@article{1f4fecbe957b43c6832a35fa4eb67143,
title = "Integrated control of COVID-19 in resource-poor countries",
abstract = "Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face many challenges in controlling COVID-19. Healthcare resources are limited and so are ICU beds. RT-PCR testing is conducted on a limited scale and treatment options are few. There is no vaccine. Therefore, what low-cost solutions remain for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of SARS-CoV-2? How should these essential health services be delivered in order to reach the most vulnerable in our societies? In this editorial we discuss several important strategies for controlling COVID-19 including: vaccination, molecular and serological diagnostics, hygiene and WaSH interventions, and low-cost therapeutics. We also discuss the delivery of such services in order to reach the most in need. The proposed integrated control strategy requires immediate action and political will in order to reduce the widening health inequalities caused by the pandemic.",
keywords = "control, diagnostics, hygiene, SARS-CoV-2, therapeutics, vaccination",
author = "Aziz, {Asma B.} and Rubhana Raqib and Khan, {Wasif A.} and Mahbubur Rahman and Rashidul Haque and Munir Alam and K. Zaman and Ross, {Allen G.}",
note = "Funding Information: There are still questions on whether these vaccines will be available for LMICs or if vaccine production facilities will be adequate to assure a reliable supply within a suitable timeline frame to meet global demand. More specifically, there must be a transparent global allocation system to prioritize access to the vaccines at low cost for frontline healthcare workers and to people living in poorer countries with a higher risk of severe illness and death. As COVID-19 is highly contagious (R0 2.5), we will need to vaccinate approximately 80% of the population with a vaccine with 80% proven efficacy. To ensure equity of access and international deployment we must support global randomized controlled trials of several leading vaccine candidates through the {\textquoteleft}The WHO Solidarity Vaccines Trials{\textquoteright} ( Krause et al., 2020 ). To provide the vaccines free of cost to resource-poor nations, we will need a global fund supported by the World Bank, the Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the G8 nations ( Moon et al., 2011 ). Even if successful, it is unlikely that vaccination will be a standalone strategy for controlling SARS-CoV-2 ( Ross et al., 2020 ). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Author(s)",
year = "2020",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1016/j.ijid.2020.09.009",
language = "English",
volume = "101",
pages = "98--101",
journal = "International Journal of Infectious Diseases",
issn = "1201-9712",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}
