scholarly journals Challenges and Opportunities of Mass Vaccination Centers in COVID-19 Times: A Rapid Review of Literature

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 574
Author(s):  
Vincenza Gianfredi ◽  
Flavia Pennisi ◽  
Alessandra Lume ◽  
Giovanni Emanuele Ricciardi ◽  
Massimo Minerva ◽  
...  

A mass vaccination center is a location, normally used for nonhealthcare activities, set up for high-volume and high-speed vaccinations during infectious disease emergencies. The high contagiousness and mortality of COVID-19 and the complete lack of population immunity posed an extraordinary threat for global health. The aim of our research was to collect and review previous experiences on mass vaccination centers. On 4 April 2021, we developed a rapid review searching four electronic databases: PubMed/Medline, Scopus, EMBASE, Google Scholar and medRxiv. From a total of 2312 papers, 15 of them were included in the current review. Among them, only one article described a COVID-19 vaccination center; all of the others referred to other vaccinations, in particular influenza. The majority were conducted in the United States, and were simulations or single-day experiences to practice a mass vaccination after bioterrorist attacks. Indeed, all of them were published after September 11 attacks. Regarding staff, timing and performance, the data were highly heterogenous. Several studies used as a model the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Results highlighted the differences around the definition, layout and management of a mass vaccination center, but some aspects can be considered as a core aspect. In light of this, we suggested a potential definition. The current review answers to the urgency of organizing a mass vaccination center during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the most important organizational aspects that should be considered in the planning.

Hematology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 483-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ira A. Shulman ◽  
Sunita Saxena

Abstract Healthcare institutions in the United States must review blood transfusion practices and adverse outcomes in order to receive payments from the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid program, but it is not required for a specific committee to be assigned to oversee the review process. Regardless of the group or individuals responsible, the review process must include a program of quality assessment and performance improvement that is ongoing, hospital-wide, and data-driven, reflects the complexity of the hospital’s organization and services, and involves all hospital departments and services (including those contracted). To be most effective, the performance improvement activity should be prioritized around high-risk, high-volume activities and/or in problem-prone areas. Even if a hospital elects not to receive payments from Medicare, it must still comply with applicable sections of the Code of Federal Regulations pertaining to transfusion services such as the follow up of adverse outcomes of transfusion.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-24
Author(s):  
Hiba Khodr

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the long and checkered relationship between Islam and the West entered a new phase. The sense of suspicion and denouncement that swept through the public sphere of many European countries and the United States was accompanied by major changes in governmental policies and a shift in the politics in each country that has witnessed or suffered from the repercussions of these attacks; this has been exasperated further by the rise of Islamic State (ISIS). This study uses different types of data sources and focuses on the previous academic work on establishing institutions of higher education within an existing unique context to examine the challenges that these institutions face on both the policy and political levels due to the prevailing current geopolitical climate vis-à-vis Islam. While focusing on the present and offering some insights into the future, this paper provides a base for a more comprehensive historical overview of the main policy changes by creating a timeline of key changes in the policies and mapping the significant events that have had an impact. It is designed to investigate challenges and opportunities of Islamic higher education institutions and programs from a policy perspective and within the changing political governmental agenda specifically in the United States, and it offers a preliminary analysis of the dynamics of these evolving transformations. Considering the emerging need to revisit these institutions and the more recent recurring calls to reform existing Western Islamic studies programs, this paper fills another gap in the literature by providing some recommendations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 238008442198994
Author(s):  
M.K. Virdi ◽  
K. Durman ◽  
S. Deacon

Introduction: This article aims to review the current national and international dental guidance produced during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic to identify the level of consensus on aerosol-generating dental procedures (AGDPs). The outcomes intend to encourage increased collaboration with respect to dental guidelines in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as well as to improve decision making and safety for dental patients and staff. Methods: This rapid review was conducted by 2 authors (MKV and KD), with the support of a third author (SD), to assess current guidelines related to dental AGDPs. This streamlined review approach allowed synthesis of data in an efficient manner in the rapidly evolving environment associated with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Results: The findings identified 1) a lack of consistency in reporting which procedures were deemed an AGDP; 2) that high-speed handpieces, air-water syringes, and mechanical scalers were consistently considered high-risk AGDPs; 3) a lack of consensus on the risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission with the use of slow-speed handpieces; 4) a general agreement, when described, that rubber dam and high-volume evacuation can significantly reduce aerosol production; and 5) a lack of consistency in reporting whether procedures constitute a low, moderate, or high risk of COVID-19 transmission. The findings are discussed in relation to the guidance and future recommendations. Conclusion: It is recommended that future published guidance should indicate the risk stratification (low/moderate/high) of each procedure/exposure in a standardized international approach. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results of this rapid review can be used by clinicians to increase their awareness of international guidance on aerosol-generating procedures in dentistry. It will also encourage those publishing future guidance to provide an internationally standardized, risk-stratified approach to describing aerosol-generating procedures. Currently, it allows clinicians to consider aerosol-generating procedures as a risk spectrum.


Author(s):  
Dipjyoti Acharya ◽  
Lei Zhou ◽  
Liping Zheng ◽  
Thomas X. Wu ◽  
Jay Kapat ◽  
...  

