New York City officials, flanked by the White House COVID-19 coordinator, yesterday unveiled the country’s first mobile testing units to treat, designed to expedite treatment for vulnerable groups.
And in global developments, World Bank officials yesterday approved a new pandemic preparedness fund, designed to strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory networks and other key health activities in low-income countries. and intermediate.
Test and treat reaches hard-hit communities
The mobile units will provide testing and include a clinician to provide instant access to free antiviral drug prescriptions for eligible people who test positive for COVID-19, NYC Health said in a statement. statement. The units work in partnership with pharmacies to provide immediate distribution of medicines.
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The program starts with 3 units and will expand to 30 in July.
Mayor Eric Adams said New York City was an epicenter at the start of the pandemic, but is now leading the way in prevention and mitigation. “This mobile Test to Treat program will save lives today and prepare us for future waves of this pandemic, keeping more New Yorkers safe and healthy,” he said.
White House COVID coordinator Ashish Jha, MD, said the United States has made a lot of progress. “But we know COVID isn’t over, and we need to make sure life-saving treatments like Paxlovid reach our hardest-hit communities. New York City is doing just that with the launch of the nation’s first Mobile Test-to-Treat Clinic.”
In other US developments:
- The Fondation Rockefeller, through its public charity RF Catalytic Capital, is opening its free at-home COVID testing program targeting at-risk communities to all states, after initially offering the program in six states, delivering an initial million tests. Registration is open until August 31.
- Pfizer here announcement that it has submitted a full approval application for Paxlovid, its SARS-CoV-2 antiviral treatment. It is currently approved for emergency use.
World Band pandemic fund to launch in fall
The board of directors of the World Bank yesterday approved a plan to develop a fund to strengthen pandemic preparedness, drawn up with broad support from G20 countries. More than $1 billion in financial commitments have been pledged, including from the United States, the European Union, Indonesia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.
World Bank Group President David Malpass said the long-term financing will help existing institutions in low- and middle-income countries prepare for future pandemics, with an expected launch in fall 2022. The financing will help strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory systems, health workforce, emergency communications and community engagement.
The World Health Organization (WHO) will provide technical expertise in the design and scoping of the program.
In other global developments:
- In an updated COVID-19 Insight Today, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said cases were rising among older people in 21 of 26 reporting countries, up 27% from the previous week. The group said the activity signals the start of a widespread wave due to the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants. Officials also noted that increased transmission in older age groups is beginning to fuel increased rates of severe disease.
- The United Kingdom Office of National Statistics said today that rates continue to rise, with hospitalizations rising across all age groups. They say infection levels are now higher than during the peak of the Alpha wave, although hospitalization rates at that time were three times higher, with deaths more than 22 times higher.
- Like the WHO and the United States Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency said today that updating mRNA boosters to include the Omicron variant could improve protection.
- Pilgrims began arriving in Saudi Arabia today for the first large-scale Hajj since the start of the pandemic, with an expected turnout of 1 million, according to Reuter. Hajj begins on July 7 and ends on July 12.
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