jj-covid-19-vaccine-doses-next-week-2021-07-22/

COVID and mass sport events: early studies yield limited insights. UK allowed mass gatherings and attempted to study them but the early results provide limited data on viral transmission. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02016-5

COVID vaccines have higher approval in less affluent countries. Surveys show that people in ten low- and middle-income nations are generally more eager to receive the COVID-19 jab than people in two wealthier nations where vaccine is plentiful. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01987-9

Spatiotemporal invasion dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 emergence. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/07/22/science.abj0113?rss=1

Potential impact of intervention strategies on COVID-19 transmission in Malawi: a mathematical modelling study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045196

Low vitamin D levels and prognosis in a COVID-19 paediatric population: a systematic review. The systematic review showed that almost half of the pediatric COVID patients suffer from vitamin D deficiency. It is also clear that the low level of vitamin D is associated with greater risk of infection and poorer outcome in pediatrics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34293161/

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Reform of research funding processes could pave the way for progress in global health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00207-2/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email

‘Contraception divides opinion’: tackling taboos in Zimbabwe as teen pregnancies soar. With Covid lockdowns blamed for rising rates, MPs and teachers say it’s time to ‘face reality’ and allow younger teens access to birth control. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jul/20/contraception-divides-opinion-tackling-taboos-in-zimbabwe-as-teen-pregnancies-soar

How scientists are subtracting race from medical risk calculators. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/how-scientists-are-subtracting-race-medical-risk-calculators

Evaluation of a Clinical Decision Support Strategy to Increase Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Among Hospitalized Children Before Inpatient Discharge. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782168

Analysis of Physician Use of Social Media. These findings suggest that, despite many physicians engaging with SM, few physicians regularly use SM as a public platform. Female physicians were more likely to use SM, while surgeons and older physicians posted more on SM and had more followers. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782171

Promoting evidence-informed cancer treatment policy making in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00315-6/fulltext

Physical punishment and child outcomes: a narrative review of prospective studies. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00582-1/fulltext

Social unrest disrupts South African health care. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01654-8/fulltext

FROM 22 JULY

Global health is dead; long live global health! Critiques of the field and its future. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006648

Short message service (SMS) reminders for childhood immunisation in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e005035

Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e042969

Symptoms of acute transfusion reactions at a general referral hospital in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045081

Impact of Community-Based Clinical Breast Examinations in Botswana. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33405960/

Elements of a strategic approach for strengthening national mortality statistics programmes. https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/5/e001810

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Saturday, 24 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 24, 2021, 03:24 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	97,657	[5,755]	1,375	[47]	84,189	12,093	40,664	573	1,436,619

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-24-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

97,657 Total confirmed cases

1,375 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 22 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 24 July 2021

PUBLIC NOTICE – EXTENDED COVID-19 VACCINATION TIMES IN THE GREATER GABORONE DHMT

• 22 and 23 July 2021, vaccination sites to close at 1800hrs.

• 24 July 2021, vaccination sites to open at 0800hrs and close at 1700hrs

• 25 July 2021, vaccination sites to open at 0800hrs and close at 1200hrs.

The following vaccination sites in the Greater Gaborone DHMT will be open in the stated dates and times:

Maruapula, Travel lodge, Block 8 clinic, Lesirane clinic, Phase 4 kgotla, Tlokweng community hall, Old Naledi hall, Ramotswa kgotla and Mogoditshane kgotla.

PRESS RELEASE – UPDATE ON OXYGEN SUPPLY AND VACCINE ROLL OUT

The Ministry of Health and Wellness wishes to assure the public that the Government of Botswana is doing its utmost best to ensure that the lives of Batswana are protected and the spread of the COVID-19 virus is contained nationwide.

The country has recently been experiencing oxygen supply shortages in health facilities, which has had a negative impact on hospital admissions for COVID-19 patients.

It is however, worth noting that the oxygen generation capacity challenges recently experienced at Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital (SKMTH) and other health facilities are being resolved.

A 25-ton oxygen tank was installed at SKMTH last week. As a result of this development, SKMTH and other facilities will be able to increase COVID-19 hospitalization admissions.

Furthermore, the ministry has issued a tender for the supply of oxygen as well as an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the Oxygen Generation Plant.

The procurement process for the two will be expedited. Oxygen concentrators which will be used at home by patients in need, are being availed in health facilities. As of last week, 150 (5L) concentrators were dispatched and Government is in the process of securing an additional ten litre concentrators.

In view of the escalating disease burden, and shortage of personnel, the ministry has among others, taken a decision to increase health care workers by recruiting 50 additional nurses and health care auxiliaries to mitigate the challenge at SKMTH.

The situation will remain closely monitored and appropriate interventions and measures will be employed accordingly.

The country is making progress with regards to vaccination and is now in Phase two of its vaccination program. To date, more than 200, 000 people in Botswana have received their first dose while nearly 120, 000 are fully vaccinated.

Government has however, noted concerns from some members of the public calling for the use of drugs which have not been authorized locally.

In view of this development, the public is advised that the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BoMRA) is the only regulating body that can determine if the usage of a particular drug is safe for use or not. Government and the political leadership can only give suggestions and opinions, but the final decision rests with BoMRA as stated by law.

It is our wish that the authority be given the necessary time to follow all channels that are appropriate and applicable to approve drugs as per drug regulatory protocol guidelines.

In addition, as per the weekly reports provided by the COVID-19 Presidential Taskforce, COVID-19 infections continue to rise on a daily basis.

The ministry advises the public to strictly abide by all COVID-19 protocols without exception.

NEWS

Nine Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Pandemic for Improving Hospital Care and Health Care Delivery. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2782429

Incidence of Axillary Adenopathy in Breast Imaging After COVID-19 Vaccination. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2782036

The Need for Life-Course Study of Children Born to Mothers With Prior COVID-19 Infection. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2782147

Antibody Response After a Third Dose of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Kidney Transplant Recipients With Minimal Serologic Response to 2 Doses. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782538

Notice of Retraction. Walach H, et al. Experimental Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Content in Inhaled Air With or Without Face Masks in Healthy Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. Published online June 30, 2021. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2782288

Ethical frameworks in clinical research processes during COVID-19: a scoping review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e047076

Experiences of supported isolation in returning travellers during the early COVID-19 response: a qualitative interview study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e050405

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Women, girls rarely factored into malaria equation. https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/news/women-girls-rarely-factored-into-malaria-equation/?utm_source=SciDev.Net&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12544218_2021-07-23%20Daily%20Email%20Digest%20-%20Template&dm_i=1SCG,7GV6I,5R8D9U,UCWML,1

Comparison of best supportive care, CHOP, or R-CHOP for treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in Malawi: a cost-effectiveness analysis. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00261-8/fulltext

Sickle Cell Disease Genomics of Africa (SickleGenAfrica) Network: ethical framework and initial qualitative findings from community engagement in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048208

Incidence of childhood injuries and modifiable household risk factors in rural Ghana: a multistage, cluster-randomised, population-based, household survey. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e039243

Time to transition: In support of alcohol-based surgical rub. https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(21)00645-0/fulltext#%20

Decolonizing Global Health: A Moment To Reflect On A Movement. https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai/2021/07/22/decolonizing-global-health-a-moment-to-reflect-on-a-movement/amp/?sh=539dfb1a5386&__twitter_impression=true

Cheryl Moyer: egalitarian in global health research. She is used to being on the road for much of the year for global health research, and she misses her African friends and colleagues. But she says that while the COVID-19 pandemic stopped her regular field trips to Ghana, it has empowered her local partners to “grab the ball and run with it. They may not need us high-income country partners after all”, she laughs. “That’s how it should be and I feel good about that.” https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01645-7/fulltext

FROM 23 JULY

How scientists are subtracting race from medical risk calculators. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/how-scientists-are-subtracting-race-medical-risk-calculators

Promoting evidence-informed cancer treatment policy making in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00315-6/fulltext

Physical punishment and child outcomes: a narrative review of prospective studies. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00582-1/fulltext

Social unrest disrupts South African health care. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01654-8/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Monday, 26 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 26, 2021, 03:19 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	97,657	[5,755]	1,375	[47]	84,189	12,093	40,664	573	1,436,619

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-26-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

97,657 Total confirmed cases

1,375 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 24 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 26 July 2021

NEWS

South Africa lifts some coronavirus restrictions after cases drop. South Africa on Sunday lifted restrictions on the sale of alcohol on weekdays and the movement of people between provinces as President Cyril Ramaphosa said a third wave of the coronavirus may have peaked. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-lifts-some-coronavirus-restrictions-third-wave-peak-passes-2021-07-25/

Renowned bioinformatician joins forces with Stellenbosch University in fight against pandemics. http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=8418

Can covid-19 vaccines be global public goods? https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/07/22/can-covid-19-vaccines-be-global-public-goods/

Cognitive deficits in people who have recovered from COVID-19. https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2589-5370%2821%2900324-2

Ghana aims to receive 18 million COVID shots by October. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ghana-aims-receive-18-million-covid-shots-by-october-2021-07-25/

Covid-19: Longer interval between Pfizer doses results in higher antibody levels, research finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1875

RESOURCES

TDR Global webinar on institutional #mentorship in #LMICs: Thursday, 29 July. 2PM UK. http://createsend.com/t/d-0C796F1FAD792F092540EF23F30FEDED

APSA Wellness Committee. The APSA Well-Being Committee supports pediatric surgeon well-being to ensure the best care possible for children. The mission of the committee is to save lifetimes by supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual health of pediatric surgeons. https://www.pedsurglibrary.com/apsa/view/PedSurg%20Resource/1884059/all/Wellness_Committee

OTHER NEWS

Building Capacity for Global Cancer Research: Existing Opportunities and Future Directions. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13187-021-02043-w

Promoting evidence-informed cancer treatment policy making in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00315-6/fulltext

Decolonising cancer research: why it matters, what can be done. https://cancerworld.net/decolonising-cancer-research-why-it-matters-what-can-be-done/

“Mr X presents with central crushing chest pain”—Breaking the male norm in medical education. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/07/22/mr-x-presents-with-central-crushing-chest-pain-breaking-the-male-norm-in-medical-education/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

A commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion for BMJ and our journals. 2. Supporting authors from the Global South

— To encourage authors from the Global South to publish in our open access journals, we provide waivers/discounts upon request and we provide free access or low-cost access to subscriptions to our journals for readers from the Global South
— We provide BMJ author services to help improve the quality and readability of articles. We acknowledge the hegemony of the English language in science and we will develop further what we can do to promote equality.
— We also encourage the appropriate attribution of authors from the Global South in the author byline of papers. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/07/23/a-commitment-to-equality-diversity-and-inclusion-for-bmj-and-our-journals/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

Factors associated with research productivity in higher education institutions in Africa: a systematic review [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]. https://aasopenresearch.org/articles/4-26/v1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=etoc_alert_WEEKLY

Single motherhood, social independence and non-communicable disease (NCD) outcomes among young females (15-24 years old) in South Africa [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. https://aasopenresearch.org/articles/4-31

FROM 24 JULY

Time to transition: In support of alcohol-based surgical rub. https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(21)00645-0/fulltext#%20

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Tuesday, 27 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 27, 2021, 03:43 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	102,124	[4,467]	1,485	[110]	87,517	13,122	42,515	616	1,457,692

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-27-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

102,124 Total confirmed cases

1,485 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 25 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 27 July 2021

NEWS

Long covid—mechanisms, risk factors, and management. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1648?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

How to stop COVID-19 fuelling a resurgence of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. A focus on the coronavirus has disrupted detection and treatment of other infectious diseases. Governments and funders can do four things to avert a catastrophe. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02334-0

Emergence of an early SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in the United States. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00889-8

Combating information chaos: a case for collaborative clinical guidelines in a pandemic. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00229-9

Safety Evaluation of the Second Dose of Messenger RNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Patients With Immediate Reactions to the First Dose. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2782348

Ischaemic stroke can follow COVID-19 vaccination but is much more common with COVID-19 infection itself, https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2021/05/20/jnnp-2021-327057

RESOURCES

TDR Global webinar on institutional #mentorship in #LMICs: Thursday, 29 July. 2PM UK. http://createsend.com/t/d-0C796F1FAD792F092540EF23F30FEDED

HeForShe: COSECSA Scholars Thursday, August 5, 2021 | 9:00 am (CST) 4 pm CAT. REGISTER https://form.jotform.com/212014006853140 Current data indicate that there are only 0.5 surgeons for every 100,000 people. Although women make up more than 50 percent of the population, they represent only 7 percent of the surgical work force. To help address this problem, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA) have developed a scholarship program to support women in surgical residency, help them complete their training, and encourage other women in medicine to consider surgery as a profession.

The ACS, through Operation Giving Back, annually awards several scholarships to women surgeons in east, central, and southern Africa, and have invited two of the award recipients to discuss mentorship relationships and opportunities as well as barriers and gaps they have encountered along their journey.

APSA Wellness Committee. The APSA Well-Being Committee supports pediatric surgeon well-being to ensure the best care possible for children. The mission of the committee is to save lifetimes by supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual health of pediatric surgeons. https://www.pedsurglibrary.com/apsa/view/PedSurg%20Resource/1884059/all/Wellness_Committee

OTHER NEWS

Using Updated PubMed. New Features and Functions to Enhance Literature Searches. PubMed is a free web-based public access resource that supports the search and retrieval of literature from the National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINE database. In the past 2 years, PubMed has been updated to improve functionality and add important new features, including a set of search statements to identify COVID-19 articles and a new publication filter to allow PubMed searches to retrieve early-release preprints. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782570

Global Incidence and Mortality of Gastric Cancer, 1980-2018. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782336

Using variation between countries to estimate demand for Cochrane reviews when access is free: a cost–benefit analysis. Institutions in many low-income and middle-income countries are granted free or inexpensive access through the WHO’s HINARI Access to Research for Health Programme (see also http://www.who.org/hinari), but healthcare professionals and patients outside of an institutional context are excluded. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e033310

Pooled analysis of the association between alcohol use and violence against women: evidence from four violence prevention studies in Africa. Data from five data sets generated by four violence against women and girls prevention studies in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa, Ghana and Rwanda. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e049282

Determining a safe upper limit of oxygen supplementation for adult patients: a systematic review. In this systematic review, we found inadequate evidence to identify a safe upper dosage of oxygen, but the identified studies suggest a benefit of keeping inspiratory oxygen fraction below 0.8 with regard to formation of atelectases. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045057

Play interventions for paediatric patients in hospital: a scoping review. Conclusions Play in hospitals is an emerging interdisciplinary research area with a significant potential benefit for child and family health. Future research should further describe principles for play in hospitals. High-quality studies investigating short-term and long-term effects are needed to guide when and how to best integrate play in hospitals. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e051957

FROM 26 JULY

The Urgent Need for an African Medicines Agency. Before Africa focuses on an international pandemic treaty, it needs to build up its own resources. https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/urgent-need-african-medicines-agency?utm_source=tw_tgh&utm_medium=social_owned

FROM 25 JULY

Building Capacity for Global Cancer Research: Existing Opportunities and Future Directions. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13187-021-02043-w

Promoting evidence-informed cancer treatment policy making in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00315-6/fulltext

Decolonising cancer research: why it matters, what can be done. https://cancerworld.net/decolonising-cancer-research-why-it-matters-what-can-be-done/

A commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion for BMJ and our journals. 2. Supporting authors from the Global South

FROM 24 JULY

Time to transition: In support of alcohol-based surgical rub. https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(21)00645-0/fulltext#%20

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Wednesday, 28 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 28, 2021, 04:53 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	102,124	[4,467]	1,485	[110]	87,517	13,122	42,515	616	1,457,692

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-28-2021 06:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

102,124 Total confirmed cases

1,485 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 26 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 27 July 2021

NEWS

Covid-19: Countries dump vaccines as demand slumps and sharing proves difficult. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1893?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

U.S. trade chief says engaged with WTO members on vaccine waiver talks. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-africa-vaccines/u-s-trade-chief-says-engaged-with-wto-members-on-vaccine-waiver-talks-idUSKBN2EX29W

Remember Ebola: stop mass death in Africa. The wealthy world must rally or nations will collapse across Africa. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01964-2

COVID vaccines slash viral spread – but Delta is an unknown. Studies show that vaccines reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by more than 80%, but the Delta variant is creating fresh uncertainty. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02054-z

The Crucial Vaccine Benefit We’re Not Talking about Enough. They not only prevent people from getting sick; they also cut down on transmission by those who get infected after immunization. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-crucial-vaccine-benefit-were-not-talking-about-enough1/

Structural basis of mismatch recognition by a SARS-CoV-2 proofreading enzyme. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/07/26/science.abi9310

Performance of Crisis Standards of Care Guidelines in a Cohort of Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients in the United States. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00230-5

Assessment of the Performance Consistency of an Adverse Outcome Prediction Tool for Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782421

COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes and practices: a mixed-mode cross-sectional survey in Liberia. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e049494

Building a multisystemic understanding of societal resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006794

RESOURCES

TDR Global webinar on institutional #mentorship in #LMICs: Thursday, 29 July. 2PM UK. http://createsend.com/t/d-0C796F1FAD792F092540EF23F30FEDED

APSA Wellness Committee. The APSA Well-Being Committee supports pediatric surgeon well-being to ensure the best care possible for children. The mission of the committee is to save lifetimes by supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual health of pediatric surgeons. https://www.pedsurglibrary.com/apsa/view/PedSurg%20Resource/1884059/all/Wellness_Committee

OTHER NEWS

A Few Days on Antibiotics Are Often as Good as Weeks, Research Shows, Shorter courses cause fewer side effects and breed fewer antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-few-days-on-antibiotics-are-often-as-good-as-weeks-research-shows/

FROM 27 JULY

Global Incidence and Mortality of Gastric Cancer, 1980-2018. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782336

FROM 26 JULY

Building Capacity for Global Cancer Research: Existing Opportunities and Future Directions. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13187-021-02043-w

Promoting evidence-informed cancer treatment policy making in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00315-6/fulltext

Decolonising cancer research: why it matters, what can be done. https://cancerworld.net/decolonising-cancer-research-why-it-matters-what-can-be-done/

A commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion for BMJ and our journals. 2. Supporting authors from the Global South

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Thursday, 29 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 29, 2021, 03:53 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	102,124	[4,467]	1,485	[110]	87,517	13,122	42,515	616	1,457,692

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-29-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

102,124 Total confirmed cases

1,485 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 27 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 29 July 2021

NEWS

Überantibodies From Recovered COVID-19 Patients Could Spur New Therapeutics and Vaccines. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782673

The overlooked superpower of mRNA vaccines. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/overlooked-superpower-mrna-vaccines

Covid-19 Breakthrough Infections in Vaccinated Health Care Workers. Among fully vaccinated health care workers, the occurrence of breakthrough infections with SARS-CoV-2 was correlated with neutralizing antibody titers during the peri-infection period. Most breakthrough infections were mild or asymptomatic, although persistent symptoms did occur. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109072?query=featured_home