An attempt has been made in this work to design, fabricate and performance evaluate a 2 kW permanent magnet synchronous motor operating at 200,000 rpm and at the temperature of both room temperature and 77 K. Structural, thermal and rotordynamic aspects were considered and models were developed on an iterative basis. Prototypes were fabricated and models were validated through experimental results. The PMSM motor/generator prototype was fabricated. At this stage, experimental results were obtained for the test set-up operating at 200,000 rpm and air at room temperature. Models developed were validated comparing to experimental results.


Author(s):  
Jon B. Mikolashek

George S. Patton, one of the United States’ greatest field commanders, played a vital role in American involvement in World War I and the creation of the United States Tank Corps. While most literature focuses solely on Patton’s life and performance in World War II, the Great War was a pivotal event in his life and military career. Patton gained his first command in World War I with the United States Tank Corps. As the first “tanker” in United States Army history, Patton set up the first American light tank school and later commanded the 1st Tank Brigade in two campaigns, St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The study focuses on Patton’s personal life, his decision to push for an assignment with John J. Pershing, and his roles as a staff officer for the American Expeditionary Force and ultimately as a small unit commander pioneering a new weapons system..


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Keith

Abstract. The positive effects of goal setting on motivation and performance are among the most established findings of industrial–organizational psychology. Accordingly, goal setting is a common management technique. Lately, however, potential negative effects of goal-setting, for example, on unethical behavior, are increasingly being discussed. This research replicates and extends a laboratory experiment conducted in the United States. In one of three goal conditions (do-your-best goals, consistently high goals, increasingly high goals), 101 participants worked on a search task in five rounds. Half of them (transparency yes/no) were informed at the outset about goal development. We did not find the expected effects on unethical behavior but medium-to-large effects on subjective variables: Perceived fairness of goals and goal commitment were least favorable in the increasing-goal condition, particularly in later goal rounds. Results indicate that when designing goal-setting interventions, organizations may consider potential undesirable long-term effects.


2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis M. Hsu ◽  
Judy Hayman ◽  
Judith Koch ◽  
Debbie Mandell

Summary: In the United States' normative population for the WAIS-R, differences (Ds) between persons' verbal and performance IQs (VIQs and PIQs) tend to increase with an increase in full scale IQs (FSIQs). This suggests that norm-referenced interpretations of Ds should take FSIQs into account. Two new graphs are presented to facilitate this type of interpretation. One of these graphs estimates the mean of absolute values of D (called typical D) at each FSIQ level of the US normative population. The other graph estimates the absolute value of D that is exceeded only 5% of the time (called abnormal D) at each FSIQ level of this population. A graph for the identification of conventional “statistically significant Ds” (also called “reliable Ds”) is also presented. A reliable D is defined in the context of classical true score theory as an absolute D that is unlikely (p < .05) to be exceeded by a person whose true VIQ and PIQ are equal. As conventionally defined reliable Ds do not depend on the FSIQ. The graphs of typical and abnormal Ds are based on quadratic models of the relation of sizes of Ds to FSIQs. These models are generalizations of models described in Hsu (1996) . The new graphical method of identifying Abnormal Ds is compared to the conventional Payne-Jones method of identifying these Ds. Implications of the three juxtaposed graphs for the interpretation of VIQ-PIQ differences are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Miriam R. Aczel ◽  
Karen E. Makuch

High-volume hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling has “revolutionized” the United States’ oil and gas industry by allowing extraction of previously inaccessible oil and gas trapped in shale rock [1]. Although the United States has extracted shale gas in different states for several decades, the United Kingdom is in the early stages of developing its domestic shale gas resources, in the hopes of replicating the United States’ commercial success with the technologies [2, 3]. However, the extraction of shale gas using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling poses potential risks to the environment and natural resources, human health, and communities and local livelihoods. Risks include contamination of water resources, air pollution, and induced seismic activity near shale gas operation sites. This paper examines the regulation of potential induced seismic activity in Oklahoma, USA, and Lancashire, UK, and concludes with recommendations for strengthening these protections.


Author(s):  
Christopher A. Bail

In July 2010, Terry Jones, the pastor of a small fundamentalist church in Florida, announced plans to burn two hundred Qur'ans on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Though he ended up canceling the stunt in the face of widespread public backlash, his threat sparked violent protests across the Muslim world that left at least twenty people dead. This book demonstrates how the beliefs of fanatics like Jones are inspired by a rapidly expanding network of anti-Muslim organizations that exert profound influence on American understanding of Islam. The book traces how the anti-Muslim narrative of the political fringe has captivated large segments of the American media, government, and general public, validating the views of extremists who argue that the United States is at war with Islam and marginalizing mainstream Muslim-Americans who are uniquely positioned to discredit such claims. Drawing on cultural sociology, social network theory, and social psychology, the book shows how anti-Muslim organizations gained visibility in the public sphere, commandeered a sense of legitimacy, and redefined the contours of contemporary debate, shifting it ever outward toward the fringe. The book illustrates the author's pioneering theoretical argument through a big-data analysis of more than one hundred organizations struggling to shape public discourse about Islam, tracing their impact on hundreds of thousands of newspaper articles, television transcripts, legislative debates, and social media messages produced since the September 11 attacks. The book also features in-depth interviews with the leaders of these organizations, providing a rare look at how anti-Muslim organizations entered the American mainstream.


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