Zimbabwe’s COVID- 19 vaccination roll-out: Urgent need to rethink strategies to improve the supply chain

No abstract

When culture, traditions and public health clash : a paradigm shift urgently needed to stem the spread of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe

No abstract available.http://www.samj.org.zadm2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

The COVID-19 pandemic : public health responses in sub-Saharan Africa

The World Health Organisation declared the ongoing COVID-19 global health challenge a pandemic in March 2020. Since then, countries across the globe have implemented different public health control strategies—including global vaccination programs—in attempts to mitigate the further transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. However, to date, the virus has continued to spread rapidly despite these interventions. Countries across sub-Saharan Africa have implemented variable control strategies to combat the pandemic; however, despite the continent being among the least affected in terms of direct case burden, morbidity, and mortality, it has experienced marked socioeconomic disruption. Therefore, economic resuscitation is an urgent priority. The continent is vastly underrepresented in the body of scientific evidence due to limited research resources, testing capacity and genomic surveillance leading to empirical responses or responses guided by evidence from elsewhere. To inform the ongoing pandemic, and to prepare for the future, this Special Issue calls for manuscripts on global COVID-19 responses, and encourages researchers and stakeholders from resource-limited settings, particularly from sub-Saharan Africa, to share their COVID-19 public health responses. Areas to be covered include, but are not limited to, surveillance, case management, infection prevention and control, risk communication and community engagement, logistics, laboratory, ports of entry, and co-ordination. Manuscripts including primary research, viewpoints/perspectives, and comprehensive literature reviews are all welcome.http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerpham2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Zimbabwe’s COVID19 vaccination roll-out : urgent need to rethink strategies to improve the supply chain

No abstract available.http://www.samj.org.zaSchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Covid-19 prevalence among healthcare workers. A systematic review and meta-analysis

Understanding the burden of SARS-CoV-2 infections among healthcare workers is a critical component to inform occupational health policy and strategy. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to map and analayse the available global evidence on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections among healthcare workers. The random-effects adjusted pooled prevalence of COVID-19 among those studies that conducted the test using the antibody (Ab) method was 7% [95% CI: 3 to 17%]. The random-effects adjusted pooled prevalence of COVID-19 among those studies that conducted the test using the PCR method was 11% [95% CI: 7 to 16%]. We found the burden of COVID-19 among healthcare workers to be quite significant and therefore a cause for global health concern. Furthermore, COVID-19 infections among healthcare workers affect service delivery through workers’ sick leave, the isolation of confirmed cases and quarantine of contacts, all of which place significant strain on an already shrunken health workforc

COVID‑19 Lockdowns: Impact on facility‑based HIV testing and the case for the scaling up of home‑based testing services in Sub‑Saharan Africa

In December 2019, China reported the emergence of a pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan [1]. By 7 January 2020, the etiology of the pneumonia was attributed to a virus of the coronavirus family, and later on the disease was named coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on 11 February 2020 by the WHO [2, 3]. The symptoms of COVID-19 appear after an average incubation period of 5.2 days [1]

Different SARS-CoV-2 variants, same prevention strategies

No abstract available.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/public-health-in-practicehj2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Fighting COVID-19 pandemic fatigue and complacency in Zimbabwe

As COVID-19 continues to threaten local and global health, there are increased reports that the protracted COVID-19 pandemic is causing pandemic fatigue throughout the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines pandemic fatigue as demotivation and exhaustion to follow recommended infection prevention and control (IPC) measures and decreased efforts to seek COVID-19-related information. While this is an expected natural response to a prolonged public health crisis, the pandemic fatigue and resultant complacency have the potential to undermine the efforts to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This is particularly the case as new and more transmissible variants, such as the Delta and Omicron, continue to emerge. Complacency is described as a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger. Within the context of COVID-19, new SARS-CoV-2 infections continue to affect the populations globally, but the desire to follow protective guidelines seems to be waning. The WHO has warned that pandemic complacency can be as dangerous as the virus itself. In this correspondence, we give our perspectives on the potential drivers of pandemic fatigue and complacency in Zimbabwe. We also provide suggestions to effectively deal with both to minimize widespread com- munity transmission and the resultant impact on the public health sector in Zimbabwe.https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/public-health-in-practic