Serologic Surveillance and Phylogenetic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Hospital Health Care Workers. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782430

Effect of Targeted Behavioral Science Messages on COVID-19 Vaccination Registration Among Employees of a Large Health System. A Randomized Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782435

Mental health crisis in healthcare providers in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional facility-based survey. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e052184

Tofacitinib in Patients Hospitalized with Covid-19 Pneumonia. Among patients hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia, tofacitinib led to a lower risk of death or respiratory failure through day 28 than placebo. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2101643?query=featured_home

Pandemics & protests: Unrest grips developing countries. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-emerging-protests/pandemics-protests-unrest-grips-developing-countries-idUSKBN2EY22Y

Tanzania leader launches COVID-19 vaccination drive, orders more jabs. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tanzania/tanzania-leader-launches-covid-19-vaccination-drive-orders-more-jabs-idUSKBN2EY1EN

Raab calls for global vaccine drive as UK starts donating shots. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-covax/raab-calls-for-global-vaccine-drive-as-uk-starts-donating-shots-idUSKBN2EY1UE

South Africa plans $2.4 billion relief measures over COVID-19, riots. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-economy/south-africa-plans-2-4-billion-relief-measures-over-covid-19-riots-idUSKBN2EY1JF

BNT162b2-Elicited Neutralization against New SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variants. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2106083?query=featured_home

Association Between Mood Disorders and Risk of COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death. A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2782453

Association of Facial Pustular Neutrophilic Eruption With Messenger RNA–1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2782441

Will Some Adolescents and Young Adults Forgo Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Methods in Favor of Romantic Relationships? https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2782326

Covid-19: Evidence used to support mass lateral flow testing was flawed, experts say. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1907

Diagnostic accuracy of rapid antigen tests in asymptomatic and presymptomatic close contacts of individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection: cross sectional study. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1676

Covid 19: More US institutes, universities, and businesses make masks mandatory as cases rise sharply. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1905

Youth versus pandemics: the role of future generations in the pandemic treaty. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00307-7/fulltext

Breakthrough Infections of SARS-CoV-2 Gamma Variant in Fully Vaccinated Gold Miners, French Guiana, 2021. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/10/21-1427_article

RESOURCES

FORTY NEW PAEDIATRIC SURGERY SCHOLARSHIPS IN AFRICA WITH SMILE TRAIN. We are delighted to announce that we will support the training and education of 40 paediatric surgeons across Africa in partnership with Smile Train, the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). https://www.kidsor.org/news/weve-partnered-with-smile-train-to-offer-forty-surgeon-scholarships-in-africa/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=scholarships_announcement_smiletrain

TDR Global webinar on institutional #mentorship in #LMICs: Thursday, 29 July. 2PM UK. http://createsend.com/t/d-0C796F1FAD792F092540EF23F30FEDED

APSA Wellness Committee. The APSA Well-Being Committee supports pediatric surgeon well-being to ensure the best care possible for children. The mission of the committee is to save lifetimes by supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual health of pediatric surgeons. https://www.pedsurglibrary.com/apsa/view/PedSurg%20Resource/1884059/all/Wellness_Committee

OTHER NEWS

Genetic engineering test with mosquitoes ‘may be game changer’ in eliminating malaria. UK scientist says gene-drive study rendering female insects infertile may lead to ‘self destruct mosquito’ field tests within 10 years. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/28/genetic-engineering-test-with-mosquitoes-may-be-game-changer-in-eliminating-malaria

Duration of Adjuvant Aromatase-Inhibitor Therapy in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2104162?query=featured_home

US Female Surgeons…may be at increased risk of infertility and pregnancy complications; changing surgical culture and enacting policies that support pregnancy may reduce risk of adverse obstetric outcomes. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2782357

Women Surgeons at Greater Risk of Pregnancy Loss, Study Finds The demands of the profession appear to clash with the process of starting a family. “There’s a health risk in it.” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/health/women-surgeons-pregnancy.html?smid=tw-share

Long-term Outcomes of Laparoscopic Lavage for Perforated Diverticulitis Remain Unfavorable. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2782360

Diverse experts’ perspectives on ethical issues of using machine learning to predict HIV/AIDS risk in sub-Saharan Africa: a modified Delphi study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e052287

Has the billion dollar crusade to eradicate polio come to an end? https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1818?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage&__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_79027d49e972c527d05052217be54fd8c63f4c21-1627535134-0-gqNtZGzNAmKjcnBszRM6

FROM 28 JULY

FROM 27 JULY

Global Incidence and Mortality of Gastric Cancer, 1980-2018. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782336

FROM 26 JULY

Building Capacity for Global Cancer Research: Existing Opportunities and Future Directions. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13187-021-02043-w

Promoting evidence-informed cancer treatment policy making in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00315-6/fulltext

Decolonising cancer research: why it matters, what can be done. https://cancerworld.net/decolonising-cancer-research-why-it-matters-what-can-be-done/

A commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion for BMJ and our journals. 2. Supporting authors from the Global South

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Thursday, 29 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 29, 2021, 03:53 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	102,124	[4,467]	1,485	[110]	87,517	13,122	42,515	616	1,457,692

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-29-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

102,124 Total confirmed cases

1,485 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 27 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 29 July 2021

NEWS

Überantibodies From Recovered COVID-19 Patients Could Spur New Therapeutics and Vaccines. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782673

The overlooked superpower of mRNA vaccines. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/overlooked-superpower-mrna-vaccines

Covid-19 Breakthrough Infections in Vaccinated Health Care Workers. Among fully vaccinated health care workers, the occurrence of breakthrough infections with SARS-CoV-2 was correlated with neutralizing antibody titers during the peri-infection period. Most breakthrough infections were mild or asymptomatic, although persistent symptoms did occur. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109072?query=featured_home

Serologic Surveillance and Phylogenetic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Hospital Health Care Workers. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782430

Effect of Targeted Behavioral Science Messages on COVID-19 Vaccination Registration Among Employees of a Large Health System. A Randomized Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782435

Mental health crisis in healthcare providers in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional facility-based survey. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e052184

Tofacitinib in Patients Hospitalized with Covid-19 Pneumonia. Among patients hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia, tofacitinib led to a lower risk of death or respiratory failure through day 28 than placebo. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2101643?query=featured_home

Pandemics & protests: Unrest grips developing countries. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-emerging-protests/pandemics-protests-unrest-grips-developing-countries-idUSKBN2EY22Y

Tanzania leader launches COVID-19 vaccination drive, orders more jabs. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-tanzania/tanzania-leader-launches-covid-19-vaccination-drive-orders-more-jabs-idUSKBN2EY1EN

Raab calls for global vaccine drive as UK starts donating shots. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-covax/raab-calls-for-global-vaccine-drive-as-uk-starts-donating-shots-idUSKBN2EY1UE

South Africa plans $2.4 billion relief measures over COVID-19, riots. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-economy/south-africa-plans-2-4-billion-relief-measures-over-covid-19-riots-idUSKBN2EY1JF

BNT162b2-Elicited Neutralization against New SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variants. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2106083?query=featured_home

Association Between Mood Disorders and Risk of COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death. A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2782453

Association of Facial Pustular Neutrophilic Eruption With Messenger RNA–1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2782441

Will Some Adolescents and Young Adults Forgo Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Methods in Favor of Romantic Relationships? https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2782326

Covid-19: Evidence used to support mass lateral flow testing was flawed, experts say. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1907

Diagnostic accuracy of rapid antigen tests in asymptomatic and presymptomatic close contacts of individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection: cross sectional study. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1676

Covid 19: More US institutes, universities, and businesses make masks mandatory as cases rise sharply. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1905

Youth versus pandemics: the role of future generations in the pandemic treaty. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00307-7/fulltext

Breakthrough Infections of SARS-CoV-2 Gamma Variant in Fully Vaccinated Gold Miners, French Guiana, 2021. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/10/21-1427_article

RESOURCES

TDR Global webinar on institutional #mentorship in #LMICs: Thursday, 29 July. 2PM UK. http://createsend.com/t/d-0C796F1FAD792F092540EF23F30FEDED

APSA Wellness Committee. The APSA Well-Being Committee supports pediatric surgeon well-being to ensure the best care possible for children. The mission of the committee is to save lifetimes by supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual health of pediatric surgeons. https://www.pedsurglibrary.com/apsa/view/PedSurg%20Resource/1884059/all/Wellness_Committee

OTHER NEWS

Duration of Adjuvant Aromatase-Inhibitor Therapy in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2104162?query=featured_home

Long-term Outcomes of Laparoscopic Lavage for Perforated Diverticulitis Remain Unfavorable. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2782360

FROM 28 JULY

FROM 27 JULY

Global Incidence and Mortality of Gastric Cancer, 1980-2018. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782336

FROM 26 JULY

Building Capacity for Global Cancer Research: Existing Opportunities and Future Directions. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13187-021-02043-w

Promoting evidence-informed cancer treatment policy making in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00315-6/fulltext

Decolonising cancer research: why it matters, what can be done. https://cancerworld.net/decolonising-cancer-research-why-it-matters-what-can-be-done/

A commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion for BMJ and our journals. 2. Supporting authors from the Global South

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Friday, 30 July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 30, 2021, 03:11 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	106,690	[4,566]	1,569	[84]	95,323	9,798	44,408	653	1,470,906

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-30-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

106,690 Total confirmed cases

1,569Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 28 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 30 July 2021

NEWS

Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of an aerosolised adenovirus type-5 vector-based COVID-19 vaccine (Ad5-nCoV) in adults: preliminary report of an open-label and randomised phase 1 clinical trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00396-0/fulltext

Stretched Senegalese hospitals overwhelmed by third COVID wave. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/stretched-senegalese-hospitals-overwhelmed-by-third-covid-wave-2021-07-29/

Daily briefing: Predicting breakthrough COVID. A study links high levels of virus-blocking antibodies to reduced risk of infection in vaccinated people. Plus: Turning water into metal, and a fossil that could be from Earth’s earliest known animal. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02100-w

How the coronavirus infects cells — and why Delta is so dangerous. Scientists are unpicking the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2 and how the virus uses tricks to evade detection. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02039-y

Immune correlates of protection by mRNA-1273 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in nonhuman primates. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/07/29/science.abj0299?rss=1

The overlooked superpower of mRNA vaccines. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/overlooked-superpower-mrna-vaccines

Fostering Hospital Resilience—Lessons From COVID-19. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782738

Self-reported Memory Problems 8 Months After COVID-19 Infection. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782531

Covid-19: NICE issues guidance on vaccine induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1914

Risk of acute myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke following COVID-19 in Sweden: a self-controlled case series and matched cohort study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00896-5/fulltext

Ivermectin for preventing and treating COVID‐19. Based on the current very low‐ to low‐certainty evidence, we are uncertain about the efficacy and safety of ivermectin used to treat or prevent COVID‐19. The completed studies are small and few are considered high quality. Several studies are underway that may produce clearer answers in review updates. Overall, the reliable evidence available does not support the use ivermectin for treatment or prevention of COVID‐19 outside of well‐designed randomized trials. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD015017.pub2/full

RESOURCES

APSA Wellness Committee. The APSA Well-Being Committee supports pediatric surgeon well-being to ensure the best care possible for children. The mission of the committee is to save lifetimes by supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual health of pediatric surgeons. https://www.pedsurglibrary.com/apsa/view/PedSurg%20Resource/1884059/all/Wellness_Committee

OTHER NEWS

DIABETES–INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE. A century of progress. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6554/504

Aetiology and severity of childhood pneumonia in primary care in Malawi: a cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e046633

Impact of aspirin use on clinical outcomes in patients with vasospastic angina: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Aspirin use may not reduce the risk of future cardiovascular events in VSA patients without significant stenosis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e048719

Causes and circumstances of maternal death: a secondary analysis of the Community-Level Interventions for Pre-eclampsia (CLIP) trials cohort. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00263-1/fulltext COMMENT–Uncertainty in computerised analysis of maternal deaths. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00336-3/fulltext

FROM 29 JULY

Duration of Adjuvant Aromatase-Inhibitor Therapy in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2104162?query=featured_home

Long-term Outcomes of Laparoscopic Lavage for Perforated Diverticulitis Remain Unfavorable. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2782360

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Saturday 31, July 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: JULY 31, 2021, 02:41 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	106,690	[4,566]	1,569	[84]	95,323	9,798	44,408	653	1,470,906

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-31-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

106,690 Total confirmed cases

1,569Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 29 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 31 July 2021

NEWS

Hard-won gains at risk as Delta variant spreads- WHO. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hard-won-gains-being-lost-delta-variant-spreads-who-2021-07-30/

Uganda partially eases COVID-19 containment measures. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-uganda/uganda-partially-eases-covid-19-containment-measures-idUSKBN2F02V9

Botswana pays equivalent of $15 a dose for Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/botswana-pays-equivalent-15-dose-sinovacs-covid-19-vaccine-2021-07-30/

Germany drops S.Africa, others from ‘virus variant’ list. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-drops-safrica-others-virus-variant-list-2021-07-30/

Kenya suspends in-person meetings to curb COVID-19 spread. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenya-suspends-all-in-person-meetings-countrywide-contain-covid-19-spread-2021-07-30/

Covid-19: Pfizer vaccine’s efficacy declined from 96% to 84% four months after second dose, company reports. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1920

A blood marker predicts who gets ‘breakthrough’ COVID. Real-world evidence from a medical centre links high levels of potent antibodies after vaccination to a reduced risk of infection. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02096-3

COVID boosters for wealthy nations spark outrage. Nations short of vaccine should get first doses to curb the pandemic, researchers say. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02109-1

Why Do Variants Such as Delta Become Dominant?Mutations that make a virus more transmissible are only part of the equation. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-variants-such-as-delta-become-dominant/

COVID, Quickly, Episode 12: Masking Up Again and Why People Refuse Shots. https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/covid-quickly-episode-12-masking-up-again-and-why-people-refuse-shots/

No shortcuts to SARS-CoV-2 antivirals. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6554/488

The road to addressing Long Covid. Long Covid is likely the first illness in history that has been defined by patients through social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6554/491

COVID-19 provides an opportunity to transform cancer research. https://www.cell.com/cancer-cell/fulltext/S1535-6108(21)00397-4

Abbreviated Profile of Drugs (APOD): modeling drug safety profiles to prioritize investigational COVID-19 treatments. https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(21)01769-2

Affinity maturation of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies confers potency, breadth, and resilience to viral escape mutations. https://www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(21)00294-6

Biodiversity and COVID-19: A report and a long road ahead to avoid another pandemic. https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(21)00349-3

Self-reported vs Directly Observed Face Mask Use in Kenya. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782566

To Advance Health Equity During COVID-19 and Beyond, Elevate and Support Community Health Workers. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2782746

RESOURCES

Association of Academic Global Surgery–Self nomination for new AAGS committees is open to members now! Join us in shaping the future of #AcademicGlobalSurgery! Self Nominate: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1cvIQjumgLxUK7ghM_zc1JzZXvHr20p81gUfKwXuy5II/viewform?edit_requested=true

Deadline: Aug 1st 2021 Not a member yet? Join us: http://bit.ly/JoinAAGS Calling all students interested in #AcademicGlobalSurgery, AAGS now welcomes student members As members you can self nominate to serve on committees!Join us: http://bit.ly/JoinAAGS & Self Nominate: http://bit.ly/AAGSCommittee2021 Deadline: Aug 1st 2021

APSA Wellness Committee. The APSA Well-Being Committee supports pediatric surgeon well-being to ensure the best care possible for children. The mission of the committee is to save lifetimes by supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual health of pediatric surgeons. https://www.pedsurglibrary.com/apsa/view/PedSurg%20Resource/1884059/all/Wellness_Committee

OTHER NEWS

Disassembly of HIV envelope glycoprotein trimer immunogens is driven by antibodies elicited via immunization. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/31/eabh2791

Public Perceptions of Physician Attire and Professionalism in the US. Findings suggest that individuals prefer that physicians wear white coats and that gender biases in the perception of professional physician attire exist https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782564

National optimisation of accessibility to emergency obstetrical and neonatal care in Togo: a geospatial analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045891

Consideration of antimicrobial resistance and contextual factors in infectious disease guidelines: a systematic survey. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e046097

FROM 30 JULY

DIABETES–INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE. A century of progress. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6554/504

Aetiology and severity of childhood pneumonia in primary care in Malawi: a cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e046633

FROM 29 JULY

Duration of Adjuvant Aromatase-Inhibitor Therapy in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2104162?query=featured_home

Long-term Outcomes of Laparoscopic Lavage for Perforated Diverticulitis Remain Unfavorable. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2782360

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Monday, 2 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 2, 2021, 03:25 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	106,690	[4,566]	1,569	[84]	95,323	9,798	44,408	653	1,470,906

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-02-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

106,690 Total confirmed cases

1,569Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 31 July 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 2 AUGUST 2021

NEWS

Mandating COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Workers. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-3150

Achieving Racial and Ethnic Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination. From Individual Readiness to Health System Readiness. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2782620

Identification of COVID-19 Virus in Human Intraocular Tissues. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2782449

Presumed SARS-CoV-2 Viral Particles in the Human Retina of Patients With COVID-19. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2782445

Association Between Mood Disorders and Risk of COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death. A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2782453

RESOURCES

APSA Wellness Committee. The APSA Well-Being Committee supports pediatric surgeon well-being to ensure the best care possible for children. The mission of the committee is to save lifetimes by supporting the physical, emotional and spiritual health of pediatric surgeons. https://www.pedsurglibrary.com/apsa/view/PedSurg%20Resource/1884059/all/Wellness_Committee

OTHER NEWS

An ecological study on the association between early childhood caries and intimate partner violence in 20 low- and middle-income countries: 2007-2017 [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. https://aasopenresearch.org/articles/4-39/v1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=etoc_alert_WEEKLY

Disability: measurement matters. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00312-0/fulltext

Should global financing be the main priority for pandemic preparedness? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01387-8/fulltext

Checklist Framework for Surgical Education Disaster Plans. https://www.journalacs.org/article/S1072-7515(21)00493-2/fulltext

Level of knowledge and practice of female healthcare providers about early detection methods of breast cancer at Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialised Hospital: a cross-sectional study. https://research.one.surgery/level-of-knowledge-and-practice-of-female-healthcare-providers-about-early-detection-methods-of-breast-cancer-at-debre-tabor-comprehensive-specialised-hospital-a-cross-sectional-study/

The need to reshape global food processing: a call to the United Nations Food Systems Summit. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006885

FROM 31 JULY

Disassembly of HIV envelope glycoprotein trimer immunogens is driven by antibodies elicited via immunization. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/31/eabh2791

National optimisation of accessibility to emergency obstetrical and neonatal care in Togo: a geospatial analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e045891

Consideration of antimicrobial resistance and contextual factors in infectious disease guidelines: a systematic survey. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e046097

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Wednesday, 4 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 4, 2021, 03:28 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	115,220	[8,530]	1,653	[84]	96,964	16,603	47,948	688	1,514,979

