scholarly journals Rethinking COVID-19 Policies: Ten Recommendations for Where to Go from Here

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. Halperin ◽  
Norman Hearst ◽  
Stephen Hodgins ◽  
Robert C. Bailey ◽  
Jeffrey D. Klausner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
School Closures ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
Policy And Strategy ◽  
Great Hope ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Public Health Goal ◽  
Constant State ◽  
Vaccine Distribution

We offer recommendations, based on the latest evidence, for refining ten key COVID-19 policy and strategy areas. While remarkably effective vaccines usher in great hope, we call for revisiting some widely held assumptions regarding current approaches to inform more context-sensitive, evidence-based policies. We address: the expansion of equitable vaccine distribution; the far-reaching consequences of blunt lockdowns and school closures; the need to encourage outdoor activities and to gradually ease restrictions as vaccination rollout is expanded; the advantages of emphasizing education and harm reduction approaches over coercive and punitive measures; the excessive focus on surface disinfection and other ineffective or misplaced measures; the need to reassess testing practices; and the importance of increased access to effective outpatient therapies. Although COVID-19 will require ongoing mitigation for the foreseeable future, especially as potentially challenging genetic variants continue to emerge, maintaining a constant state of emergency until the pandemic is eradicated is not a viable strategy. A more realistic public health goal during mass vaccination is to adjust current mitigation goals to minimize unintended harms associated with unfocused or largely irrelevant control efforts. We present these suggestions in the expectation of vaccines allowing greater control of COVID-19 within the relatively near future, especially if there is widespread, global access to this life-saving intervention.

scholarly journals Revisiting COVID-19 policies: 10 evidence-based recommendations for where to go from here

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. Halperin ◽  
Norman Hearst ◽  
Stephen Hodgins ◽  
Robert C. Bailey ◽  
Jeffrey D. Klausner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Great Hope ◽  
Psychosocial Consequences ◽  
Constant State ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
Vaccine Distribution ◽  
Testing Policies

Abstract Background Strategies to control coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) have often been based on preliminary and limited data and have tended to be slow to evolve as new evidence emerges. Yet knowledge about COVID-19 has grown exponentially, and the expanding rollout of vaccines presents further opportunity to reassess the response to the pandemic more broadly. Main text We review the latest evidence concerning 10 key COVID-19 policy and strategic areas, specifically addressing: 1) the expansion of equitable vaccine distribution, 2) the need to ease restrictions as hospitalization and mortality rates eventually fall, 3) the advantages of emphasizing educational and harm reduction approaches over coercive and punitive measures, 4) the need to encourage outdoor activities, 5) the imperative to reopen schools, 6) the far-reaching and long-term economic and psychosocial consequences of sustained lockdowns, 7) the excessive focus on surface disinfection and other ineffective measures, 8) the importance of reassessing testing policies and practices, 9) the need for increasing access to outpatient therapies and prophylactics, and 10) the necessity to better prepare for future pandemics. Conclusions While remarkably effective vaccines have engendered great hope, some widely held assumptions underlying current policy approaches call for an evidence-based reassessment. COVID-19 will require ongoing mitigation for the foreseeable future as it transforms from a pandemic into an endemic infection, but maintaining a constant state of emergency is not viable. A more realistic public health approach is to adjust current mitigation goals to be more data-driven and to minimize unintended harms associated with unfocused or ineffective control efforts. Based on the latest evidence, we therefore present recommendations for refining 10 key policy areas, and for applying lessons learned from COVID-19 to prevent and prepare for future pandemics.

scholarly journals Overview on Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act and its implementation: current update

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 463
Author(s):  
Dhwanit Thakore ◽  
Mahesh Chavda ◽  
Girish Parmar ◽  
Tejal Sheth
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Tobacco Control ◽  
Tobacco Use ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Tobacco Products ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
The Status ◽  
Public Health Goal ◽  
Almost All

Tobacco use- a major public health issue in India has an enormous effect on the lower SES population. . There is an evident link between tobacco use or consumption and poverty. The widespread use of almost all forms of tobacco among the Indian population can be attributed to the social and cultural acceptance in the country. Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA) is the legislation that regulates tobacco in India. The prime objective of this review is to compile the literature with information about the laws regulating tobacco use and the status of implementation of tobacco control provisions covered under COTPA. Since effective tobacco control measures involve multi-stakeholders i.e public health, law, trade and commerce, industry, consumer, human rights and child development, coordinated efforts are required to successful enforcement. The outcome of the current literature is bridging the gaps to make the tobacco control a very important public health goal and thereby protect the population from the consequent morbidity and mortality due to tobacco use.

scholarly journals Return to Treatment in the Formal Health Care Sector: Evidence from Tanzania

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achyuta Adhvaryu ◽  
Anant Nyshadham
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Sector ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
Public Health Goal ◽  
Formal Health Care

Improving access to the formal health care sector is a primary public health goal in many low-income countries. But the returns to this access are unclear, given that the quality of care at public health facilities is often considered inadequate. We exploit temporal and geographic variation in the cost of traveling to formal sector health facilities to show that treatment at these facilities improves short-term health outcomes for acutely ill children in Tanzania. Our results suggest that these improvements are driven in part by more timely receipt of and better adherence to antimalarial treatment. (JEL I11, I12, I15, I18, J13, O15)

Comparison of Various Treatment Modalities of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Pregnancy

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26
Author(s):  
Pramya Nanjundan
Keyword(s):  
Iron Deficiency ◽  
Iron Deficiency Anemia ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Deficiency Anemia ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
Public Health Goal ◽  
Anemia In Pregnancy ◽  
In Pregnancy

