Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

6 INFECTION CONTROL WHO rolls out initiative to improve pandemic preparedness — for next time By Ashleigh Hollowell T he likelihood of another pandemic similar to COVID-19 or worse is around 28 percent, Bloomberg reported April 13. As such, the question for many has become "Are we ready?" In response, the World Health Organization has launched a new initia- tive aimed at making the answer a "Yes," — or at least "Here's how to be" — for countries around the world. The Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats Initiative, offi- cially announced April 26, was created by WHO to provide "guidance on integrated planning for responding to any respiratory pathogen." The initiative also seeks to build and share plans and insights be- tween stakeholders globally. Although right now, PRET will primarily focus on respiratory pathogens, there are plans in place to expand this initiative to include others as well like arboviruses, according to the press release. Ultimately, the initiative is one that the WHO says is a "call to action to advance respiratory pathogen pandemic preparedness." n The new 'Operation Warp Speed' By Mackenzie Bean T he Biden administration aims to accelerate the development of new coronavirus vaccines and treatments through a more than $5 billion program dubbed "Project Next Gen," The Washington Post reported April 10. The program will function similarly to the Trump administration's "Operation Warp Speed," in which the federal government will partner with private companies on new vaccines and therapies to protect against the virus that causes COVID-19 and other coronaviruses. "It's been very clear to us that the market on this is moving very slowly," Ashish Jha, MD, the White House coronavirus coordinator, told the Post. "There's a lot that government can do, the administration can do, to speed up those tools … for the American people." Project Next Gen will focus efforts on creating long-lasting monoclonal antibody treatments, along with vaccines that spur mucosal immunity and a pan-coronavirus — or universal — vaccine. The government is currently seeking private-sector partnerships, an HHS spokesperson told the Post. Dr. Jha declined to share a timeline for when new vaccines or therapeutics may hit the market, citing numerous variables including drug companies' production plans and FDA's regulatory reviews. n FDA commissioner: Medical misinformation is hurting US life expectancy By Ashleigh Hollowell M edical misinformation is a contributing factor to lowered life expectancies in the U.S., FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, told CNBC. Even as life expectancy in other countries has rebounded aer the pandemic, it has continued to decline in the U.S. — it is around three to five years shorter than comparative high-income nations — according to NPR. Sorting out the rampant health misinformation that floods the internet is something the commissioner told CNBC will require regulation and additional oversight from agencies like the FDA and Federal Trade Commission. Dr. Califf told CNBC that the reach an individual can have via the internet can misinform potentially billions and is especially concerning as there aren't clear rules or regulations currently in place to deal with it. "We don't have societal rules that are adjudicating it quite right, and I think it's impacting our health in very detrimental ways," he told CNBC. Education levels and living in rural regions of the U.S. can also expose individuals to different information sources that may not always be accurate, Dr. Califf shared with the outlet, noting that COVID-19 alone was not a driving factor to the lowered life expectancy in the U.S. e pandemic also sparked a growing tide of medical misinformation related to vaccines, the virus itself and healthcare in general — which can shape views of public health issues for the worse if misinformation is not dispelled. Specifically, researchers have found that a combination of social media and lower digital health literacy can complicate these issues and further the spread of misinformation. Dr. Califf told CNBC that much of the decline in public health and life expectancies can be attributed to the "choices that people make because of the things that influenced their thinking." While there is not yet a silver-bullet solution to the "infodemic," researchers have suggested that using tools and initiatives focused on increasing health literacy can help combat health misinformation online. n

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