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-04-2021 04:28 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

115,220 Total confirmed cases

1,653 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 1 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 4 AUGUST 2021

NEWS

Surprise dip in UK COVID cases baffles researchers. Daily recorded infections have more than halved since mid-July. Few researchers anticipated such a sharp decline, and they are now struggling to interpret it. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02125-1

COVID ‘Fast Grants’ sped up pandemic science. Programme awarded $US50 million in rapid grants and highlights limitations in existing scientific-funding mechanisms. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02111-7

Broad betacoronavirus neutralization by a stem helix–specific human antibody. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/08/03/science.abj3321?rss=1

No evidence of human genome integration of SARS-CoV-2 found by long-read DNA sequencing. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)00961-X?utm_medium=homepage

Intellectual property waiver for covid-19 vaccines will advance global health equity. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1837

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Why sports concussions are worse for women. As women’s soccer, rugby and other sports gain popularity, scientists are racing to understand how the female brain responds to head injury. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02089-2

Roopa Dhatt: How a simple statistic helped put women on the global health map. In 2015, practising physician Roopa Dhatt and her colleagues wangled their way into the World Health Assembly in Geneva, and counted how many of the chief delegates representing countries were women. It was 23%, despite women making up 70% of the global health and social workforce. That simple statistic started a movement. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1827

Hypothermia for moderate or severe neonatal encephalopathy in low-income and middle-income countries (HELIX): a randomised controlled trial in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00264-3/fulltext

Hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy in low resource settings—time to stop cooling? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00343-0/fulltext

FROM 3 AUGUST

President Uhuru Kenyatta unveils the first locally developed Malaria Test Kit at the KEMRI. https://www.kemri.org/2021/07/22/launch-of-the-first-locally-manufactured-malaria-rapid-diagnostic-kit/

Cognitive Decline Associated With Anesthesia and Surgery in Older Patients. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782851

Law, criminalisation and HIV in the world: have countries that criminalise achieved more or less successful pandemic response? https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006315

Dementia risk in professional footballers is linked to player position and career length, study finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1934

UB COVID-19 Information Digest Friday, 6 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 6, 2021, 02:41 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	122,574	[7,354]	1,704	[51]	104,731	16,139	51,001	709	1,525,222

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-06-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

122,674 Total confirmed cases

1,704Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 4 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 6 AUGUST 2021

NEWS

Recovery after prolonged ICU treatment in patients with COVID-19. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(21)00318-0/fulltext

‘They thought Covid only kills white people’: myths and fear hinder jabs in DRC. Mutant strain may emerge amid vaccine hesitancy, experts say, as even medics reject jabs in DR Congo. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/05/covid-only-kills-white-people-myths-and-fear-hinder-jabs-in-drc-congo

African Union says J&J vaccine shipments begin, warns of slow pace of deliveries. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/african-union-says-jj-vaccine-shipments-begin-warns-slow-pace-deliveries-2021-08-05/

Africa’s COVID vaccine project takes a step forward with bottling agreement -document. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/africas-covid-vaccine-project-takes-step-forward-with-bottling-agreement-2021-08-05/

WHO says COVID-19 related deaths in Africa reach record peak. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/who-says-covid-19-related-deaths-africa-reach-record-peak-2021-08-05/

COVID vaccine boosters: the most important questions. Concerns over waning immunity and SARS-CoV-2 variants have convinced some countries to deploy extra vaccine doses — but it’s not clear to scientists whether most people need them. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02158-6

Covid-19: WHO calls for booster shot ban until end of September. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1962

Delta threatens rural regions that dodged earlier COVID waves. Data on the variant’s spread in India make researchers fearful for areas in developing nations that lack health care and vaccines. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02146-w

A giant trial of COVID-19 treatments is restarting. Here are the drugs it’s betting on. Solidarity, a global study led by the World Health Organization (WHO), will test three new drugs in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: the cancer drug imatinib, an antibody named infliximab that is used to treat autoimmune diseases, and artesunate, an antimalarial. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/08/giant-trial-covid-19-treatments-restarting-here-are-drugs-it-s-betting

Humane shelter at home: a call to reimagine a core pandemic intervention. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006614

Why Cuba developed its own covid vaccine—and what happened next. The island’s national regulatory agency approved the Abdala vaccine on 9 July, making Cuba the first Latin American country to develop a successful covid-19 vaccine. The Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices reports that Abdala is 92% efficacious after three doses. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1912

Covid-19: CPAP reduces need for invasive mechanical ventilation in patients requiring oxygen, study finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1950

COVID-19, online shaming, and health-care professionals. Unfortunately, doctors, along with other health-care workers, have become the targets of online shaming pile-ons. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01706-2/fulltext

Critically ill COVID-19 patients in Africa: it is time for quality registry data. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01549-X/fulltext

What are the obligations of pharmaceutical companies in a global health emergency? An ethical approach to COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution should satisfy four uncontroversial principles: optimising vaccine production, including development, testing, and manufacturing; fair distribution; sustainability; and accountability. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01378-7/fulltext

Tobacco industry capitalises on the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(21)00361-1/fulltext

RESOURCES

Scholarship Reference Number: COSECSA/AO ALLIANCE/2021/1. Advancing Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery Capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. The program is open to final-year COSECSA FCS orthopaedic trainees; Non-COSECSA Orthopaedic surgeons working in a COSECSA accredited hospital who wish to advance their knowledge and Final year (Fifth year) MMed trainees intending to take the Fellowship (FCS Ortho) examination in 2022. Applicants should include a personal statement indicating expected results or outcomes, a current CV, and a letter of support from the surgical training Programme Director of the COSECSA accredited hospital in which the trainee is training. Please use COSECSA/AO ALLIANCE/2021/1 as the Scholarship Reference Number. All applications must be submitted online through the scholarship application form addressed to the COSECSA Registrar using the following Link: Scholarship Application Form https://www.cosecsa.org/scholarship-application-form/

OTHER NEWS

Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030. WHO, No one should be harmed in health care.Yet, every minute, 5 patients die because of unsafe care. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240032705

‘Tortured phrases’ give away fabricated research papers. Analysis reveals that strange turns of phrase may indicate foul play in science. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02134-0

Quantifying conflict zones as a challenge to certification of Guinea worm eradication in Africa: a new analytical approach. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e049732

Methodological issues in economic evaluations of emergency transport systems in low-income and middle-income countries. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/3/e004723

‘Open’ relationships: reflections on the role of the journal in the contemporary scholarly publishing landscape. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09581596.2021.1958512

FROM 5 AUGUST

Association Between Self-reported Importance of Religious or Spiritual Beliefs and End-of-Life Care Preferences Among People Receiving Dialysis. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782667

Exploring the factors that promote or diminish a psychologically safe environment: a qualitative interview study with critical care staff | BMJ Open. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e046699

Effect of a multifaceted intervention to improve clinical quality of care through stepwise certification (SafeCare) in health-care facilities in Tanzania: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. SafeCare did not improve clinical quality as assessed by compliance with IPC practices and correct case management. The absence of effect on clinical quality could reflect a combination of insufficient intervention intensity, insufficient links between structural quality and care processes, scarcity of resources for quality improvement, and inadequate financial and regulatory incentives for improvement. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00228-X/fulltext

Stepwise accreditation in Tanzania: no impact on process quality. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00286-2/fulltext#%20

Five Top Tips To Champion Female Leadership. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sairahashman/2021/06/30/five-top-tips-to-champion-female-leadership/?sh=291ee3d865fe

New #malaria point of care test uses an app to interpret #diagnosis, increasing access to testing in rural and remote areas. @ScotNational. https://www.thenational.scot/news/19485255.scots-team-leads-development-origami-malaria-testing-app/

GLOBAL HEALTH IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 AND BEYOND: WHAT’S JUSTICE GOT TO DO WITH IT? https://www.irg-ghj.org/our-vision

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Monday, 16 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 16, 2021, 09:15 GMT

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	136,758	[14,184]	1,973	[269]	121,987	12,798	51,001	820	1,563,934

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-16-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

136,758 Total confirmed cases

1,973 Deaths

Africa CDC Dashboard 15 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 16 AUGUST 2021

𝐏𝐅𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐑 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐒𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃

REF: MHW 1/13/1 I (95) 13th August 2021

The Ministry of Health and Wellness wishes to refer to a misleading article published by the Sunday Standard/The Telegraph in its social media platforms, erroneously suggesting that the Pfizer Vaccine consignment of 81, 900 doses due to Botswana has been cancelled.

This is totally false and malicious since the ministry has responded to the Sunday Standard enquiry indicating that the arrival of the consignment has been postponed, not cancelled, due to logistical arrangements and will now arrive in the country within the next few days on a date yet to be communicated.

NEWS

Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccines against the B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant. Only modest differences in vaccine effectiveness were noted with the delta variant as compared with the alpha variant after the receipt of two vaccine doses. Absolute differences in vaccine effectiveness were more marked after the receipt of the first dose. This finding would support efforts to maximize vaccine uptake with two doses among vulnerable populations. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2108891?query=featured_home

Clinical Features of Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109908?query=featured_home

Three Doses of an mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine in Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2108861?query=featured_home

Vaccine Effectiveness Studies in the Field. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2110605?query=featured_secondary

Making Vaccines Available to Other Countries Before Offering Domestic Booster Vaccinations. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783234

Gordon Brown hits out at EU’s ‘neocolonial approach’ to Covid vaccine supplies. Former UK prime minister calls on western leaders to convene summit to address Africa’s vaccine deficit. Gordon Brown: the world is making billions of Covid vaccine doses, so why is Africa not getting them? https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/16/gordon-brown-hits-out-at-eu-neocolonial-approach-to-covid-vaccine-supplies\

Lesotho’s PM isolating with Covid as cases ‘go unrecorded’. Medics fear government is failing to gather data as ‘social media conspiracies’ slow vaccination take-up. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/aug/12/lesothos-pm-isolating-with-covid-as-cases-go-unrecorded

Emergency vaccine summit needed to help Africa, says UK’s ex-PM Brown. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/emergency-vaccine-summit-needed-help-africa-says-uks-ex-pm-brown-2021-08-16/

Has COVID taught us anything about pandemic preparedness?. Researchers warn that plans to prevent the next global outbreak don’t consider the failures that have fuelled our current predicament. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02217-y

How do vaccinated people spread Delta? What the science says. Emerging data suggest that Delta could spread more readily than other coronavirus variants among people vaccinated against COVID-19. But key questions remain. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02187-1

Critical Care Doctors Are in Crisis. Who’s caring for the ICU physicians? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/critical-care-doctors-are-in-crisis/

Cell Press Coronavirus Resource Hub. https://www.cell.com/COVID-19?utm_medium=homepage

Audio Interview: Monoclonal Antibodies and Booster Shots. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2113398?query=featured_home

Change in Saliva RT-PCR Sensitivity Over the Course of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783249

Variants of SARS-CoV-2. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783248

Quantification of Specific Antibodies Against SARS-CoV-2 in Breast Milk of Lactating Women Vaccinated With an mRNA Vaccine. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782982

Time for action: towards an intersectional gender approach to COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment that leaves no one behind. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006854

What will we choose to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic? https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e007005

New waves, new variants, old inequity: a continuing COVID-19 crisis. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e007031

Covid-19: Uganda’s low inpatient numbers mask high community infection as desperate patients turn to herbs. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1909

The legacies of colonialism: putting African covid-19 vaccination into context. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/08/13/the-legacies-of-colonialism-putting-african-covid-19-vaccination-into-context/

Covid-19: Two vaccine doses are crucial for protection against delta, study finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2029

Estimating spatiotemporal patterns of deaths by COVID-19 outbreak on a global scale. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e047002

Heterologous ChAdOx1-nCoV19–BNT162b2 vaccination provides superior immunogenicity against COVID-19. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(21)00366-0/fulltext

Safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of homologous and heterologous prime-boost immunisation with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BNT162b2: a prospective cohort study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(21)00357-X/fulltext

COVID-19 vaccine equity and booster doses. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00486-2/fulltext

Inhaled budesonide for COVID-19 in people at high risk of complications in the community in the UK (PRINCIPLE): a randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01744-X/fulltext

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Cabotegravir for HIV PrEP in High-Risk Adults. https://www.nejm.org/do/10.1056/NEJMdo006117/full/

Enhancing HIV Prevention with Injectable Preexposure Prophylaxis. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2110665?query=featured_secondary

Effect of Intravenous Fluid Treatment With a Balanced Solution vs 0.9% Saline Solution on Mortality in Critically Ill Patients. /The BaSICS Randomized Clinical Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783039

Effect of Slower vs Faster Intravenous Fluid Bolus Rates on Mortality in Critically Ill Patients. The BaSICS Randomized Clinical Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783040

Midcareer Medical School Research Faculty Perspectives on Vitality and Professionalism During the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782993

Assessment of Undernutrition Among Children in 55 Low- and Middle-Income Countries Using Dietary and Anthropometric Measures. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782986

Research within international non-governmental organisation programmes in low and middle-income countries: challenges amid opportunities. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006210

Trends and outcomes in primary health care expenditures in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000–2017. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e005798

Feasibility of implementing Extubation Advisor, a clinical decision support tool to improve extubation decision-making in the ICU: a mixed-methods observational study. . https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e045674

Strengthening ethics committees for health-related research in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e046546

Sexually transmitted infections and prior antibiotic use as important causes for negative urine cultures among adults presenting with urinary tract infection symptoms to primary care clinics in Zimbabwe: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e050407

Effects of local handwashing agents on microbial contamination of hands in the rural settings of northwest Ethiopia: protocol for a two-arm, clustered-randomised controlled trial. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e046828

What do doctors understand by spiritual health? A survey of UK general practitioners. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e045110

Tuberculosis care cascade in Zambia – identifying the gaps in order to improve outcomes: a population-based analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e044867

Effects of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in South Africa across different drinker groups and wealth quintiles: a modelling study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e052879

Epistemic injustice in academic global health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00301-6/fulltext

FROM LAST WEEK

Major UK science funder unveils strict open-access policy. The details align with Plan S — but UKRI hasn’t yet decided whether to pay for open-access publishing in some hybrid journals. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02148-8

Cancer as a Global Health Priority. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782998

Gender distribution in the editorial boards of surgical journals: A snapshot from Western Europe. Plastic surgery journals had the highest mean percentage of women playing the role of associate editor (35%), followed by those focused on general surgery (21%), neurosurgery (14%), and orthopedic surgery (8%). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039606021006899?dgcid=coauthor

FROM 6 AUGUST

Quantifying conflict zones as a challenge to certification of Guinea worm eradication in Africa: a new analytical approach. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e049732

Methodological issues in economic evaluations of emergency transport systems in low-income and middle-income countries. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/3/e004723

‘Open’ relationships: reflections on the role of the journal in the contemporary scholarly publishing landscape. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09581596.2021.1958512

FROM 5 AUGUST

Stepwise accreditation in Tanzania: no impact on process quality. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00286-2/fulltext#%20

Five Top Tips To Champion Female Leadership. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sairahashman/2021/06/30/five-top-tips-to-champion-female-leadership/?sh=291ee3d865fe

GLOBAL HEALTH IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 AND BEYOND: WHAT’S JUSTICE GOT TO DO WITH IT? https://www.irg-ghj.org/our-vision

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Tuesday, 17 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 17, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	142,380	[5,622]	2043 1,973	[70]	126,597	13,740	59,206	850	1,588,907

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-17-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 50,478 Deaths in 28 days: 715 Total cases: 142,380 Total deaths: 2,043.00

Africa CDC Dashboard 16 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 16 AUGUST 2021

RESTRICTION OF MOVEMENT AND CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R0eQLNITP1Gp1oZP68G6_gJYvz6qd-mN/view?fbclid=IwAR07tugBUjTBnAzIH8bZ2RZ6UE3fnStd3scOyJ94Hec1Y5mZwf4KZSdYOBM

Botswana Government@BWGovernment

For a seamless vaccination process, all those eligible are advised to register online. The new online registration platform is: https://fenyacovid.gov.bw/armready . Those who previously registered on the old link, should not re-register, since their registration remains valid.

NEWS

Covid-19: Two vaccine doses are crucial for protection against delta, study finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2029

More than 50 long-term effects of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-95565-8

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus-right-now-2021-03-02/

Emergency vaccine summit needed to help Africa, says UK’s ex-PM Brown. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/emergency-vaccine-summit-needed-help-africa-says-uks-ex-pm-brown-2021-08-16/

A grim warning from Israel: Vaccination blunts, but does not defeat Delta. With early vaccination and outstanding data, country is the world’s real-life COVID-19 lab. https://www.science.org/content/article/grim-warning-israel-vaccination-blunts-does-not-defeat-delta

Generation and transmission of inter-lineage recombinants in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00984-3

Combining spike- and nucleocapsid-based vaccines improves distal control of SARS-CoV-2. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)01108-6

Protective heterologous T cell immunity in COVID-19 induced by the trivalent Measles-Mumps-Rubella and Tetanus-Diptheria-Pertussis vaccine antigens. Tdap and MMR memory T cells reactivated by SARS-CoV-2 may provide protection against severe COVID-19 disease. https://www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(21)00289-0

Mask-Wearing Behavior at the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783357

Profiteering from vaccine inequity: a crime against humanity? https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2027

Covid-19: Children born during the pandemic score lower on cognitive tests, study finds (Rhode Island, USA) . The researchers have largely ruled out a direct effect of the virus, as mothers or children with a history of testing positive for covid-19 were excluded from the analysis. Instead, the authors say, reduced interaction with parents and less outdoor exercise are likely culprits, along with effects that occurred during pregnancy.https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2031

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Ivory Coast begins Ebola vaccinations after case confirmed in Abidjan. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-ebola-ivorycoast-guinea/ivory-coast-begins-ebola-vaccinations-after-case-confirmed-in-abidjan-idUSKBN2FH1VQ

Science Must Be for Everyone. .Racism and sexism are obstacles to making the scientific enterprise worthy of its public funding. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-must-be-for-everyone/

Vaccine Lessons From COVID Could Help Prevent Future Pandemics. Effective COVID-19 vaccines arrived in record time. That success story, years in the making, offers lessons that could help prevent future outbreaks, including pandemic influenza. https://www.scientificamerican.com/custom-media/vaccine-lessons-from-covid-could-help-prevent-future-pandemics/?mvt=i&mvn=9a8f3d19c32945529333414bb2c8225e&mvp=NA-SCIEAMERLIVE-11237933&mvl=HomeAgenda

Conducting clinical research in a resource-constrained setting: lessons from a longitudinal cohort study in The Gambia. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006419

Beyond the metrics of health research performance in African countries. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006019

FROM 16 AUGUST

Cabotegravir for HIV PrEP in High-Risk Adults. https://www.nejm.org/do/10.1056/NEJMdo006117/full/

Enhancing HIV Prevention with Injectable Preexposure Prophylaxis. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2110665?query=featured_secondary

