H5N1

China ramps up livelihood, economic support amid COVID-19 control

Something is going on in China. The country seems fed up with lockdown measures, and the government is trying to calm things down. Via People's Daily, a Xinhua report: China ramps up livelihood, economic support amid COVID-19 control. Excerpt:

BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Local governments across China are rolling out policies to support businesses and residents amid the ongoing COVID-19 control, allowing virus-hit supermarkets to reopen sooner and reducing operating costs for struggling companies.  

The Chinese capital Beijing promised to expedite the reopening of shopping malls and supermarkets that sell livelihood-related products, as the latest effort to ensure the smooth operation of the city and the market while striving to corral the outbreak.  

Speaking at a media conference on Thursday, Beijing municipal government spokesperson Xu Hejian said that such business outlets, if affected by the COVID-19 cases, are allowed to reopen after one day of required closure and disinfection, and will not be closed for more than three days.  

Responding to public concerns, the Beijing government will rev up support for residents who have to leave their closed-off compounds to seek medical services, Xu said. Garbage from high-risk areas will be taken care of, the official added.  

Municipal officials also said they had directed major e-commerce companies to stock up with three to five times the usual level of supplies so as to stabilize prices.  

On Friday, Beijing reported 586 locally transmitted confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2,009 locally transmitted asymptomatic cases. The latest outbreak has seen many restaurants and shops closed and residents advised to reduce unnecessary outings.  

In southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, which has registered more than 60,000 infections since Nov. 1, authorities organized retail companies to set up temporary stands outside the residential complexes that were under closed-off management.  

The government is also negotiating with e-commerce platforms to increase supplies while helping retailers resume business online after the closure of their physical shops, said Zhang Yongwu, head of the Chongqing municipal commission of commerce.  

The Ministry of Commerce has pledged greater efforts to ensure the supply of daily necessities, especially for residents in areas hit hard by the COVID-19 resurgence.

Progress toward regional measles elimination — worldwide, 2000–2021

Via MMWR: Progress Toward Regional Measles Elimination — Worldwide, 2000–2021. The summary:

What is already known about this topic?  

Progress toward measles elimination experienced setbacks in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

What is added by this report?  

During 2000–2021, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 56 million deaths worldwide. In 2021, only 81% of children received their first dose of measles containing vaccine (MCV), the lowest coverage reported since 2008, leaving 25 million children vulnerable to measles. Measles surveillance continues to be suboptimal, and large and disruptive outbreaks were reported in 22 countries.  

What are the implications for public health practice?  

Reaching all children with 2 doses of MCV and strengthening measles surveillance is critical to close immunity gaps, prevent outbreaks, and recover progress lost during the pandemic.

H5N1 bird flu leads to BC turkey shortage

Via the North Shore News: Bird flu leads to B.C. turkey shortage. Excerpt:

Christmas dinner in British Columbia could look a little different this year as nearly two dozen farms across the province slaughter hundreds of thousands of birds in an attempt to contain the avian influenza virus.   

From the Interior, to the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has identified high-pathogenic strains (HPAI) of H5N1 — the most deadly variety of avian influenza or “bird flu”— in 42 B.C. flocks. As of Wednesday afternoon, 23 outbreaks were ongoing and 275,800 birds had been slaughtered in an effort to contain the pathogen.   

The culled birds include broiler chickens, ducks and laying hens, among other specialty birds. But the most heavily affected poultry has been turkey, says Amanda Brittain, chief information officer for the BC Poultry Association, the group that helps coordinate the province’s four poultry and egg marketing boards during emergencies. 

“The BC Turkey Marketing Board tells me that they’re looking to be 20 per cent short of how much they grow,” said Brittain. “Turkeys grow for 13 to 15 weeks, so there is no time to grow more before Christmas.”   

H5N1 has been identified at over 220 locations across Canada and led to the culling of 3.7 million birds since the start of the latest epidemic.   

The seven commercial Fraser Valley poultry farms hit with the virus since Nov. 16 have come under “intense disease pressure,” said B.C. Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham.  

From the wild to the farm  

The outbreaks in Chilliwack and Abbotsford come out of step with the seasonal migration of wild birds, which have been found to carry and pass on the virus to domestic flocks.   

