Response

Featured article; Original article from Israel on the effectiveness of a Fourth Dose of BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine in a Nationwide Setting | NEJM, given the large waves of infection driven by the omicron variant, and evidence of waning immunity. This is joined with further comment discussing booster vaccines Covid-19 Boosters — Where from Here? | NEJM.

Featured resource; Our World in Data provides data and visualizations across a range of topics, all free and open source. It includes a range of health topics, as well as data on COVID-19 pandemic. The following map and chart show the number of vaccine doses administered per 100 people within a given population. All doses, including boosters, are counted individually. 

Featured presentation; The long-term health impact of COVID-19 is discussed here by the Editors of NEJM Cliff Rosen, a principal investigator in the NIH-funded RECOVER initiative’s study of long Covid, to discuss the potential post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Audio Interview: Studying Long Covid | NEJM 

Policy Focus; Evidence considered by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies on the pandemic in the UK is collated here Scientific evidence supporting the government response to coronavirus (COVID-19) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The collection includes an introduction, meeting minutes and papers, and evidence to inform behavioral science advice, and modelling. Meetings were conducted throughout the epidemic, providing evidence to inform the policy response, for example Meeting 93, 7 July 2021 where the easing of restrictions was discussed in the context of modelling scenarios as well as clinical data and variant risk assessments, see SAGE meetings, July 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). 

Global organizations and initiatives; 

• GISAID - Initiative The GISAID Initiative promotes the rapid sharing of data from all influenza viruses and the coronavirus causing COVID-19. This includes genetic sequence and related clinical and epidemiological data associated with human viruses, and geographical as well as species-specific data associated with avian and other animal viruses, to help researchers understand how viruses evolve and spread during epidemics and pandemics. 
• European Covid-19 Forecast Hub (covid19forecasthub.eu) Short-term forecasts of Covid-19 cases and deaths across Europe, created by a multitude of infectious disease modelling teams, coordinated by the  European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 
• COVAX (who.int) COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. The ACT Accelerator is a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world. 
• NEJM — Covid-19 Vaccine Resources  A collection of resources on Covid-19 vaccines, including published research, continuing medical education, and commentary. See also the NEJM  Coronavirus (Covid-19) page. 
• COVID-19 Studies from the World Health Organization Database - ClinicalTrials.gov. This includes ongoing and completed COVID-19 studies listed on the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP). 
• Global research on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (who.int) WHO is gathering the latest international multilingual scientific findings and knowledge on COVID-19. The global literature cited in the WHO COVID-19 database is updated daily (Monday through Friday) from searches of bibliographic databases, hand searching, and the addition of other expert-referred scientific articles. The database represents a comprehensive multilingual source of current literature on the topic.