Midcareer Medical School Research Faculty Perspectives on Vitality and Professionalism During the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782993

Research within international non-governmental organisation programmes in low and middle-income countries: challenges amid opportunities. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006210

Trends and outcomes in primary health care expenditures in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000–2017. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e005798

Strengthening ethics committees for health-related research in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e046546

What do doctors understand by spiritual health? A survey of UK general practitioners. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e045110

Tuberculosis care cascade in Zambia – identifying the gaps in order to improve outcomes: a population-based analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e044867

Effects of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in South Africa across different drinker groups and wealth quintiles: a modelling study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e052879

Epistemic injustice in academic global health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00301-6/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Wednesday, 18 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 18, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	142,380	[5,622]	2043 1,973	[70]	126,597	13,740	59,206	850	1,588,907

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-18-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 50,478 Deaths in 28 days: 715 Total cases: 142,380 Total deaths: 2,043.00

Africa CDC Dashboard 16 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 16 AUGUST 2021

RESTRICTION OF MOVEMENT AND CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R0eQLNITP1Gp1oZP68G6_gJYvz6qd-mN/view?fbclid=IwAR07tugBUjTBnAzIH8bZ2RZ6UE3fnStd3scOyJ94Hec1Y5mZwf4KZSdYOBM

Botswana Government@BWGovernment

NEWS

Critically ill COVID-19 patients in Africa: it is time for quality registry data – Authors’ reply. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01545-2/fulltext

Patient care and clinical outcomes for patients with COVID-19 infection admitted to African high-care or intensive care units (ACCCOS): a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00441-4/fulltext

Botswana’s COVID-19 budget balloons as it battles for vaccines. Botswana needs to budget an extra 1.13 billion pula ($100 million) to help secure COVID-19 vaccines and equipment as the southern African country battles a third wave of infections, Finance Minister Peggy Serame told parliament on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/botswanas-covid-19-budget-balloons-it-battles-vaccines-2021-08-17/

U.S. ships nearly 500k COVID vaccine doses to Rwanda. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-ships-nearly-500k-covid-vaccine-doses-rwanda-2021-08-17/

Iran hopes to defeat COVID with home-grown crop of vaccines. Nature talks to vaccine developer Kayhan Azadmanesh about efforts in Iran to develop ten or more COVID jabs, two of which have been approved for use. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02216-z

Antibodies reveal who’s protected by Moderna’s COVID vaccine. Trial results add to growing evidence that low levels of ‘neutralizing’ antibodies are a marker of vulnerability to COVID-19. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02237-8

The WHO is right to call a temporary halt to COVID vaccine boosters. Richer countries should focus on ramping up vaccine supply to the billions who are still waiting for their first dose. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02219-w

Vaccine Lessons From COVID Could Help Prevent Future Pandemics. Effective COVID-19 vaccines arrived in record time. That success story, years in the making, offers lessons that could help prevent future outbreaks, including pandemic influenza. https://www.scientificamerican.com/custom-media/vaccine-lessons-from-covid-could-help-prevent-future-pandemics/?mvt=i&mvn=775a6ae7baa242dbbf29675d87a7a809&mvp=NA-SCIEAMERLIVE-11237933&mvl=HomeLatest

The animal origin of SARS-CoV-2. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh0117

Vaccine nationalism and the dynamics and control of SARS-CoV-2. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj7364

Sputnik V vaccine elicits seroconversion and neutralizing capacity to SARS-CoV-2 after a single dose. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00208-1

Short-term Reactions Among Pregnant and Lactating Individuals in the First Wave of the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783112

Lessons from two SARS-CoV-2 waves in South Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00313-2/fulltext

SARS-CoV-2 delta variant neutralisation after heterologous ChAdOx1-S/BNT162b2 vaccination. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01891-2/fulltext

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

7-1-7: an organising principle, target, and accountability metric to make the world safer from pandemics. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01250-2/fulltext

Global, regional, and national progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 for neonatal and child health: all-cause and cause-specific mortality findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01207-1/fulltext

Spatio-temporal distribution and associated factors of anaemia among children aged 6–59 months in Ethiopia: a spatial and multilevel analysis based on the EDHS 2005–2016. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e045544

Arresting vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus (AVERT-HBV) in pregnant women and their neonates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a feasibility study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00304-1/fulltext

Enablers of gender equitable scientific career progression in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the DELTAS Africa Initiative [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. https://aasopenresearch.org/articles/4-42

Vision impairment and traffic safety outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00303-X/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email

FROM 17 AUGUST

Conducting clinical research in a resource-constrained setting: lessons from a longitudinal cohort study in The Gambia. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006419

Beyond the metrics of health research performance in African countries. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e006019

FROM 16 AUGUST

Cabotegravir for HIV PrEP in High-Risk Adults. https://www.nejm.org/do/10.1056/NEJMdo006117/full/

Enhancing HIV Prevention with Injectable Preexposure Prophylaxis. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2110665?query=featured_secondary

Midcareer Medical School Research Faculty Perspectives on Vitality and Professionalism During the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782993

Research within international non-governmental organisation programmes in low and middle-income countries: challenges amid opportunities. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006210

Trends and outcomes in primary health care expenditures in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000–2017. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e005798

Strengthening ethics committees for health-related research in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e046546

What do doctors understand by spiritual health? A survey of UK general practitioners. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e045110

Tuberculosis care cascade in Zambia – identifying the gaps in order to improve outcomes: a population-based analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e044867

Effects of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in South Africa across different drinker groups and wealth quintiles: a modelling study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e052879

Epistemic injustice in academic global health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00301-6/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Thursday, 19 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 19, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	142,380	[5,622]	2043 1,973	[70]	126,597	13,740	59,206	850	1,588,907

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-19-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 50,478 Deaths in 28 days: 715 Total cases: 142,380 Total deaths: 2,043.00

Africa CDC Dashboard 17 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 16 AUGUST 2021

RESTRICTION OF MOVEMENT AND CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R0eQLNITP1Gp1oZP68G6_gJYvz6qd-mN/view?fbclid=IwAR07tugBUjTBnAzIH8bZ2RZ6UE3fnStd3scOyJ94Hec1Y5mZwf4KZSdYOBM

Botswana Government@BWGovernment

NEWS

No need for COVID booster jabs for now – WHO. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who-boosters/no-need-for-covid-booster-jabs-for-now-who-idUSKBN2FJ1F9

Delta surging in areas of low COVID-19 vaccine coverage – WHO. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who/delta-surging-in-areas-of-low-covid-19-vaccine-coverage-who-idUSKBN2FJ1EW

Antibodies reveal who’s protected by Moderna’s COVID vaccin. Trial results add to growing evidence that low levels of ‘neutralizing’ antibodies are a marker of vulnerability to COVID-19. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02237-8

The interferon landscape along the respiratory tract impacts the severity of COVID-19. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00990-9

Early Convalescent Plasma for High-Risk Outpatients with Covid-19. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2103784?query=featured_home

Audio Interview: Aspects of Covid-19 Immunity. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2113747?query=featured_home

Pan-Sarbecovirus Neutralizing Antibodies in BNT162b2-Immunized SARS-CoV-1 Survivors. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2108453?query=featured_home

Breakthrough Infections in BNT162b2-Vaccinated Health Care Workers. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2108076?query=featured_home

Myocarditis after Covid-19 mRNA Vaccination. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2109975?query=featured_home

Confronting the Delta Variant of SARS-CoV-2, Summer 2021. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783478

How universities can make re-opening safer in the autumn. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/08/18/how-universities-can-make-re-opening-safer-in-the-autumn/

Associations of BNT162b2 vaccination with SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospital admission and death with covid-19 in nursing homes and healthcare workers in Catalonia: prospective cohort study. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1868

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

African languages to get more bespoke scientific terms. Many words common to science have never been written in African languages. Now, researchers from across Africa are changing that. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02218-x

Decades-old SARS virus infection triggers potent response to COVID vaccines. Dramatic antibody production in people that were infected during the 2002–04 outbreak furthers hopes of a vaccine against many coronaviruses. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02260-9

Health researchers report funder pressure to suppress results. Small study hints that interference from bodies funding research into public-health issues such as nutrition and exercise may be more common than realized. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02242-x

Evaluation of Adjunctive Ultrasonography for Breast Cancer Detection Among Women Aged 40-49 Years With Varying Breast Density Undergoing Screening Mammography. A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783177

Effects of short birth interval on neonatal, infant and under-five child mortality in Ethiopia: a nationally representative observational study using inverse probability of treatment weighting. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e047892

Protocol for a scoping review to evaluate the extent of utilisation of healthcare services by asthma patients in sub-Saharan African countries. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e046294

Enhanced postoperative surveillance versus standard of care to reduce mortality among adult surgical patients in Africa (ASOS-2): a cluster-randomised controlled trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00291-6/fulltext

Real-world implementation challenges in low-resource settings. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00310-7/fulltext

FROM 18 AUGUST

7-1-7: an organising principle, target, and accountability metric to make the world safer from pandemics. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01250-2/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Friday, 20 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 20, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	146,461	[4,081]	2081	[38]	134,260	10,120	60,893	865	1,599,459

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-20-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 48,804 Deaths in 28 days: 706 Total cases: 146,461 Total deaths: 2,081.00

Africa CDC Dashboard 19 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 20 AUGUST 2021

RESTRICTION OF MOVEMENT AND CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R0eQLNITP1Gp1oZP68G6_gJYvz6qd-mN/view?fbclid=IwAR07tugBUjTBnAzIH8bZ2RZ6UE3fnStd3scOyJ94Hec1Y5mZwf4KZSdYOBM

Botswana Government@BWGovernment

NEWS

Facing backlash, EU says import of J&J vaccines from South Africa is temporary. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-says-import-jj-vaccines-south-africa-is-temporary-2021-08-19/

South Africa to open up COVID-19 vaccinations to 18-35 year olds from Friday. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-open-up-covid-19-vaccinations-18-35-year-olds-friday-2021-08-19/

Ebola, other outbreaks, atop COVID-19, risk straining West Africa health systems -WHO. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ebola-other-outbreaks-atop-covid-19-risk-straining-west-africa-health-systems-2021-08-19/

COVID vaccines protect against Delta, but their effectiveness wanes. Massive UK study of COVID-19 cases shows that people who are jabbed have good immunity at first, but quickly become more vulnerable to the fast-spreading Delta variant. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02261-8

Delta’s rise is fuelled by rampant spread from people who feel fine. People infected with the Delta variant generally do not have COVID-19 symptoms until two days after they start shedding the coronavirus. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02259-2

Masks Are a Must-Have to Go Back to School during the Delta Variant Surge. Face coverings are essential to protecting children, keeping schools open and slowing the highly contagious coronavirus variant, experts say. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/masks-are-a-must-have-to-go-back-to-school-during-the-delta-variant-surge/

Confronting the Delta Variant of SARS-CoV-2, Summer 2021. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783478

Covid-19: How many variants are there, and what do we know about them? https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1971

Vaccines should not be the preserve of rich countries. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2044

Post-viral effects of COVID-19 in the olfactory system and their implications. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(21)00182-4/fulltext

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Analysis of Maternal Postnatal Depression, Socioeconomic Factors, and Offspring Internalizing Symptoms in a Longitudinal Cohort in South Africa. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783238

Recognizing the Complexity of Psychosocial Factors Associated With Children’s Development—the Case of Maternal Depression. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783244

The absurdity of research registration for community-oriented knowledge coproduction. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e007040

Governance factors that affect the implementation of health financing reforms in Tanzania: an exploratory study of stakeholders’ perspectives. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e005964

How to improve outbreak response: a case study of integrated outbreak analytics from Ebola in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006736

Long-awaited update on estimates of acute rheumatic fever in Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00344-2/fulltext

Incidence of acute rheumatic fever in northern and western Uganda: a prospective, population-based study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00288-6/fulltext

Estimating the cause-specific relative risks of non-optimal temperature on daily mortality: a two-part modelling approach applied to the Global Burden of Disease Study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01700-1/fulltext

Mucormycosis after COVID-19 in a patient with diabetes. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01641-X/fulltext

FROM 19 AUGUST

Protocol for a scoping review to evaluate the extent of utilisation of healthcare services by asthma patients in sub-Saharan African countries. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e046294

Real-world implementation challenges in low-resource settings. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00310-7/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Monday, 23 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 23, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	146,461	[4,081]	2081	[38]	134,260	10,120	60,893	865	1,599,459

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-23-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 48,804 Deaths in 28 days: 706 Total cases: 146,461 Total deaths: 2,081.00

Africa CDC Dashboard 22 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 23 AUGUST 2021

NEWS

Using the COVID-19 pandemic to reimagine global health teaching in high-income countries. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/4/e005649

U.S. shipping COVID-19 vaccine doses to Togo, Angola – official. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-shipping-covid-19-vaccine-doses-togo-angola-official-2021-08-20/

Policies Mandated by Multilateral Institutions Are Contributing to India’s COVID Catastrophe. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund’s pressure to privahttps://www.office.com/launch/powerpoint?auth=2&username=margaret.tarpley@Vanderbilt.Edu&login_hint=margaret.tarpley@Vanderbilt.Edutize India’s health care system deepened inequities in access—to lethal effect. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/policies-mandated-by-multilateral-institutions-are-contributing-to-indias-covid-catastrophe/

Do Delta ‘breakthroughs’ really mean vaccine protection is waning, and are boosters the answer? https://www.science.org/content/article/do-delta-breakthroughs-really-mean-vaccine-protection-waning-and-are-boosters-answer

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Challenge of diagnosing acute infections in poor resource settings in Africa [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. https://aasopenresearch.org/articles/4-28

REVISED High infectious disease burden as a basis for the observed high frequency of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections in sub-Saharan Africa [version 2; peer review: 1 approved]. https://aasopenresearch.org/articles/4-2

Factors associated with research productivity in higher education institutions in Africa: a systematic review [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]. https://aasopenresearch.org/browse?utm_medium=email&utm_source=etoc_alert_WEEKLY

FROM 20 AUGUST

The absurdity of research registration for community-oriented knowledge coproduction. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e007040

Governance factors that affect the implementation of health financing reforms in Tanzania: an exploratory study of stakeholders’ perspectives. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e005964

How to improve outbreak response: a case study of integrated outbreak analytics from Ebola in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006736

Long-awaited update on estimates of acute rheumatic fever in Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00344-2/fulltext

Incidence of acute rheumatic fever in northern and western Uganda: a prospective, population-based study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00288-6/fulltext

Mucormycosis after COVID-19 in a patient with diabetes. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01641-X/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Tuesday, 24 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 24, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	150,842	[4,381]	2171	[90]	140,350	8,321	62,701	902	1,616,792

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-24-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 48,718 Deaths in 28 days: 686 Total cases: 150,842 Total deaths: 2,171.000

Africa CDC Dashboard 22 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 23 AUGUST 2021

NEWS

COVID vaccines and blood clots: what researchers know so far. Scientists are trying to understand why a small number of people develop a mysterious clotting disorder after receiving a COVID jab. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02291-2

How Nature’s COVID coverage has made a difference. We analysed the impact of Nature’s coronavirus journalism and opinion. Here’s what we found. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02277-0

COVID Vaccines Show No Signs of Harming Fertility or Sexual Function. The novel coronavirus, in contrast, can disrupt both things in unvaccinated men and women. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-vaccines-show-no-signs-of-harming-fertility-or-sexual-function/

Egypt to intensify vaccination ahead of a fourth COVID-19 wave.-Egypt will vaccinate all 4.5 million of its state employees against COVID-19 in August and September as it seeks to accelerate vaccinations ahead of a likely fourth wave of infections, the health minister said on Monday. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-egypt/egypt-to-intensify-vaccination-ahead-of-a-fourth-covid-19-wave-idUSKBN2FO178

A SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Broadly Neutralizes SARS-related Coronaviruses and Variants by Coordinated Recognition of a Virus Vulnerable Site. https://www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(21)00359-9

Epitope diversity of SARS-CoV-2 hyperimmune intravenous human immunoglobulins and neutralization of variants of concern. https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)00974-3

Real world effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2034

Delirium is a good predictor for poor outcomes from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34425488/

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Epidemiology of fractures and their treatment in Malawi: Results of a multicentre prospective registry study to guide orthopaedic care planning. https://research.one.surgery/epidemiology-of-fractures-and-their-treatment-in-malawi-results-of-a-multicentre-prospective-registry-study-to-guide-orthopaedic-care-planning/. Plos One.Aug – 2021.

Comparative Efficacy of a High-Dose vs Standard-Dose Hepatitis B Revaccination Schedule Among Patients With HIV. A Randomized Clinical Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783303

Association of Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Drinking and Smoking With the Risk of Stillbirth. In this cohort study of 8506 pregnant women (with 11 892 pregnancies) in Cape Town, South Africa, and the Northern Plains in the US, dual exposure to drinking and smoking after the first trimester of pregnancy had 2.78 times the risk of late stillbirth compared with those with no exposure or who had quit before the end of the first trimester of pregnancy. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783302

Patient, Family, and Clinician Perspectives on End-of-Life Care Quality Domains and Candidate Indicators for Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783301

Commercial use of evidence in public health policy: a critical assessment of food industry submissions to global-level consultations on non-communicable disease prevention. UPFI respondents made far-reaching claims which were rarely supported by high-quality, independent evidence. This indicates that there may be few, if any, benefits from consulting actors with such a clear COI. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006176

Variable trajectory: a systematic review, analytic synthesis and construct domain consolidation of international measures of competence in doctors and medical students. While this review included a considerable number of publications reporting the measurement of competence in doctors and medical students, the heterogeneity of the measures and variation of findings limit the ability to evaluate their validity and generalisability. However, this review presents a resource for researchers and medical educators which may inform operational practice and future research. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e047395

Male partners’ participation in birth preparedness and complication readiness in low‑ and middle‑income countries: a systematic review and meta‑analysis. A low proportion of male partners were identified to have participated in BPCR in LMICs. This calls countries in low‑ and middle‑income setting for action to review their health care policies, to remove the barriers and promote facilitators to male partner’s involvement in BPCR. Health systems in LMICs must design and innovate. https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1186/s12884-021-03994-0?sharing_token=aedy6nDwKEepSZeizvRtdm_BpE1tBhCbnbw3BuzI2RNeQJUwvrSeOOxVl4kxxuiCFiVcTcb3fG-APMO7hQ5dVrjSyPrrTgXbyg4nMCd1rsUWLwLiA_NuUsrITwO8b-pQQy8D-uQQucZTyZ9b6fo2fq0swUI2aRlCDzCDZjp_lU0pqX7rlGIXU6R2wW3g7zUJ

More than honour, humanitarian health-care workers need

life-saving protection. https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(21)01892-4.pdf#:~:text=More%20than%20honour%2C%20humanitarian%20health-care%20workers%20need%20life-saving,Day%20since%20the%20start%20of%20the%20COVID-19%20pandemic.