ABSTRACT More than a quarter of the world’s population is anemic, with about one half of the burden from iron deficiency. Iron deficiency anemia occurs when iron deficiency is severe enough to diminish erythropoiesis and cause the development of anemia. The prevention and treatment of iron deficiency is a major public health goal especially in women, children, and individuals from low-income countries. How to cite this article Nanjundan P. Comparison of Various Treatment Modalities of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Pregnancy. World J Anemia 2017;1(1):23-26.

scholarly journals Development of Vaccines against Visceral Leishmaniasis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystal J. Evans ◽  
Lukasz Kedzierski
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Visceral Leishmaniasis ◽  
Leishmania Donovani ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Past Infection ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Public Health Goal

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease resulting in a global morbidity of 2,090 thousand Disability-Adjusted Life Years and a mortality rate of approximately 60,000 per year. Among the three clinical forms of leishmaniasis (cutaneous, mucosal, and visceral), visceral leishmaniasis (VL) accounts for the majority of mortality, as if left untreated VL is almost always fatal. Caused by infection withLeishmania donovaniorL. infantum, VL represents a serious public health problem in endemic regions and is rapidly emerging as an opportunistic infection in HIV patients. To date, no vaccine exists for VL or any other form of leishmaniasis. In endemic areas, the majority of those infected do not develop clinical symptoms and past infection leads to robust immunity against reinfection. Thus the development of vaccine forLeishmaniais a realistic public health goal, and this paper summarizes advances in vaccination strategies against VL.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Forecasting: A Statistical Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 85-96
Author(s):  
Arti Saxena ◽  
Falak Bhardwaj ◽  
Vijay Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Moving Average ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
Public Health Goal ◽  
Very High

Background: SARS-coronavirus-2 is a new virus infecting people and causing COVID-19 disease. The disease is causing a worldwide pandemic. Although some people never develop any signs or symptoms of disease when they are infected, other people are at very high risk for severe disease and death. Objective: If we’re able to intervene to prevent even some transmission, we can dramatically reduce the number of cases. And this is the public health goal for controlling COVID-19. Methods: This article initializes an approach for comparatively accurate values prediction of new cases and deaths for a particular day in order to be considered for preventive measures. The three statistical analysis methods considered for forecasting are Fbprophet, Moving average and the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average algorithm. Results: The results obtained are in-line with the past and present trend of COVID-19 data collected from WHO website. Conclusion: The output is satisfactory for further consideration. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.20(5) 2021 p.85-96

scholarly journals Protein Biotoxins of Military Significance

2006 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Patočka ◽  
Ladislav Středa
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Chemical Warfare Agents ◽  
Bioactive Molecules ◽  
Natural Substances ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
Public Health Goal ◽  
Warfare Agents ◽  
Public Health Officials

There is a spectrum of several threat agents, ranging from nerve agents and mustard agents to natural substances, such as biotoxins and new, synthetic, bioactive molecules produced by the chemical industry, to the classical biological warfare agents. The new, emerging threat agents are biotoxins produced by animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Many types of organisms produce substances that are toxic to humans. Examples of such biotoxins are botulinum toxin, tetanus toxin, and ricin. Several bioactive molecules produced by the pharmaceutical industry can be even more toxic than are the classical chemical warfare agents. Such new agents, like the biotoxins and bioregulators, often are called mid-spectrum agents. The threat to humans from agents developed by modern chemical synthesis and by genetic engineering also must be considered, since such agents may be more toxic or more effective in causing death or incapacitation than classical warfare agents. By developing effective medical protection and treatment against the most likely chemical and mid-spectrum threat agents, the effects of such agents in a war scenario or following a terrorist attack can be reduced. Toxin-mediated diseases have made humans ill for millennia. Unfortunately, the use of biological agents as weapons of terror has now been realized, and separating naturally occurring disease from bioterroristic events has become an important public health goal. The key to timely identification of such attacks relies on education of primary care physicians, first responders, and public health officials.

scholarly journals The Inattentiveness of Children with ADHD may Worsen During the COVID-19 Quarantine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Sasaki ◽  
Tomihisa Niitsu ◽  
Masumi Tachibana ◽  
Jumpei Takahashi ◽  
Masaomi Iyo
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
School Closures ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Children With Adhd ◽  
Potential Development ◽  
Inattentive Subtype ◽  
Drug Type ◽  
Secondary Outcomes

Abstract Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has caused school closures worldwide. Japan's Prime Minister declared a state of emergency based on the coronavirus pandemic for Tokyo, Chiba, and other prefectures on April 7, 2020. Children with ADHD are particularly vulnerable to the distress caused by the pandemic and physical distancing measures, and they might display increased behavioral problems. We surveyed 15 children with ADHD, aged 11.8 ± 2.8 years old; 13 were males and 2 were females (combined subtype, n=12; inattentive subtype, n=3). The children's ADHD-RS scores were assessed by their mother (n=12), father (n=1), or nursing home staff (n=2) from before the emergency declaration (in February or March 2020) to after the emergency declaration (April or May 2020). There were no changes of treating physician, drug type or quantity, or psychotherapy or assessment person from January 2020 to May 2020. Results: A comparison of the baseline scores and secondary outcomes reveals that the ADHD-RS total score and inattentive subscore worsened significantly during this period, whereas the hyper/impulsive subscore did not. In conclusion, we suggest that policymakers, healthcare providers and families should be mindful of the potential development of inattentiveness among children with ADHD who are quarantined because of COVID-19.

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