"The virus this year is different than we've ever seen in the past and it is behaving differently in both wild birds and domestic birds," said Brittain.   

Scientists have isolated variants of the influenza virus in more than 100 wild bird species worldwide, from waterfowl like geese, swans, ducks and gulls to shoreline species like sandpipers, plovers and storks. Not all strains are deadly. In the same way that many humans pull through an annual bout of the flu, many strains of the avian varieties rarely cause more than the sniffles, lethargy or fever in birds.  

High-pathogenic strains are different. When HPAIs enter a poultry farm, they often find the epidemiological equivalent of a refugee camp for birds, says Ronald Ydenberg, a professor of behavioural ecology and director of Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Wildlife Ecology.   

“There are thousands of birds there. They're all immunologically naive. They haven't had time to evolve any resistance. And there's a fresh batch every six weeks,” he told Glacier Media last spring. 

US CDC begins agency-wide changes after pandemic failures

Via The Lancet: US CDC begins agency-wide changes after pandemic failures. Excerpt:

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is on a mission to reorganise and modernise itself, so that its mistakes during the pandemic will not happen again. The aim is to make the nation's leading disease detective more nimble and accountable, and fortify its role as public health protector. But although some changes have been made, progress will be limited without support from the US Congress. 

The CDC's Director, Rochelle Walensky, an infectious disease physician and research scientist appointed by President Joe Biden in January, 2021, commissioned an independent review of the CDC's pandemic record in April, conducted by James McCrae, Associate Administrator for Primary Health Care in the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration. “To be frank, we are responsible for some pretty dramatic, pretty public mistakes, from testing to data to communications”, Walensky told her roughly 11 000 staff when she unveiled a summary of the review's findings in August (panel).  

Panel  

Key findings and recommendations from the CDC review  

It takes too long for the CDC to publish its data and science for decision making  

• Create an online mechanism for pre-publication delivery of science  

• Expedite the review or approval process for scientific publications and data (including laboratory data) to match the needs of the emergency  

The agency's turnover of staff during the COVID-19 response created gaps and other challenges for partners   

• Increase the number of CDC leaders trained and ready to deploy to a response  

• Require a minimum of 6-month rotation for leadership positions on the response; build a redundancy model of emergency staffing (ie, backup or co-lead staff in all key positions) to prevent response burnout and assure continuity in operations  

The agency's guidance documents are confusing and overwhelming, and the website is not easy to navigate  

• Produce plain-language, easy-to-understand implementation guidance documents that apply over multiple settings; reduce the number and length of guidance documents; include a brief scientific rationale or background in the implementation guidance with a referenced or accompanying Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Science Brief, as necessary  

• Restructure the agency web site and digital communication platforms to eliminate unnecessary content and focus on key target audiences with a primary emphasis on the public  

COVID-19 uncovered the need for flexibilities that do not exist today at the CDC  

• Establish new authorities that will allow the CDC to be more nimble and work faster, such as public health and regulatory authorities mandating data collection from local jurisdictions, and human resource authorities with authority to hire faster, and ensure competitive salaries to recruit and retain for hard-to-fill positions like data scientists

Elderly man in Beijing is China’s first Covid death since Shanghai wave as outbreak spirals

Via the South China Morning Post: Elderly man in Beijing is China’s first Covid death since Shanghai wave as outbreak spirals. Excerpt:

China has reported its first Covid-19 death in six months – an 87-year-old man in Beijing – as the country battles its worst wave of cases since Shanghai’s spring outbreak.  

A leading virologist called for a boost to vaccination rates among the elderly and more public education to ease panic around the virus.  

The official Beijing Daily reported on Sunday that the man started to cough on November 11, and was confirmed infected with mild symptoms on November 13. But his condition worsened due to severe pulmonary infection and he suffered septic shock and later died, the report said.  

It did not say whether the deceased was vaccinated.  

This was the first documented Covid-19 fatality in the country since Shanghai authorities reported one on May 26, amid a spring outbreak that sparked months of painful lockdown. 

Beijing reported 621 cases on Sunday, with residents urged to stay indoors during the weekend to cut off transmission chains.  

Nationwide, the case tally reached 24,215 on Sunday, marginally down from 24,263 the previous day.  

The southern megacity of Guangzhou remained the hardest-hit, accounting for one third of the caseload.