FROM 23 AUGUST

Challenge of diagnosing acute infections in poor resource settings in Africa [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. https://aasopenresearch.org/articles/4-28

Factors associated with research productivity in higher education institutions in Africa: a systematic review [version 1; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]. https://aasopenresearch.org/browse?utm_medium=email&utm_source=etoc_alert_WEEKLY

FROM 20 AUGUST

The absurdity of research registration for community-oriented knowledge coproduction. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e007040

Governance factors that affect the implementation of health financing reforms in Tanzania: an exploratory study of stakeholders’ perspectives. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e005964

How to improve outbreak response: a case study of integrated outbreak analytics from Ebola in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006736

Long-awaited update on estimates of acute rheumatic fever in Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00344-2/fulltext

Incidence of acute rheumatic fever in northern and western Uganda: a prospective, population-based study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00288-6/fulltext

Mucormycosis after COVID-19 in a patient with diabetes. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01641-X/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Wednesday, 25 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 25, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	150,842	[4,381]	2171	[90]	140,350	8,321	62,701	902	1,616,792

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-25-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 48,718 Deaths in 28 days: 686 Total cases: 150,842 Total deaths: 2,171.000

Africa CDC Dashboard 24 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 25 AUGUST 2021

NEWS

Nigeria approves Sinopharm COVID vaccine, expects 7.7 mln doses. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-approves-sinopharm-covid-vaccine-expects-77-mln-doses-2021-08-24/

Type I interferon autoantibodies are associated with systemic immune alterations in patients with COVID-19. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abh2624

Organising knowledge to prevent global health crises: a comparative analysis of pandemic preparedness indicators. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006864

Unlocking the health system barriers to maximise the uptake and utilisation of molecular diagnostics in low-income and middle-income country setting. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e005357

Covid-19: 40% of patients with weakened immune system mount lower response to vaccines. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2098

Covid-19: Which countries are doing well on test and trace—and how can we tell? https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2053

Covid-19: FDA approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in record time. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2096

Polarisation, incivility, and scientific debate during covid-19—an essay by Agnes Arnold-Forster. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1888

Mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents during the covid-19 pandemic. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1730

Vaccine Rollout Resumes Albeit Minor Hiccups. Batswana turned up in large numbers to heed the call for the second dose phase of their COVID-19 vaccine shots at the different vaccination sites in the capital city. https://www.mmegi.bw/news/vaccine-rollout-resumes-albeit-minor-hiccups/news

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Medicinal plants used among pregnant women in a tertiary teaching hospital in Jimma, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e046495

A step-by-step guide to peer review: a template for patients and novice reviewers, https://informatics.bmj.com/content/28/1/e100392

Antimicrobial resistance in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence in foods, food handlers, animals, and the environment. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771421000768?via%3Dihub

FROM 24 AUGUST

More than honour, humanitarian health-care workers need

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Thursday, 26 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 26, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	150,842	[4,381]	2171	[90]	140,350	8,321	62,701	902	1,616,792

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-26-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 48,718 Deaths in 28 days: 686 Total cases: 150,842 Total deaths: 2,171.000

Africa CDC Dashboard 24 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 26 AUGUST 2021

NEWS

The Guardian view on global vaccine inequality: unwise as well as unethical. Editorial. Richer countries must wake up and see the bigger Covid picture. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/25/the-guardian-view-on-global-vaccine-inequality-unwise-as-well-as-unethical

Daily briefing: COVID vaccines and rare blood clots. The science around COVID vaccines and blood clots, a ban on preprints in early-career funding applications and a call to control methane. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02335-7

Origins of SARS-CoV-2: window is closing for key scientific studies. Authors of the March WHO report into how COVID-19 emerged warn that further delay makes crucial inquiry biologically difficult. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02263-6

Booster shot of J&J vaccine raises antibody levels, company says. Unpublished data suggest second shot could help fight COVID-19. https://www.science.org/content/article/booster-shot-j-j-vaccine-raises-antibody-levels-company-says

Audio Interview: Assessing Vaccine Safety. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2114106?query=featured_home

Safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine in a Nationwide Setting. In this study in a nationwide mass vaccination setting, the BNT162b2 vaccine was not associated with an elevated risk of most of the adverse events examined. The vaccine was associated with an excess risk of myocarditis (1 to 5 events per 100,000 persons). The risk of this potentially serious adverse event and of many other serious adverse events was substantially increased after SARS-CoV-2 infection. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2110475?query=featured_home

Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2103417?query=featured_home

Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Noncritically Ill Patients with Covid-19. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2105911?query=featured_home

Surviving Covid-19 with Heparin? https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2111151?query=featured_secondary

Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2109465?query=featured_home

Influenza’s Unprecedented Low Profile During COVID-19 Pandemic Leaves Experts Wondering What This Flu Season Has in Store. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783644

Post–COVID-19 Symptoms Were Worse Than Cancer’s Effects. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783410

Covid-19: Protection from two doses of vaccine wanes within six months, data suggest. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2113

How the world is (not) handling surplus doses and expiring vaccines. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2062

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

High blood pressure driven by obesity, poverty – WHO study. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/high-blood-pressure-driven-by-obesity-poverty-who-study-2021-08-24/

Seasonal Malaria Vaccination with or without Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention. Administration of RTS,S/AS01E was noninferior to chemoprevention in preventing uncomplicated malaria. The combination of these interventions resulted in a substantially lower incidence of uncomplicated malaria, severe malaria, and death from malaria than either intervention alone. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2026330?query=featured_home

A Monoclonal Antibody for Malaria Prevention. Among adults who had never had malaria infection or vaccination, administration of the long-acting monoclonal antibody CIS43LS prevented malaria after controlled infection. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2034031?query=featured_home

FROM 25 AUGUST

Medicinal plants used among pregnant women in a tertiary teaching hospital in Jimma, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e046495

A step-by-step guide to peer review: a template for patients and novice reviewers, https://informatics.bmj.com/content/28/1/e100392

FROM 24 AUGUST

More than honour, humanitarian health-care workers need

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Friday, 27 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 27, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	153,793		2213	[42]	144,254	7,326	63,918	902	1,629,455

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-27-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 47,103 Deaths in 28 days: 644 Total cases: 153,793 Total deaths: 2,213.00

Africa CDC Dashboard 26 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 27 AUGUST 2021

NEWS

Profiling CD8+ T Cell Epitopes of COVID-19 Convalescents Reveals Reduced Cellular Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Variants. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)01155-4

Comparison of two highly-effective mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 during periods of Alpha and Delta variant prevalence. This article is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed [what does this mean?]. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice. Although clinical trials and real-world studies have affirmed the effectiveness and safety of the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines, reports of breakthrough infections and persistent emergence of new variants highlight the need to vigilantly monitor the effectiveness of these vaccines. Here we compare the effectiveness of two full-length Spike protein-encoding mRNA vaccines from Moderna (mRNA-1273) and Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2) in the Mayo Clinic Health System over time from January to July 2021, during which either the Alpha or Delta variant was highly prevalent. We defined cohorts of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals from Minnesota (n = 25,589 each) matched on age, sex, race, history of prior SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing, and date of full vaccination. Both vaccines were highly effective during this study period against SARS-CoV-2 infection (mRNA-1273: 86%, 95%CI: 81-90.6%; BNT162b2: 76%, 95%CI: 69-81%) and COVID-19 associated hospitalization (mRNA-1273: 91.6%, 95% CI: 81-97%; BNT162b2: 85%, 95% CI: 73-93%). In July, vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization has remained high (mRNA-1273: 81%, 95% CI: 33-96.3%; BNT162b2: 75%, 95% CI: 24-93.9%), but effectiveness against infection was lower for both vaccines (mRNA-1273: 76%, 95% CI: 58-87%; BNT162b2: 42%, 95% CI: 13-62%), with a more pronounced reduction for BNT162b2. Notably, the Delta variant prevalence in Minnesota increased from 0.7% in May to over 70% in July whereas the Alpha variant prevalence decreased from 85% to 13% over the same time period. Comparing rates of infection between matched individuals fully vaccinated with mRNA-1273 versus BNT162b2 across Mayo Clinic Health System sites in multiple states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, and Iowa), mRNA-1273 conferred a two-fold risk reduction against breakthrough infection compared to BNT162b2 (IRR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.39-0.64). In Florida, which is currently experiencing its largest COVID-19 surge to date, the risk of infection in July after full vaccination with mRNA-1273 was about 60% lower than after full vaccination with BNT162b2 (IRR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.24-0.62). Our observational study highlights that while both mRNA COVID-19 vaccines strongly protect against infection and severe disease, further evaluation of mechanisms underlying differences in their effectiveness such as dosing regimens and vaccine composition are warranted. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.06.21261707v2

Association of COVID-19 Mitigation Measures With Changes in Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Body Mass Index Among Children Aged 7 to 10 Years in Austria. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783511

Risk of thrombocytopenia and thromboembolism after covid-19 vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 positive testing: self-controlled case series study. Increased risks of haematological and vascular events that led to hospital admission or death were observed for short time intervals after first doses of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BNT162b2 mRNA vaccines. The risks of most of these events were substantially higher and more prolonged after SARS-CoV-2 infection than after vaccination in the same population. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1931

Strengthening international surveillance of vaccine safety. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1994

A clinical risk score to predict in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e048770

Novel 3D printable powered air purifying respirator for emergency use during PPE shortage of the COVID-19 pandemic: a study protocol and device safety analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e049605

1-year outcomes in hospital survivors with COVID-19: a longitudinal cohort study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01755-4/fulltext

RESOURCES

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Operation Smile and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) are collaborating to provide a 5-year scholarship programme to 15 trainees wishing to study Plastic Surgery within the COSECSA training programme.

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ The scholarship covers all COSECSA fees including Programme Entry, Examination, Graduation fees and 4 years annual subscription fee upon completing the FCS programme. In addition, the trainee will be facilitated to attend both MCS and FCS examinations and will be provided with a monthly stipend.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

Nine in 10 female doctors in UK have experienced sexism at work, says BMA. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2123

Cognitive stimulation in the workplace, plasma proteins, and risk of dementia: three analyses of population cohort studies. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1804

Methodological considerations for linking household and healthcare provider data for estimating effective coverage: a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e045704

Can the Robson 10 Group Classification System help identify which groups of women are driving the high caesarean section rate in major private hospitals in eastern Ethiopia? A cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e047206

Global, regional, and national estimates and trends in stillbirths from 2000 to 2019: a systematic assessment. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01112-0/fulltext

Resource availability, utilisation and cost in the provision of critical care in Tanzania: a protocol for a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e050881

FROM 26 AUGUST

High blood pressure driven by obesity, poverty – WHO study. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/high-blood-pressure-driven-by-obesity-poverty-who-study-2021-08-24/

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Monday, 30 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 30, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	153,793		2213	[42]	144,254	7,326	63,918	902	1,629,455

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-30-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 47,103 Deaths in 28 days: 644 Total cases: 153,793 Total deaths: 2,213.00

Africa CDC Dashboard 29 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 30 AUGUST 2021

BWgovernment

August 27 at 1:35 PM ·

𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄: 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐇𝐌𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃–𝟏𝟗 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂

REF: GGDHMT 1/12/1 I (17) 27 August 2021

The public is notified that the Greater Gaborone District Health Management Team has depleted all the vaccine doses it was allocated for members of the public. This was due to a high turn up at our vaccination sites. The public will be notified when the vaccination rollout resumes in the Greater Gaborone DHMT.

NEWS

Unraveling the Mystery of Why Children Are Better Protected from COVID Than Adults. Their immune system is more primed to fight off the novel coronavirus. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unraveling-the-mystery-of-why-children-are-better-protected-from-covid-than-adults/

The Origins of SARS-CoV-2: A Critical Review. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00991-0?utm_medium=homepage

Changes in Body Mass Index Among Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783690

Factors Associated With Household Transmission of SARS-CoV-2. An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783544

Codevelopment of COVID-19 infection prevention and control guidelines in lower-middle-income countries: the ‘SPRINT’ principles. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006406

Indirect effects of COVID-19 on maternal, neonatal, child, sexual and reproductive health services in Kampala, Uganda. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006102

Strengthening international surveillance of vaccine safety. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1994

What symptoms best predict severe distress in an online survey of UK health and social care staff facing COVID-19: development of the two-item Tipping Point Index. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e047345

1-year outcomes in hospital survivors with COVID-19: a longitudinal cohort study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01755-4/fulltext

Understanding long COVID: a modern medical challenge. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01900-0/fulltext

RESOURCES

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

Cardiac Performance in the First Year of Age Among Preterm Infants Fed Maternal Breast Milk. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783546

A cluster randomised trial of cookstove interventions to improve infant health in Ghana. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e005599

Making miscarriage matter. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01379-9/fulltext

FROM 27 AUGUST

Nine in 10 female doctors in UK have experienced sexism at work, says BMA. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2123

Cognitive stimulation in the workplace, plasma proteins, and risk of dementia: three analyses of population cohort studies. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1804

Methodological considerations for linking household and healthcare provider data for estimating effective coverage: a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e045704

Resource availability, utilisation and cost in the provision of critical care in Tanzania: a protocol for a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e050881

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Tuesday, 31 August 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: AUGUST 31, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	156,927153,793	3,143	2261 2213	[48]	148,519	6,147	63,918	939	1,645,029

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 08-31-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 41,707 Deaths in 28 days: 608 Total cases: 156,927 Total deaths: 2,261.000

Africa CDC Dashboard 29 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 31 AUGUST 2021

BWgovernment

August 27 at 1:35 PM ·

REF: GGDHMT 1/12/1 I (17) 27 August 2021

NEWS

WHO says C.1.2. COVID-19 variant does not seem to be spreading. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-says-c12-covid-19-variant-does-not-seem-be-spreading-2021-08-31/

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus-right-now-2021-03-02/

South Africa detects new coronavirus variant, still studying its mutations. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-detects-new-coronavirus-variant-still-studying-its-mutations-2021-08-30/

US COVID origins report: researchers pleased with scientific approach. Intelligence investigation is inconclusive on virus’s origins, but finds SARS-CoV-2 wasn’t weaponized and unlikely to have been engineered. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02366-0

Having SARS-CoV-2 once confers much greater immunity than a vaccine—but vaccination remains vital. Israelis who had an infection were more protected against the Delta coronavirus variant than those who had an already highly effective COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.science.org/content/article/having-sars-cov-2-once-confers-much-greater-immunity-vaccine-no-infection-parties-please

Unethical? Unnecessary? The COVID-19 vaccine booster debate intensifiesAs United States reveals its plan to offer an extra dose of COVID-19 vaccine, equity and scientific questions abound. https://www.science.org/content/article/unethical-unnecessary-covid-19-vaccine-booster-debate-intensifies

COVID, Quickly, Episode 13: Vaccine Approval, Breakthrough Infections, Boosters. https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/covid-quickly-episode-13-vaccine-approval-breakthrough-infections-boosters/

Fab and Fc contribute to maximal protection against SARS-CoV-2 following NVX-CoV2373 subunit vaccine with Matrix-M™ vaccination. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00263-9

Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Response Following Vaccination With BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783797

Durability of Spike Immunoglobin G Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 Among Health Care Workers With Prior Infection. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783618

NIH study shows no significant benefit of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 outpatients with early symptoms. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-shows-no-significant-benefit-convalescent-plasma-covid-19-outpatients-early-symptoms?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#main-content

Flawed ivermectin preprint highlights challenges of COVID drug studies. The study’s withdrawal from a preprint platform deals a blow to the anti-parasite drug’s chances as a COVID treatment, researchers say. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02081-w

RESOURCES

“Finding Joy in Healthcare in Africa” . The Southern and Eastern African Medical and Health Humanities network (SEAMHH), a regional network of Medical and Health Humanities Africa (MHHA) is collaborating with our partners, the Malawi Medical Humanities Network (MHHN) in collaboration with The Art of Health (Ameer Shaheed and Catriona Towriss). 1-2 September https://joy.medicalandhealthhumanities.africa/#i-am-interested

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

Governing Human Germline Editing Through Patent Law. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783796

What’s needed to improve safety and quality of abortion care: reflections from WHO/HRP Multi-Country Study on Abortion across the sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and Caribbean regions. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e007226

Women’s wellbeing and the burden of unpaid work. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1972

Empowering women through expanded contraceptive access in Nigeria and Zambia. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00388-0/fulltext

Expanding long-acting contraceptive options: a prospective cohort study of the hormonal intrauterine device, copper intrauterine device, and implants in Nigeria and Zambia. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00318-1/fulltext

Voices in the wilderness: how exclusionist article processing charge policies of academic journals underscore what is wrong with global health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00262-X/fulltext

Monoclonal antibody prevents malaria in small NIH trial. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/monoclonal-antibody-prevents-malaria-small-nih-trial?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#main-content

Stopping the Progression of Moral Injury. A Priority During Surgical Training. https://journals.lww.com/annalsofsurgery/citation/9000/stopping_the_progression_of_moral_injury__a.93325.aspx

Artemisinin-based combination therapy for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Mali: a systematic review and meta-analysis. ACT remains highly efficacious in treating uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Mali. Country-specific meta-analyses on ACT are needed on an ongoing basis for monitoring and evaluating drug efficacy patterns to guide local malaria treatment policies, particularly in the wake of observed artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia and partial resistance in Rwanda. https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12936-021-03890-0?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

FROM 30 AUGUST

Cardiac Performance in the First Year of Age Among Preterm Infants Fed Maternal Breast Milk. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783546

A cluster randomised trial of cookstove interventions to improve infant health in Ghana. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e005599

Making miscarriage matter. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01379-9/fulltext

FROM 27 AUGUST

Nine in 10 female doctors in UK have experienced sexism at work, says BMA. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2123

Cognitive stimulation in the workplace, plasma proteins, and risk of dementia: three analyses of population cohort studies. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1804

Methodological considerations for linking household and healthcare provider data for estimating effective coverage: a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e045704

Resource availability, utilisation and cost in the provision of critical care in Tanzania: a protocol for a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/8/e050881

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Wednesday, 1 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 1, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	156,927	3,143	2261	[48]	148,519	6,147	63,918	939	1,645,029

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-01-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 41,707 Deaths in 28 days: 608 Total cases: 156,927 Total deaths: 2,261.000

Africa CDC Dashboard 31 August 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Date Sept 1, 2021Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 1 SEPT 2021

NEWS

Egypt ramps up local vaccine production with eye on exports. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/egypt-ramps-up-local-vaccine-production-with-eye-exports-2021-08-31/

Nigeria prioritising four COVID-19 vaccines, not including Sinopharm. Nigeria is prioritising the AstraZeneca, Pfizer(PFE.N), Moderna (MRNA.O) and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-prioritising-four-covid-19-vaccines-not-including-sinopharm-2021-08-31/

Rogue antibodies involved in almost one-fifth of COVID deaths. The self-targeting antibodies attack type 1 interferons that play a key role in fighting infection. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02337-5

A monocyte/dendritic cell molecular signature of SARS-CoV-2 related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) with severe myocarditis. https://www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(21)00287-7

