In this section of the newsletter, we provide excerpts of and links to relevant and topical studies, opinion pieces, blogs, and other articles published on leading scientific platforms on health systems, medicine, and allied social sectors, and reputed media platforms.
When will COVID stop being a global emergency?
News article published February 1, 2023 in Nature
After a meeting of its emergency committee on 27 January, the WHO said this week that it still considers the outbreak what it calls a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), but that the COVID-19 pandemic is at an inflection point — meaning that high levels of immunity to the virus SARS-CoV-2 are beginning to limit its impact and reach. It says that the COVID-19 outbreak will probably stop being a global emergency soon. But are we there yet? The article sheds light on the implications of lifting of a PHEIC matters on a global and national scale.
Stopping epidemics when and where they occur
Comment article published January 12, 2023 in The Lancet
During the COVID-19 pandemic, inequity has marred the way vaccines and other health tools reached lower-income countries. Additionally, it is only when a virus spreads globally that high-income countries tend to focus on the disease, with people in wealthy countries getting access to vaccines and therapies. The articles talks about a new proposed framework that is designed in the public interest and rooted in equity, to create a sustainable ecosystem for medical countermeasures to outbreaks, financed through a global commons approach.
Effect of Climate Change Impact Menu Labels on Fast Food Ordering Choices Among US Adults
Research Study published December 27, 2022 in JAMA Network Open
What effects do positive and negative climate impact menu labels have on the environmental sustainability of adult restaurant food choices in a nationally representative sample? The findings of the study suggest that climate impact menu labels may be an effective strategy to promote more sustainable restaurant food choices and that labels highlighting high–climate impact items may be most effective.