Project Area: Prevent Epidemics

Expanding Quality-Assured COVID-19 Testing Capacity Across Africa

Our team worked with the African Society for Laboratory Medicine and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to strengthen COVID-19 testing capacity across the African continent. An external quality assurance scheme ensured the tests were of high quality.

New report on COVID-19 in Africa shows widespread willingness to get vaccinated, underscoring need for consistent supply and additional logistical support

The fourth and final PERC report indicates that people in African Union Member States are overwhelmingly willing to get vaccinated. The report considers why global vaccination efforts have been plagued by inequity, as well as the logistical challenges to vaccinating the African continent. It further outlines the continued importance of preventive measures—particularly individual measures such […]

Campaigning to increase public awareness of long COVID and vaccine uptake

The Voices of Long COVID campaign launched in order to increase public awareness of long COVID and increase vaccine uptake, particularly among people ages 18-29. The campaign shows the real-life stories of three young COVID long-haulers who have been battling debilitating post-COVID health problems over the past year.

​Latest PERC briefs illustrate the impact of COVID-19 in Africa

The Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 released results from its fourth survey on attitudes about public health and social measures as well as vaccination. The survey was fielded in 19 African Union Member States; read the country briefs here.

Removing barriers to vaccinating the world against COVID-19

The latest in-depth science review from our Prevent Epidemics team debunks the myth that the world is facing an imminent glut of vaccines and discusses barriers to global vaccination, including supply and equity. We have repeatedly squandered opportunities to better address supply shortages through technology transfer and the creation of additional production hubs.

Babies Are Dying of Syphilis. It’s 100% Preventable.

Syphilis is not an outlier. The United States goes through what former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden calls “a deadly cycle of panic and neglect” in which emergencies propel officials to scramble and throw money at a problem — whether that’s Ebola, Zika or COVID-19. Then, as fear ebbs, so does the attention and motivation to finish the task.

Syphilis is resurging in the U.S., a sign of public health’s funding crisis

Syphilis is not an outlier. The United States goes through what former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden calls “a deadly cycle of panic and neglect” in which emergencies propel officials to scramble and throw money at a problem — whether that’s Ebola, Zika or COVID-19. Then, as fear ebbs, so does the attention and motivation to finish the task.

COVID-19 Calculator Used in WHO Analysis

Our COVID-19 Prevalence Calculator was cited in the New York Times. The tool uses the number of reported COVID-19 cases and deaths to provide a rough estimate of COVID-19 spread in a given region, and was recently used by the World Health Organization to analyze COVID-19 case counts on the African continent.

PERC: COVID-19 Tiered PHSM Framework for Africa

The Partnership for Evidence-Based COVID-19 Response (PERC) released a new tiered framework for decision-makers in Africa that uses indicators of disease spread to determine the appropriate level of PHSMs, inform targeted interventions and empower the public to stay safe by keeping people informed about the risk of COVID-19 in their area.

The evidence for an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine for the immunocompromised

The latest in-depth science review from our Prevent Epidemics team considers the evidence on additional COVID-19 vaccines for people with certain immunocompromising conditions. An additional dose of mRNA vaccine has been shown to boost antibody responses in some of this population and may provide better protection from the virus.

The Delta Variant and Beyond: Learning to Live With Covid

As our President and CEO Dr Tom Frieden writes in the Wall Street Journal, Covid cases are up dramatically, but simple protective measures can still control the disease if we deploy them flexibly. In the long run, Covid may help us to recognize that many deadly and expensive health threats are optional. We can choose […]

The Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19 on the Public Health Workforce

The latest in-depth science review from our Prevent Epidemics team discusses the hidden toll the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the mental health of public health workers across the world. It also identifies strategies to prevent or reduce these harms—both on the public health workforce and on health care workers.

After 2020, pandemic preparedness budget cuts should be unthinkable

While the cost of COVID-19 in the United States could top $16 trillion before we’re able to get it under control, funding for the American Jobs Plan may be cut from $30 to $5 billion. In The Hill, we discuss the need for a $3.5 trillion infrastructure package that will prevent the next pandemic and […]

COVID-19 and schools amidst vaccines and variants

The latest in-depth science review from our Prevent Epidemics team makes the case for reopening K-12 schools for in-person learning provided they use a series of layered mitigation strategies to keep students and staff safe.

Long COVID Survey Report

Getting infected with Covid can have lasting harmful effects on your health. Our new research shows people are more likely to consider protecting themselves with vaccination the more they know about long COVID.