Risk factors for COVID-19-related in-hospital mortality in a high HIV and tuberculosis prevalence setting in South Africa: a cohort study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhiv/article/PIIS2352-3018(21)00151-X/fulltext

Time for action: towards an intersectional gender approach to COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment that leaves no one behind. Integral to this approach is meaningful engagement of women at all levels to ensure that scientific, policymaking and programmatic decision-making processes benefit from their leadership, expertise and perspectives. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006854.full

RESOURCES

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

J&J’s HIV vaccine fails trial in latest blow to the field. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/johnson-johnsons-hiv-vaccine-fails-mid-stage-study-africa-2021-08-31/

A systems approach to elucidate personalized mechanistic complexities of antibody-Fc receptor activation post-vaccination. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00244-5

Effect of Low-Normal vs High-Normal Oxygenation Targets on Organ Dysfunction in Critically Ill Patients. A Randomized Clinical Trial. Among critically ill patients, targeting oxygenation to a low-normal range compared with a high-normal range did not result in a statistically significant reduction in organ dysfunction. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783810

Effect of Lower Tidal Volume Ventilation Facilitated by Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal vs Standard Care Ventilation on 90-Day Mortality in Patients With Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure. The REST Randomized Clinical Trial. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783809

Titrating Oxygen Therapy in Critically Ill Patients. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783811

Strengthening Global Health Security and Reforming the International Health Regulations. Making the World Safer From Future Pandemics. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783866

Malaria: Combining vaccine with prophylaxis cuts child deaths by 73%, study finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2137

How many infants may have died in low-income and middle-income countries in 2020 due to the economic contraction accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic? Mortality projections based on forecasted declines in economic growth. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e050551

Benefits and Risks Associated With Aspirin Use in Patients With Diabetes for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Events and Mortality: A Meta-Analysis. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.741374/full?utm_source=S-TWT&utm_medium=SNET&utm_campaign=ECO_FENDO_XXXXXXXX_auto-dlvrit

FROM 31 AUGUST

Governing Human Germline Editing Through Patent Law. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783796

Women’s wellbeing and the burden of unpaid work. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1972

Empowering women through expanded contraceptive access in Nigeria and Zambia. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00388-0/fulltext

Stopping the Progression of Moral Injury. A Priority During Surgical Training. https://journals.lww.com/annalsofsurgery/citation/9000/stopping_the_progression_of_moral_injury__a.93325.aspx

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Thursday, 2 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 2, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	156,927	3,143	2261	[48]	148,519	6,147	63,918	939	1,645,029

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-02-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 41,707 Deaths in 28 days: 608 Total cases: 156,927 Total deaths: 2,261.000

Africa CDC Dashboard 1 SEPT 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 2 SEPT 2021

NEWS

Israel’s COVID-19 boosters are preventing infections, new studies suggest. Protection increases in the weeks following a third dose, but it’s unclear how long the effect will last. https://www.science.org/content/article/israel-s-covid-19-boosters-are-preventing-infections-new-studies-suggest

Cross-reactive CD4+ T cells enhance SARS-CoV-2 immune responses upon infection and vaccination. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh1823

Effectiveness of an Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Chile. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2107715?query=featured_home

Audio Interview: A New Round of Rising Covid-19 Numbers. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2114471?query=featured_home

Resurgence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Highly Vaccinated Health System Workforce. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2112981?query=featured_home

Covid-Induced Changes in Health Care Delivery — Can They Last? https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2110679?query=featured_secondary

Association Between Exposure Characteristics and the Risk for COVID-19 Infection Among Health Care Workers With and Without BNT162b2 Vaccination. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783675

Risk of hospital admission with covid-19 among teachers compared with healthcare workers and other adults of working age in Scotland, March 2020 to July 2021: population based case-control study. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2060

Long covid: One in seven children may still have symptoms 15 weeks after infection, data show. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2157

Covid-19: Delta variant doubles risk of hospital admission compared with alpha variant, study shows. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2152

Reactogenicity and immunogenicity after a late second dose or a third dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in the UK: a substudy of two randomised controlled trials (COV001 and COV002). https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01699-8/fulltext

Shinrin-Yoku, Yoga and Other Strategies in the Fight Against COVID-19. https://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(21)00854-0/fulltext#.YTAICOpJg6A.twitter

RESOURCES

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

Consumption of red meat and processed meat and cancer incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10654-021-00741-9

FROM 1 SEPTEMBER

J&J’s HIV vaccine fails trial in latest blow to the field. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/johnson-johnsons-hiv-vaccine-fails-mid-stage-study-africa-2021-08-31/

Titrating Oxygen Therapy in Critically Ill Patients. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783811

Malaria: Combining vaccine with prophylaxis cuts child deaths by 73%, study finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2137

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Friday, 3 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 3, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	159,317	[2,390]	2276	[15]	151,895	5,146	66,188	946	1,647,822

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-03-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 36,743 Deaths in 28 days: 572 Total cases: 159,317 Total deaths: 2,276.00

Africa CDC Dashboard 2 SEPT 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 3 SEPT 2021

PRESIDENT MASISI TO ADDRESS THE NATION ON COVID-19, FRIDAY (3/9/2021) @ 1900hrs. Catch it LIVE on Botswana Television (BTV), Radio Botswana and social media platforms

NEWS

The long road ahead for COVID-19 vaccination in Africa. Only 2·5% of Africans are vaccinated against COVID-19. Millions more doses will be needed to meet even modest targets and experts are sceptical of success. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01967-X/fulltext

An African Reading of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Stakes of Decolonization. https://ethicsresource.ringsgenderresearch.org/an-african-reading-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-the-stakes-of-decolonization/

U.S. shipped more than 2 mln COVID-19 doses to Kenya and Ghana. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-begin-shipping-covid-19-doses-kenya-ghana-2021-09-02/

South African train brings COVID-19 vaccines closer to people. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-african-train-brings-covid-19-vaccines-closer-people-2021-09-02/

J&J vaccine shipments from S.Africa to Europe halted, AU says. https://www.reuters.com/world/jj-deal-ship-covid-19-shots-safrica-europe-halted-au-says-2021-09-02/

Canada to donate AstraZeneca vaccine doses to African countries under COVAX scheme. https://www.reuters.com/world/canada-donate-astrazeneca-vaccine-doses-african-countries-under-covax-scheme-2021-09-02/

Daily briefing: Masks work against COVID, finds a huge randomized trial. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02415-8

Largest study of masks yet details their importance in fighting Covid-19. Scientists conducted a randomized trial across 600 villages and more than 340,000 people in Bangladesh and found that even some adoption of surgical masks made a difference. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/largest-mask-study-yet-details-importance-fighting-covid-19-rcna1858

India’s DNA COVID vaccine is a world first – more are coming. India has approved a new COVID vaccine that uses circular strands of DNA to prime the immune system against the virus SARS-CoV-2. Researchers have welcomed news of the first DNA vaccine for people to receive approval anywhere in the world, and say many other DNA vaccines may soon be hot on its heels. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02385-x

CALL OF THE WILD. Why many scientists say it’s unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 originated from a “lab leak”. https://www.science.org/content/article/why-many-scientists-say-unlikely-sars-cov-2-originated-lab-leak

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies From a National Serosurveillance of Kenyan Blood Donors, January-March 2021. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2784014

Estimated US Infection- and Vaccine-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Based on Blood Donations, July 2020-May 2021. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2784013

Evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Response to the BNT162b2 Vaccine in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783679

Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Response by Age Among Recipients of the BNT162b2 vs the mRNA-1273 Vaccine. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783685

Ronapreve for prophylaxis and treatment of covid-19. On 20 August 2021, Ronapreve received conditional marketing authorisation for the prevention and treatment of covid-19 in the UK. Ronapreve (REGEN-COV in the US) comprises two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab, that target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to reduce the risk and severity of covid-19 in selected patients. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2136

Psychological problems and the associated factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown among college students in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e045623

Longer intervals and extra doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01817-1/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email

Global youth advocating for COVID-19 vaccines for all. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01994-2/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email

RESOURCES

Announcing the inaugural Global Surgery Research Seminar, hosted by @HarvardPGSSC, SEPTEMBER 9th, 2021, 9am EST. 3 PM CAT– All are welcome!

Ulrick Sidney Kanmounye and Betty Yibrehu will discuss their work to understand perceptions of the GS field. The first session on September 9th will focus on “Perception of Global Surgery “.

Register here: https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwrf-mgrjovE9BEoUZfDxRT1nTSN50DwMLC

Topic

PGSSC Research Seminar

Time

Sep 9, 2021 09:00 AM –US East Coast
Oct 14, 2021 09:00 AM
Nov 11, 2021 09:00 AM
Dec 9, 2021 09:00 AM
Jan 13, 2022 09:00 AM
Feb 10, 2022 09:00 AM
Mar 10, 2022 09:00 AM
Apr 14, 2022 09:00 AM
May 12, 2022 09:00 AM
Jun 9, 2022 09:00 AM
Jul 14, 2022 09:00 AM
Aug 11, 2022 09:00 AM

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

Deimplementing Continuous Pulse Oximetry in Patients With Bronchiolitis—What Are We Waiting For? https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783686

The economics of improving global infectious disease surveillance. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006597

Paediatric surgical outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e004406

Impact of a personalised, digital, HIV self-testing app-based program on linkages and new infections in the township populations of South Africa. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006032

Whose voices should shape global health education? Curriculum codesign and codelivery by people with direct expertise and lived experience. There are contrasting opinions of what global health (GH) curricula should contain and limited discussion on whose voices should shape it. In GH education, those with first-hand expertise of living and working in the contexts discussed in GH classrooms are often absent when designing curricula. To address this, we developed a new model of curriculum codesign called Virtual Roundtable for Collaborative Education Design (ViRCoED). https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006262

Systematic review on the use of patient-held health records in low-income and middle-income countries. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e046965

Determinants of maternal knowledge of neonatal danger signs among postpartum mothers in Southern Ethiopia: institutional-based cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e048888

Prelacteal feeding practice and its determinant factors among mothers having children less than 6 months of age in Bure district, Northwest Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e046919

Unintended pregnancy, induced abortion and abortion care-seeking experiences among adolescents in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e044682

Estimate of global human papillomavirus vaccination coverage: analysis of country-level indicators. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e052016

Investigating the effect of relationship satisfaction on postpartum women’s health-related quality of life in Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e048230

In-country data will illuminate under-5 mortality disparities. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01110-7/fulltext

FROM 2 SEPT

Consumption of red meat and processed meat and cancer incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10654-021-00741-9

FROM 1 SEPTEMBER

J&J’s HIV vaccine fails trial in latest blow to the field. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/johnson-johnsons-hiv-vaccine-fails-mid-stage-study-africa-2021-08-31/

Titrating Oxygen Therapy in Critically Ill Patients. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783811

Malaria: Combining vaccine with prophylaxis cuts child deaths by 73%, study finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2137

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Monday, 6 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 6, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	159,317	[2,390]	2276	[15]	151,895	5,146	66,188	946	1,647,822

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-06-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 36,743 Deaths in 28 days: 572 Total cases: 159,317 Total deaths: 2,276.000

Africa CDC Dashboard 4 SEPT 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 6 SEPT 2021

𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐒𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐂 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄

Government of Botswana this afternoon received 404 494 doses of the Sinovac vaccine. The vaccine doses have been purchased from Sinovac Biotech Company in China through a bilateral arrangement.

Communication on the roll out of this consignment will be made next week as ministry will be resuming its vaccination roll out program which is currently at Phase two level of the National Vaccine Deployment Plan

NEWS

‘Their future could be destroyed’: the global struggle for schooling after Covid closures. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/sep/06/their-future-could-be-destroyed-the-global-struggle-for-schooling-after-covid-closures

‘Lost generation’: education in quarter of countries at risk of collapse, study warns. Covid, climate breakdown, poverty and war threaten return to school after pandemic kept 1.5bn children out of classes. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/sep/06/lost-generation-education-in-quarter-of-countries-at-risk-of-collapse-study-warns

India’s DNA COVID vaccine is a world first – more are coming. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02385-x

Daily briefing: First ever DNA vaccine authorized for COVID-19 in India. A first-of-its-kind DNA COVD-19 vaccine in India, Earth’s most northerly island and how insect mushroom-farmers throttle the carbon emissions from dead trees. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02417-6

An unpublished COVID-19 paper alarmed this scientist—but he had to keep silent. Thijs Kuiken faced a moral dilemma after reviewing a Lancet manuscript showing the new coronavirus spread between humans. https://www.science.org/content/article/unpublished-covid-19-paper-alarmed-scientist-he-had-keep-silent

Surveillance for Adverse Events After COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2784015

Safety Surveillance of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Through the Vaccine Safety Datalink. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2784017

Covid-19: JCVI opts not to recommend universal vaccination of 12-15 year olds. Scotland’s health secretary, Humza Yousaf, said, “While the JCVI has agreed that the benefits marginally outweigh the risks, they are not yet prepared to recommend universal vaccination of 12-15 year olds; however, they have suggested that health ministers may wish to ask their respective CMOs [chief medical officers] to explore the issue further, taking into consideration broader educational and societal impacts. We have asked for this further work to be conducted as soon as possible.” https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2180

Why Taiwan approved its own vaccine before phase III trials. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2104

Assessing the capacity of symptom scores to predict COVID-19 positivity in Nigeria: a national derivation and validation cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e049699

COVID-19 boosters in rich nations will delay vaccines for all. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01494-4?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=organic&utm_campaign=NGMT_USG_JC01_GL_NRJournals

RESOURCES

Scientists for Open Science 2021. 13th – 17th September. Scientists for Open Science, a week-long virtual program bringing together researchers and stakeholders from around the globe to share perspectives on Open Science. We’ll explore the drivers behind Open Science, emerging trends, obstacles and experiences—all with the aim of increasing awareness and support, and developing better solutions. Register https://plos.org/register-for-open/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=internal&utm_campaign=scientistsforopenscience&utm_content=scientistsforopenscience

Announcing the inaugural Global Surgery Research Seminar, hosted by @HarvardPGSSC, SEPTEMBER 9th, 2021, 9am EST. 3 PM CAT– All are welcome!

Ulrick Sidney Kanmounye and Betty Yibrehu will discuss their work to understand perceptions of the GS field. The first session on September 9th will focus on “Perception of Global Surgery “.

Register here: https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwrf-mgrjovE9BEoUZfDxRT1nTSN50DwMLC

Topic

PGSSC Research Seminar

Time

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

Seasonality of adverse birth outcomes in women with and without HIV in a representative birth outcomes surveillance study in Botswana. We identified a modest association between seasonality and adverse birth outcomes in Botswana, which was greatest among women with HIV. Understanding seasonal patterns of adverse birth outcomes and the role of HIV status may allow for mitigation of their impact in the face of seasonal extremes related to climate change. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e045882

Economic impact of tuberculosis mortality in 120 countries and the cost of not achieving the Sustainable Development Goals tuberculosis targets: a full-income analysis. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00299-0/fulltext

PD-1 blockade and vaccination provide therapeutic benefit against SIV by inducing broad and functional CD8+ T cells in lymphoid tissue. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.abh3034

Association of Sleep Duration With All- and Major-Cause Mortality Among Adults in Japan, China, Singapore, and Korea. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783717

Who dies where? Estimating the percentage of deaths that occur at home. The study demonstrates substantial diversity in the location of deaths in LMICs and fills a significant gap in knowledge about where people die, given its importance for health systems and policies. The high proportion of deaths in LMICs that occur at home reinforces the need for routine verbal autopsy to determine the causes of death. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006766

Paediatric surgical outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e004406

Barriers and facilitators to health insurance enrolment among people working in the informal sector in Morogoro, Tanzania [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]. https://aasopenresearch.org/articles/4-45

Call For Emergency Action to Limit Global Temperature Increases, Restore Biodiversity, and Protect Health: Wealthy nations must do much more, much faster. https://www.annalsofafricansurgery.com/climate-change-action

Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1734?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=prospecting&utm_term=climate

FROM 3 SEPT

Global surgery, obstetric, and anaesthesia indicator definitions and reporting: An Utstein consensus report. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003749

Ten simple rules for Global North researchers to stop perpetuating helicopter research in the Global South. https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009277

How to Increase Organization and Enhance Productivity as an Academic Surgeon. https://www.aasurg.org/blog/how-to-increase-organization-and-enhance-productivity-as-an-academic-surgeon/

Priorities in haematological care in sub-Saharan Africa. Series from the Lancet journals https://www.thelancet.com/series/haematology-africa

FROM 3 SEPTEMBER

Deimplementing Continuous Pulse Oximetry in Patients With Bronchiolitis—What Are We Waiting For? https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783686

The economics of improving global infectious disease surveillance. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006597

Paediatric surgical outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e004406

Impact of a personalised, digital, HIV self-testing app-based program on linkages and new infections in the township populations of South Africa. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006032

Systematic review on the use of patient-held health records in low-income and middle-income countries. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e046965

Estimate of global human papillomavirus vaccination coverage: analysis of country-level indicators. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e052016

In-country data will illuminate under-5 mortality disparities. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01110-7/fulltext

FROM 2 SEPT

Consumption of red meat and processed meat and cancer incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10654-021-00741-9

FROM 1 SEPTEMBER

J&J’s HIV vaccine fails trial in latest blow to the field. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/johnson-johnsons-hiv-vaccine-fails-mid-stage-study-africa-2021-08-31/

Titrating Oxygen Therapy in Critically Ill Patients. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783811

Malaria: Combining vaccine with prophylaxis cuts child deaths by 73%, study finds. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2137

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Friday, 10 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 10, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	163,665	[1,479]	2325	[16]	158,338	3,002	67,969	966	1,671,764

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-10-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 26,907 Deaths in 28 days: 352 Total cases: 163,665 Total deaths: 2,325

Africa CDC Dashboard 8/9 SEPT 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 10 SEPT 2021

NEWS

Send vaccines to Africa and ditch unproven third shot, AU says. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/give-vaccines-africa-ditch-unproven-third-shot-au-says-2021-09-09/

Sinovac to trial COVID-19 vaccine in South African children as part of global study. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-safrica-vaccine/sinovac-to-trial-covid-19-vaccine-in-south-african-children-as-part-of-global-study-idUSKBN2G51BR

COVID advances win US$3-million Breakthrough prizes. Pioneers of mRNA vaccines and next-generation sequencing techniques are among the winners of science’s most lucrative awards. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02449-y

Face masks for COVID pass their largest test yet. A rigorous study finds that surgical masks are highly protective, but cloth masks fall short. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02457-y

RESOURCES

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

NICE takes ethnicity out of estimating kidney function. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2159

What are the obligations of pharmaceutical companies in a global health emergency? https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01378-7/fulltext

FROM 9 SEPT

No revolution: COVID-19 boosted open access, but preprints are only a fraction of pandemic papers. Critics of scientific publishing had hoped for a bigger shake-up from the global crisis. https://www.science.org/content/article/no-revolution-covid-19-boosted-open-access-preprints-are-only-fraction-pandemic-papers

Seasonal Malaria Vaccination with or without Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2026330?query=featured_home

Heterologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and mRNA-1273 Vaccination. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2110716?query=featured_home

Decline in Pathogenic Antibodies over Time in VITT. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2112760?query=featured_home

Representation of Women Among Editors in Chief of Leading Medical Journals. This study found that women are underrepresented among editors in chief of leading medical journals. For the benefit of medical research, a joint effort from editorial boards, publishers, authors, and academic institutions is required to address this gender gap. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784023

Increasing Representation of Women as Editors in Medical Journals. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784026

Effect of High-Dose vs Standard-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation on Neurodevelopment of Healthy Term Infants. A Randomized Clinical Trial. These findings suggest that higher-than-standard doses of vitamin D are not required to optimize child neurodevelopment. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784018

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Tuesday, 14 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 14, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	165,644	[1,979]	2337	[12]	160,221	3,086	68,776	970	1,702,940

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-14-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 23,264 Deaths in 28 days: 294 Total cases: 165,644 Total deaths: 2,337

Africa CDC Dashboard 12 SEPT 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

Get the latest Coronavirus news, updates and advice from The Government of Botswana FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 14 SEPT 2021

PRESS RELEASE – MINISTRY DISAPPOINTED WITH NON-COMPLIANCE OF COVID-19 PROTOCOLS BY SOME LIQUOR OUTLETS

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has noted with shock and disbelief some videos circulating on social media platforms, depicting blatant disregard for COVID-19 safety protocols by some liquor outlets, contrary to the Emergency (COVID-19) Regulations, 2020, currently in place. The behavior displayed by some patrons and liquor establishments over the weekend, has the potential to reverse the gains made so far, in stemming the spread of COVID-19.

NEWS

With many climate activists unable to access vaccines, should Cop26 go ahead? Because of hoarding by rich countries, those in the global south on the frontline of the crisis will be excluded from the talks. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/14/climate-activists-vaccines-cop26-hoarding-crisis-talks

After long delay, Congo’s Tshisekedi receives COVID-19 vaccine. Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi has received his first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the government said on Monday, after a six-month wait caused by his unwillingness to take the AstraZeneca shot. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-congo-vaccine/after-long-delay-congos-tshisekedi-receives-covid-19-vaccine-idUSKBN2G91B8

Why did this year’s projected supply of COVID-19 vaccine for needy countries go down? A lack of exported doses from India is a key factor—and booster shot plans could add to woes for low-income nations. https://www.science.org/content/article/why-did-year-s-projected-supply-covid-19-vaccine-needy-countries-go-down

Vaccinating people who have had covid-19: why doesn’t natural immunity count in the US? https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2101

Long COVID and post-infective fatigue syndrome – a review. https://academic.oup.com/ofid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ofid/ofab440/6367589

South Africa mulls vaccine passports as Covid-19 restrictions are eased. South Africa will start to ease several Covid-19 restrictions as infection rates decrease in the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday. Amongst other measures, the nationwide curfew will be reduced to 11pm until 4am, the size of gatherings can increase to 250 people indoors and 500 outdoors, and restrictions on alcohol sales will be further reduced. The measures will be reviewed in two weeks, he said. Ramaphosa said the country now has enough vaccine doses to cover the entire adult population, with more than a quarter of adults receiving at least one dose. The president encouraged everyone to get vaccinated to allow the country to get back to normal. https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/13/africa/south-africa-ease-covid-restrictions-intl/index.html

WHO: Africa COVID-19 Cases Fall by 23 Percent. https://www.voanews.com/home-page/who-africa-covid-19-cases-fall-23-percent

RESOURCES

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

Women less likely to win major research awards. Although the gap is narrowing, prestigious prizes are still more likely to go to men, finds an analysis of gender bias in the world’s top science awards. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02497-4

Preprint advocates must also fight for research integrity

Efforts to share research with the public must include mechanisms to prevent harm resulting from low-quality work. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02481-y

Don’t make early career researchers ‘ghost authors.’ Give us the credit we deserve. https://www.science.org/content/article/don-t-make-early-career-researchers-ghost-authors-give-us-credit-we-deserve

Simplified models to assess newborn gestational age in low-middle income countries: findings from a multicountry, prospective cohort study. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e005688

Association of maternal prenatal selenium concentration and preterm birth: a multicountry meta-analysis. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e005856

Scaling up Kangaroo Mother Care in Ethiopia and India: a multi-site implementation research study. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e005905

Client-perpetrated gender-based violence among female sex workers in conflict-affected Northern Uganda: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e046894

FROM 13 SEPT

Efficacy and safety of baricitinib for the treatment of hospitalised adults with COVID-19 (COV-BARRIER): a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(21)00331-3/fulltext

‘A very cruel exit’: UK’s aid cuts risk rapid return of treatable diseases. £200m project to eliminate avoidable blindness and disfigurement in Africa ends after funding is prematurely axed. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/sep/13/uks-ambition-to-stamp-out-neglected-tropical-diseases-gets-neglected

Controlling diabetes and hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa: lessons from HIV programmes. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01731-1/fulltext

Training and upskilling Ethiopia’s female physicians will promote gender equity and improve care. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/09/10/training-and-upskilling-ethiopias-female-physicians-will-promote-gender-equity-and-improve-care/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Wednesday, 15 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 15, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	165,644	[1,979]	2337	[12]	160,221	3,086	68,776	970	1,702,940

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-15-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 23,264 Deaths in 28 days: 294 Total cases: 165,644 Total deaths: 2,337

Africa CDC Dashboard 14 SEPT 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

GET THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS, UPDATES AND ADVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF BOTSWANA FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 15 SEPT 2021

PUBLIC ADVISORY https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/photos/a.617504571665538/4357730077642950/

NEWS

Less than 3.5 % of Africans vaccinated against COVID – Africa CDC. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who-africa/less-than-3-5-of-africans-vaccinated-against-covid-africa-cdc-idUSKBN2GA1G0

EXCLUSIVE WHO-backed vaccine hub for Africa to copy Moderna COVID-19 shot. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/exclusive-who-backed-vaccine-hub-africa-copy-moderna-covid-19-shot-2021-09-14/

India considers resuming vaccine exports soon, focus on Africa, says source. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-india-vaccine/india-considers-resuming-vaccine-exports-soon-focus-on-africa-says-source-idUSKBN2GB0IU

Can ‘zero COVID’ countries continue to keep the virus at bay once they reopen? Successful strategies used in Asia and the Pacific may not be sustainable in the long run. https://www.science.org/content/article/can-zero-covid-countries-continue-keep-virus-bay-once-they-reopen

How the Pandemic Is Changing Mental Health. COVID has jostled people’s emotional equilibrium. Therapy apps, telehealth, lay counselors and psilocybin are poised to change the foundations of caregiving. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-pandemic-is-changing-mental-health/

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Associated With Severity, Clinical Outcomes, and Mortality of COVID-19 Infection in Gabon. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784059

Africa’s COVID-19 Experience—A Window of Opportunity to Act. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784063

Profiteering from vaccine inequity: nudge pharma towards “doing well by doing good”. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2255

Covid-19: Boys are more at risk of myocarditis after vaccination than of hospital admission for covid. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2251

Remdesivir plus standard of care versus standard of care alone for the treatment of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (DisCoVeRy): a phase 3, randomised, controlled, open-label trial. No clinical benefit was observed from the use of remdesivir in patients who were admitted to hospital for COVID-19, were symptomatic for more than 7 days, and required oxygen support. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00485-0/fulltext

Remdesivir, on the road to DisCoVeRy. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00559-4/fulltext

Prevention of host-to-host transmission by SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00472-2/fulltext

Protection against COVID-19: beyond antibodies. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00561-2/fulltext

Daily testing for contacts of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection and attendance and SARS-CoV-2 transmission in English secondary schools and colleges: an open-label, cluster-randomised trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01908-5/fulltext

Covid-19: Government lays out its “plan B” to protect NHS this winter. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2270?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

Leaders Make Urgent Call To Accelerate Vaccination Globally And In Africa. https://www.who.int/news/item/14-09-2021-leaders-make-urgent-call-to-accelerate-vaccination-globally-and-in-africa

COVID and venous thrombosis: systematic review of literature. Conclusions: Among patients hospitalized for COVID-19, VT is a relatively common finding, with higher prevalence rates in ICU patients. VT occurs mostly in the distal regions of the lower limb and is asymptomatic in most cases. Older age, obesity and higher D-dimer values on admission increased the odds of VT, while female sex was protective against the odds of VT. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34520137/

RESOURCES

COSECSA – OPERATION SMILE SCHOLARSHIP

Objectives:

➢ To increase Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Density in Sub-Saharan Africa by:

o Supporting Plastic Surgery Training

o Providing Cleft Surgery training and education to improve access to cleft care

Application Deadline: 31st October 2021

About This Scholarship

➢ Programme starts January 2022.

➢ The five-year training covers two years of COSECSA MCS programme and three years of

COSECSA FCS Plastic Surgery programme.

➢ Applicants will also have unique opportunities to engage with Operation Smile.

➢ The applicants must pursue COSECSA FCS plastic surgery programme once they complete the MCS programme

➢ The applicant must have applied for the COSECSA MCS programme and has been accepted in a COSECSA Accredited training facility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to secure a training

post, and if required a work permit if training away from their home country.

➢ Application Process

➢ Applicants should include a personal statement indicating future goals, a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of support from their surgical training Program Director.

➢ Completed applications should be sent to the COSECSA Scholarship Committee at scholarships@cosecsa.org NB: The subject of the email should read “Operation Smile Scholarship 2022”

➢ The scholarship will be administered by the COSECSA Secretariat

E-mail your application to scholarships@cosecsa.org by October 31, 2021

To learn more about Operation Smile visit: www.operationsmile.org

OTHER NEWS

Reproducibility: expect less of the scientific paper. Make science more reliable by placing the burden of replicability on the community, not on individual laboratories. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02486-7

The quality of medical products for cardiovascular diseases: a gap in global cardiac care. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006523

Barriers to follow-up after an abnormal cervical cancer screening result and the role of male partners: a qualitative study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e049901

“What are you carrying?” Experiences of mothers with preterm babies in low-resource setting neonatal intensive care unit: a qualitative study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e043989

Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e045224

Demographic, occupational and societal risk exposures to physical injuries in a rural community in Western Kenya: a 12-week longitudinal study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e053161

Safety and immunogenicity of the two-dose heterologous Ad26.ZEBOV and MVA-BN-Filo Ebola vaccine regimen in children in Sierra Leone: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00128-6/fulltext

Safety and long-term immunogenicity of the two-dose heterologous Ad26.ZEBOV and MVA-BN-Filo Ebola vaccine regimen in adults in Sierra Leone: a combined open-label, non-randomised stage 1, and a randomised, double-blind, controlled stage 2 trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00125-0/fulltext

NIH needs to create a National Institute of Surgery. And that’s it. Barring the odd sentence here and there, surgery essentially doesn’t figure in the NIH’s plan. The same holds for global health. Bringing up the funding rear is the NIH’s smallest center: the Fogarty International Center (annual budget: $84 million). Fogarty — the single NIH entity actually devoted to global health — has a budget one one-hundredth the size of the National Cancer Institute and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. To put it a different way, out of its total funding, the NIH devotes two cents of every $10 to global health. https://www.statnews.com/2021/09/15/nih-needs-to-create-a-national-institute-of-surgery/

RCSI Institute of Global Surgery. The ‘Voices of Surgery’ by@OneDotSurgery is available to read & download now #GlobalSurgery voices from Nigeria, Burundi, Tanzania, India, Europe and beyond. Make sure to check out @theG4Allianceadvocacy article p. 19. http://static1.one.surgery/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/09/Hold-On-Dear-Life-13_-September-2021_compressedv1.pdf.pdf

The Burden of Traumatic Brain Injury in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878875021013590

A systematic review on ethical challenges of ‘field’ research in low-income and middle-income countries: respect, justice and beneficence for research staff? https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/7/e005380.citation-tools

FROM 14 SEPT

Preprint advocates must also fight for research integrity

Efforts to share research with the public must include mechanisms to prevent harm resulting from low-quality work. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02481-y

Simplified models to assess newborn gestational age in low-middle income countries: findings from a multicountry, prospective cohort study. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e005688

Association of maternal prenatal selenium concentration and preterm birth: a multicountry meta-analysis. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e005856

Scaling up Kangaroo Mother Care in Ethiopia and India: a multi-site implementation research study. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e005905

Client-perpetrated gender-based violence among female sex workers in conflict-affected Northern Uganda: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e046894

FROM 13 SEPT

Controlling diabetes and hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa: lessons from HIV programmes. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01731-1/fulltext

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Thursday, 16 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 16, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	165,644	[1,979]	2337	[12]	160,221	3,086	68,769	970	1,702,940

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-16-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

GET THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS, UPDATES AND ADVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF BOTSWANA FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 16 SEPT 2021

MEDIA ADVISORY – BOTSWANA TO RECEIVE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE THIS COMING SATURDAY

The Ministry of Health and Wellness wishes to inform members of the public that the Government of Botswana will receive 101 760 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on 18 September 2021. This will be the first batch of the expected 401 280 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Federal Republic of Germany to the Government of Botswana. The balance of 299 520 doses will be delivered in Botswana in the coming weeks.

NEWS

The fight to manufacture COVID vaccines in lower-income countries. Drug companies and wealthy countries are facing increased pressure to partner with firms in the global south but are reluctant to relinquish control. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02383-z

The tangled history of mRNA vaccines. Hundreds of scientists had worked on mRNA vaccines for decades before the coronavirus pandemic brought a breakthrough. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02483-w

SARS-like viruses may jump from animals to people hundreds of thousands of times a year. Study pinpoints Asian regions that could spark the next coronavirus pandemic. https://www.science.org/content/article/sars-viruses-may-jump-animals-people-hundreds-thousands-times-year

Study of up to 40,000 people will probe mysteries of Long Covid. Award of $470 million from NIH will enroll volunteers with long-term symptoms after coronavirus infection. https://www.science.org/content/article/study-40-000-people-will-probe-mysteries-long-covid

Low-dose mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine generates durable memory enhanced by cross-reactive T cells. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj9853

Why Kids Beat Back COVID Better Than Adults. Innate immunity might be the key to why children have fared better with the virus. But the Delta variant poses fresh unknowns. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-kids-beat-back-covid-better-than-adults/

Hyperglycemia in Acute COVID-19 is Characterized by Insulin Resistance and Adipose Tissue Infectivity by SARS-CoV-2. https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(21)00428-9

Potent neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern by an antibody with an uncommon genetic signature and structural mode of spike recognition. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)01243-2

Audio Interview: New Evidence on SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Boosters. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2115200?query=featured_home

Protection of BNT162b2 Vaccine Booster against Covid-19 in Israel. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114255?query=featured_home

Vaccine-Induced Thrombocytopenia with Severe Headache. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2112974?query=featured_home

Safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine in a Nationwide Setting. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2110475?query=featured_home

SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization with BNT162b2 Vaccine Dose 3. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2113468?query=featured_home

An International Agreement on Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2784418

How COVID-19 Made It Even Tougher to Know ICU Patients as Individuals. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2784419

Rapid policy development for essential RMNCAH services in sub-Saharan Africa: what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and what needs to happen going forward? The rapidity with which policies were issued by countries in sub-Saharan Africa to support reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) services in the COVID-19 pandemic is a positive development that could represent a new era in local policy making, that is more aligned with the sustainable development goals policy of self-reliance. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006938

Lessons learnt from the rapid implementation of reusable personal protective equipment for COVID-19 in Malawi. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006498

Menstrual changes after covid-19 vaccination. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2211

Covid-19: Long covid must be recognised as occupational disease, says BMA. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2258

Potential solutions for screening, triage, and severity scoring of suspected COVID-19 positive patients in low-resource settings: a scoping review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e046130

Safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, BBIBP-CorV, in people younger than 18 years: a randomised, double-blind, controlled, phase 1/2 trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00462-X/fulltext

Two-test or three-test strategy for routine asymptomatic testing during air travel? https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/laninf/PIIS1473-3099(21)00357-1.pdf

Addendum needed on COVID-19 travel study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00454-0/fulltext

Addendum needed on COVID-19 travel study – Authors’ reply. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00562-4/fulltext

Malaria or COVID-19? A case report highlighting a diagnostic challenge in Africa. https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-144340/v1

RESOURCES

OTHER NEWS

Striving for Diversity in Research Studies. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2114651?query=featured_home

Effect of Salt Substitution on Cardiovascular Events and Death. Among persons who had a history of stroke or were 60 years of age or older and had high blood pressure, the rates of stroke, major cardiovascular events, and death from any cause were lower with the salt substitute than with regular salt. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2105675?query=featured_home

Safety and Efficacy of a Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine in Malawian Children. Among Malawian children 9 months to 12 years of age, administration of Vi-TCV resulted in a lower incidence of blood culture–confirmed typhoid fever than the MenA vaccine. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2035916?query=featured_home

Association Between Human Papillomavirus Infection Among Pregnant Women and Preterm Birth. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784112

A household-based community health worker programme for non-communicable disease, malnutrition, tuberculosis, HIV and maternal health: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial in Neno District, Malawi. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006535

Responses of physicians to an objective safety and quality knowledge test: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e040779

Multimorbidity and mortality in an older, rural black South African population cohort with high prevalence of HIV findings from the HAALSI Study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e047777

Economic burden of road traffic injuries in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of existing literature. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e048231

Epistemic injustice in academic global health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00301-6/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email#.YUMJdkEeiI8.twitter

FROM 15 SEPT

The quality of medical products for cardiovascular diseases: a gap in global cardiac care. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006523

Barriers to follow-up after an abnormal cervical cancer screening result and the role of male partners: a qualitative study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e049901

“What are you carrying?” Experiences of mothers with preterm babies in low-resource setting neonatal intensive care unit: a qualitative study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e043989

Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e045224

Demographic, occupational and societal risk exposures to physical injuries in a rural community in Western Kenya: a 12-week longitudinal study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e053161

The Burden of Traumatic Brain Injury in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878875021013590

Treatment of Acute Uncomplicated Appendicitis. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcp2107675?query=featured_home

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Friday, 17 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 17, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	172,252	[6,608]	2343	[6]	167,318	2591	71,508	973	1,713,133

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-16-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 25,791 Deaths in 28 days: 262 Total cases: 172,252 Total deaths: 2,343

Africa CDC D

GET THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS, UPDATES AND ADVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF BOTSWANA FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 16 SEPT 2021

MEDIA ADVISORY – BOTSWANA TO RECEIVE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE THIS COMING SATURDAY

NEWS

COVID-19 vaccines: Keeping pace with SARS-CoV-2 variants. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)01057-6

Elicitation of broadly protective sarbecovirus immunity by receptor-binding domain nanoparticle vaccines. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)01062-X

Covid-19: Unvaccinated face 11 times risk of death from delta variant, CDC data show. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2282

Masks Protect Schoolkids from COVID despite What Antiscience Politicians Claim. Florida governor Ron DeSantis and politicians in Texas say research does not support mask mandates. Many studies show they are wrong. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/masks-protect-schoolkids-from-covid-despite-what-antiscience-politicians-claim/

COVID-vaccine booster shot shows promise in Israeli study. Risk of severe disease drops by factor of almost 20 in people over 60 — but some dispute the benefits of offering a third dose. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02516-4

A New Nurse Struggles to Save Patients in a New COVID Surge. Cases peaked, then fell, then rose again. “It is so much worse this time” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-new-nurse-struggles-to-save-patients-in-a-new-covid-surge/

Did the coronavirus jump from animals to people twice?. A preliminary analysis of viral genomes suggests the COVID-19 pandemic might have multiple animal origins — but the findings still have to be peer reviewed. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02519-1

Coronavirus live news: Cambodia starts vaccinating six-year-olds; Africa jabs shortfall ‘raises risk of deadly variants’. https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/sep/17/coronavirus-live-news-austria-to-hear-first-lawsuit-over-resort-outbreak-africa-vaccine-shortfall-raises-risk-of-deadly-variants-who-warns

The emergence and ongoing convergent evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 N501Y lineages. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)01050-3

Our Best Judgment. In this narrative medicine essay, a palliative medicine physician describes his brother’s hospitalization and death from COVID-19. He reflects on his brother’s ability to achieve a dignified death because the physicians caring for him honestly assessed his prognosis. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2784455

COVID outcome prediction in the emergency department (COPE): using retrospective Dutch hospital data to develop simple and valid models for predicting mortality and need for intensive care unit admission in patients who present at the emergency department with suspected COVID-19. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e051468

Comparing lung ultrasound: extensive versus short in COVID-19 (CLUES): a multicentre, observational study at the emergency department. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e048795

RESOURCES

Clubhouse: Investing in Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma and Anaesthesia Care to Achieve the SDGs. Tuesday, September 21, 2021 9:00 AM 10:30 CDT, 4-5:30P CAT. FREE. JOIN AT https://www.clubhouse.com/join/global-surgery/kQaDkUvY/m74eXDEz

OTHER NEWS

Association of Care Environment With HIV Incidence and Death Among Orphaned, Separated, and Street-Connected Children and Adolescents in Western Kenya. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784182

Where Should Orphaned and Separated Children and Adolescents Live: Comparing Institutionalized- and Family-Based Venues in Kenya. Sten Vermund. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784188

Comparison of Routine Replacement With Clinically Indicated Replacement of Peripheral Intravenous Catheters. In this cohort study of 412 631 PVCs, there was a significantly increased incidence rate ratio of PVC-BSIs after switching from routine replacement to clinically indicated replacement of PVCs. After a routine replacement strategy was reestablished, a reduction of PVC-BSI incidence was observed. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2784458

Scoping future outbreaks: a scoping review on the outbreak prediction of the WHO Blueprint list of priority diseases. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006623

Towards a global framework for assessing male involvement in maternal health: results of an international Delphi study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e051361

Impact of bed height on the biomechanics of healthcare professionals during chest compressions on the neonate: a descriptive pilot study, https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e047666

Route of oxytocin administration for preventing blood loss at caesarean section: a systematic review with meta-analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e051793

Unitaid at 15. Founded in 2006, Unitaid has changed the treatment of major infectious diseases in low-income countries. What will the next 15 years bring? Udani Samarasekera reports. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02086-9/fulltext

“Trauma—the forgotten pandemic?” Global annual deaths from Trauma are greater than any other single cause in the global working population, and, more than all contagious diseases added together including COVID-19. https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s00264-021-05213-z?sharing_token=rox3KcxSW0kLN6zBFx0N3ve4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY4eRvn9Jrh36Q5-Y8uT43J55J62lWDi_0W7Z2p8PBmKN_CO_QJHSVE0gysqkgvEoVuCeXrPSKQ9J0SznWGMp2EYYdaarM3GCgkkb5pS91MioLM_R13K2msRhJyLXEbkbMU%3D

FROM 16 SEPT

Striving for Diversity in Research Studies. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2114651?query=featured_home

Association Between Human Papillomavirus Infection Among Pregnant Women and Preterm Birth. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784112

Responses of physicians to an objective safety and quality knowledge test: a cross-sectional study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e040779

Multimorbidity and mortality in an older, rural black South African population cohort with high prevalence of HIV findings from the HAALSI Study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e047777

Economic burden of road traffic injuries in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of existing literature. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e048231

Epistemic injustice in academic global health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00301-6/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email#.YUMJdkEeiI8.twitter

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Tuesday, 21 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 21, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	173,788	[1,536]	2354	[11]	167,318	4,116	72,130	977	1,726,392

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-21-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 22,946 Deaths in 28 days: 183 Total cases: 173,788 Total deaths: 2,354

Africa CDC Dashboard 20 SEPT 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

GET THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS, UPDATES AND ADVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF BOTSWANA FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 21 SEPT 2021

𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄: 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐂 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐔𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃

MHW 1/13/1 I (138) 21 September 2021

The Ministry of Health and Wellness issued a public statement last week indicating that it was unable to complete the due diligence assessment of the Sinovac vaccine that it received recently. This was because of the incomplete documentation that had accompanied the Sinovac vaccine. Members of the public are informed that the said documentation was delivered on 20 September 2021. This therefore, means that the process to complete the due diligence assessment that has to be conducted on all vaccines that arrive in the country, has resumed.

NEWS

Data: The Lifeblood of the Public Health Response to COVID-19, https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-3725

Ask an Expert: Why do breakthroughs occur among vaccinated people? https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2021/09/20/ask-an-expert-why-do-breakthroughs-occur-among-vaccinated-people/?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=VUToday+9.20.2021&utm_term=Ask+an+Expert%3a+Why+do+breakthroughs+occur+among+vaccinated+people%3f&utm_id=159171&sfmc_id=36607303

Daily briefing: Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine looks promising for young children. A child-size dose of the Pfizer vaccine is safe and generates a robust antibody response in children ages 5 to 11, say the companies. Plus, the mysterious hotness of the Sun’s corona. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02579-3

Emergency drug use in a pandemic: harsh lessons from COVID-19. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)01108-9 https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2821%2901108-9

The search for antivirals for covid-19. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2165

Covid-19: How is vaccination affecting hospital admissions and deaths? https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2306

Covid-19: Monoclonal antibody treatment to be rolled out to hospital patients with no antibody response. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2319

COVID-19 Prevention and Control Measures in Workplace Settings: A Rapid Review and Meta-Analysis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8345343/

Smoking is associated with worse outcomes of COVID-19 particularly among younger adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11579-x

RESOURCES

Women Leaders in Global Health Conference 2021 Reimagining Leadership 15-16 November 2021. Virtual. Free. Register Women Leaders in Global Health Conference 2021 | Women Leaders in Global Health Conference https://wlgh.conference.tc/

15 November: (12:00pm – 3:30pm UTC) (Google | Outlook | iCal)

16 November: (2:00pm – 6:00pm UTC) (Google | Outlook | iCal)

We are Recruiting! Join the Editorial Board BMC Public Health is recruiting Editorial Board Members. As the growth of the journal continues, we must also ensure that it is able to cope with increased submissions whilst maintaining our high editorial standards. Therefore, we are looking to expand our editorial team. (Indexed in PubMed and PubMed Central) https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/about/editorial-board-recruitment

OTHER NEWS

Essential Emergency and Critical Care: a consensus among global clinical experts. The study has specified the content of care that should be provided to all critically ill patients. Implementing Essential Emergency and Critical Care (EECC) could be an effective strategy for policy makers to reduce preventable deaths worldwide. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006585

Peer reviewer identity under the microscope… we calculated that reviewers (not including statistical reviewers) were almost perfectly split between high-income and low-income and middle-income countries. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00443-5/fulltext

Dialogical reflexivity towards collective action to transform global health. Decolonising global health has gained momentum in recent years and has called for more reflexive individuals. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/8/e006825

FROM 20 SEPT

Women’s Experiences of Promotion and Tenure in Academic Medicine and Potential Implications for Gender Disparities in Career Advancement. A Qualitative Analysis. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784339

Effectiveness and Ethics of Incentives for Research Participation. 2 Randomized Clinical Trials. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2784194

Delirium and neuropsychological outcomes in critically Ill patients with COVID-19: a cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e050045

Net zero healthcare: a call for clinician action. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1323?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

Age-stratified and blood-pressure-stratified effects of blood-pressure-lowering pharmacotherapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and death: an individual participant-level data meta-analysis. Pharmacological blood pressure reduction should, therefore, be considered an important treatment option regardless of age, with the removal of age-related blood-pressure thresholds from international guidelines. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01921-8/fulltext?utm_campaign=lancet&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

FROM 17 SEPT

Scoping future outbreaks: a scoping review on the outbreak prediction of the WHO Blueprint list of priority diseases. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e006623

Towards a global framework for assessing male involvement in maternal health: results of an international Delphi study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e051361

Impact of bed height on the biomechanics of healthcare professionals during chest compressions on the neonate: a descriptive pilot study, https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e047666

Route of oxytocin administration for preventing blood loss at caesarean section: a systematic review with meta-analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e051793

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Wednesday, 22 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 22, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	173,788	[1,536]	2354	[11]	167,318	4,116	72,130	977	1,726,392

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-22-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 22,946 Deaths in 28 days: 183 Total cases: 173,788 Total deaths: 2,354

Africa CDC Dashboard 21 SEPT 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

GET THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS, UPDATES AND ADVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF BOTSWANA FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 22 SEPT 2021

MHW 1/13/1 I (138) 21 September 2021

NEWS

IMF calls for coordinated action, accountability in COVID-19 battle. https://www.reuters.com/world/imf-calls-coordinated-action-accountability-covid-19-battle-2021-09-21/

Leader of WHO’s new pandemic hub: improve data flow to extinguish outbreaks. Former Nigeria CDC leader Chikwe Ihekweazu talks with Nature about the COVID crisis, and strengthening global response to future public-health emergencies. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02577-5

Israel’s struggles to contain COVID-19 may be a warning for other nations. Widespread boosters don’t dent case rate as schools, holidays foster spread. https://www.science.org/content/article/israel-s-struggles-contain-covid-19-may-be-warning-other-nations

Prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 WA1/2020 partially protects rhesus macaques against re-infection with B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abj2641

Interferon gamma immunotherapy in five critically ill COVID-19 patients with impaired cellular immunity: a case series. https://www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(21)00318-4

Efficacy and safety of hyperbaric oxygen treatment in SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) pneumonia: a systematic review. Limited and weak evidence from non-randomised studies including one propensity-matched cohort study suggests HBOT is safe and may be a promising intervention to optimise treatment and outcomes in hypoxaemic COVID-19 patients. Randomised controlled studies are urgently needed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34547778/

RESOURCES

15 November: (12:00pm – 3:30pm UTC) (Google | Outlook | iCal)

16 November: (2:00pm – 6:00pm UTC) (Google | Outlook | iCal)

OTHER NEWS

EXTending availability of self-management structured EducatioN programmes for people with type 2 Diabetes in low-to-middle income countries (EXTEND)—a feasibility study in Mozambique and Malawi. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e047425

Azithromycin for the prevention of rehospitalisation and death among Kenyan children being discharged from hospital: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised controlled trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00347-8/fulltext

Does mass drug administration of azithromycin reduce child mortality? Mass administration of azithromycin is one of the key interventions in trachoma control programmes and potentially reduces child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Several trials done in sub-Saharan Africa have reported mixed efficacy of mass administration of azithromycin in reducing child mortality at a population level. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00417-4/fulltext#%20

FROM 21 SEPT

FROM 20 SEPT

Effectiveness and Ethics of Incentives for Research Participation. 2 Randomized Clinical Trials. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2784194

Delirium and neuropsychological outcomes in critically Ill patients with COVID-19: a cohort study. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e050045

Net zero healthcare: a call for clinician action. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1323?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=hootsuite&utm_content=sme&utm_campaign=usage

UB COVID-19 Information Digest — Thursday, 23 September 2021 TRACKING

WORLDOMETER COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Last updated: SEPT 23, 2021

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2OhpWiFATgR5aenmpd2KHJ0EIi89WgIHqGEts5TuDlnTTGUU6Liq1kbp4#countries

Country	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests
Botswana	173,788	[1,536]	2354	[11]	167,318	4,116	72,130	977	1,726,392

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 09-23-2021 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Botswana

Cases in 28 days: 22,946 Deaths in 28 days: 183 Total cases: 173,788 Total deaths: 2,354

Africa CDC Dashboard 22 SEPT 2021 https://africacdc.org/covid-19/

GET THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS, UPDATES AND ADVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF BOTSWANA FACEBOOK & TWITTER PAGE https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/ 23 SEPT 2021

REGISTRATION OF BATSWANA AND RESIDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN VACCINATED OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY

The Ministry of Health and Wellness wishes to invite all Batswana and residents who were vaccinated for COVID-19 outside the country to register with the ministry.

The purpose of this exercise is to assist the ministry to capture data on all Batswana and residents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The process will further assist the ministry plan about possible future vaccination needs.

NEWS

Assessing Knowledge and Practices of the Community towards Corona Virus Disease 2019 in Mbale Municipality, Uganda: Across Section Study. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/eahrj/article/view/214165

Use of Face Mask as a COVID-19 Preventive Measure Among Household Heads in Enugu Nigeria. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ojm/article/view/214471

England’s Covid travel rules spark outrage around the world. Refusal to recognise vaccines given across Latin America, Africa and south Asia has been denounced as ‘discriminatory’. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/23/englands-covid-travel-rules-spark-outrage-around-the-world

Developing nations’ plea to world’s wealthy at U.N.: stop vaccine hoarding. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-un/developing-nations-plea-to-worlds-wealthy-at-u-n-stop-vaccine-hoarding-idUSKBN2GI1VM

Italy triples pledge to provide other nations with COVID-19 vaccines. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/italy-triples-pledge-provide-other-nations-with-covid-19-vaccines-2021-09-22/

Uganda loosens anti-coronavirus restrictions as pandemic ebbs. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-uganda/uganda-loosens-anti-coronavirus-restrictions-as-pandemic-ebbs-idUSKBN2GI208

Spain to donate 15 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses via COVAX. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-spain-vaccine/spain-to-donate-15-million-more-covid-19-vaccine-doses-via-covax-idUSKBN2GI1Q8

Greece used AI to curb COVID: what other nations can learn. Governments are hungry to deploy big data in health emergencies. Scientists must help to lay the legal, ethical and logistical groundwork. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02554-y

COVID-eVax, an electroporated plasmid DNA vaccine candidate encoding the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain, elicits protective immune responses in animal models of COVID-19. https://www.cell.com/molecular-therapy-family/molecular-therapy/fulltext/S1525-0016(21)00466-4

Enhanced eosinophil-mediated inflammation associated with antibody and complement-dependent pneumonic insults in critical COVID-19. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)01258-4

Health belief model and behavioural practice of urban poor towards COVID-19 in Nigeria. The study concludes that though urban poor residents feel threatened by Covid-19, nexus of factors such as low financial earnings, inadequate knowledge, and limited access to basic medical needs hamper the effective adoption of Non-pharmaceutical Interventions–NPIs. https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(21)02140-X

Audio Interview: Vaccine Efficacy and Boosters in Covid-19. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2115556?query=featured_home

Efficacy of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine at Completion of Blinded Phase. The mRNA-1273 vaccine continued to be efficacious in preventing Covid-19 illness and severe disease at more than 5 months, with an acceptable safety profile, and protection against asymptomatic infection was observed. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2113017?query=featured_home

Effectiveness of mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine among U.S. Health Care Personnel. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2106599?query=featured_home

Subcutaneous REGEN-COV Antibody Combination to Prevent Covid-19. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109682?query=featured_home

Religious views on the origin and meaning of COVID-2019. The sample for this study is random and the medium used allows for representativity in terms of age group (18+), gender, race, religious affiliation of South Africa, but not limited to this country. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/hts/article/view/212159

Covid and the virtual classroom: the new normal? https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jaaps/article/view/211802

Conceptualising Long COVID as an episodic health condition. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e007004

Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19: a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990–2050. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01258-7/fulltext

Infections, hospitalisations, and deaths averted via a nationwide vaccination campaign using the Pfizer–BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in Israel: a retrospective surveillance study. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00566-1/fulltext

RESOURCES

15 November: (12:00pm – 3:30pm UTC) (Google | Outlook | iCal)

16 November: (2:00pm – 6:00pm UTC) (Google | Outlook | iCal)

OTHER NEWS

Global Surgery Education and Training Programmes-a Scoping Review and Taxonomy. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8386150/

Drug-resistant malaria is gaining a foothold in Africa. Analyses of patient blood samples suggest artemisinin effectiveness is slipping. https://www.science.org/content/article/drug-resistant-malaria-gaining-foothold-africa

Evidence of Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria in Africa. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2101746?query=featured_home

The COVID-19 lockdown was for the birds—in a good way. Less traffic made habitats more hospitable across North America. https://www.science.org/content/article/covid-19-lockdown-was-birds-good-way

Mental health and well-being of older adults living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e052810

Unequal access and use of contraceptives among parenting adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-sectional analysis of demographic and health surveys. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e051583

Neurosurgeons’ experiences of conducting and disseminating clinical research in low-income and middle-income countries: a reflexive thematic analysis. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e051806

Estimated effect of increased diagnosis, treatment, and control of diabetes and its associated cardiovascular risk factors among low-income and middle-income countries: a microsimulation model. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00340-5/fulltext

Achieving sensible targets for a diabetes care cascade in LMICs. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00403-4/fulltext

FROM 22 SEPT

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Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 06-25-2021 03:22 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 06-26-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 06-28-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 06-29-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 06-30-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-01-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-02-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-03-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-05-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-06-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-06-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-06-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-07-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-08-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

7–8 JULY 2021. University and corporate tickets both include access to all sessions, as well as post-event access to all on-demand session recordings. REGISTER for free https://www.timeshighered-events.com/impact-health-forum-2021/page/1685059/register

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-10-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

Lessons from two SARS-CoV-2 waves in South Africa. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00313-2/fulltext

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-12-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-13-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-13-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-13-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-14-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-15-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

The Portable Surgical Simulator. Build or buy. The GlobalSurgBox is a portable, adaptable, and affordable surgical trainer that can be used by trainees of all levels. https://globalsurgbox.com/ What’s Inside the GlobalSurgBox… https://globalsurgbox.com/the-global-surgbox/

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBCupdated: 07-16-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

NEWS

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 06-25-2021 03:22 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 06-26-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 06-28-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 06-29-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 06-30-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-01-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-02-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-03-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-05-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-06-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-06-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-06-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-07-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-08-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-10-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-12-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-13-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-13-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-13-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-14-2021 05:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-15-2021 03:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
updated: 07-16-2021 04:21 GMT https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Coronavirus in Africa tracker—Johns Hopkins—used by BBC
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