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Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Considerations for Congress [Updated November 20, 2018]
From the Document: "The Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950 (P.L. 81-774, 50 U.S.C. §§4501 et seq.), as amended, confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in the interest of national defense. The authorities can be used across the federal government to shape the domestic industrial base so that, when called upon, it is capable of providing essential materials and goods needed for the national defense. Though initially passed in response to the Korean War, the DPA is historically based on the War Powers Acts of World War II. Gradually, Congress has expanded the term national defense, as defined in the DPA. Based on this definition, the scope of DPA authorities now extends beyond shaping U.S. military preparedness and capabilities, as the authorities may also be used to enhance and support domestic preparedness, response, and recovery from natural hazards, terrorist attacks, and other national emergencies."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Brown, Jared T.; Schwartz, Moshe
2018-11-20
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MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, January 25, 2021: Implementation and Evolution of Mitigation Measures, Testing, and Contact Tracing in the National Football League, August 9-November 21, 2020
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This early release issue of MMWR contains the following article: "Implementation and Evolution of Mitigation Measures, Testing, and Contact Tracing in the National Football League, August 9-November 21, 2020." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2021.html].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2021-01-25
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During the Pandemic, Policymakers Should Maintain Forbearance but Fix Its Costs
From the Document: "The pandemic has heightened the risk of delinquency and resulted in a tighter mortgage credit box. These nationwide outcomes make the Great Recession a natural analogy to the current crisis, but an assessment of the economic fundamentals of mortgage delinquency, unemployment, and house prices suggests that this crisis may more closely reflect a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina. Compared with trends during the Great Recession, mortgage loans in the New Orleans metropolitan statistical area (MSA) post-Katrina were more likely to become 90 or more days delinquent but were also more likely to avoid foreclosure and return to being current. This partly reflects a quick recovery in the unemployment rate and continued house price growth, but policy tools to prevent foreclosure undoubtedly played a role as well. Today, forbearance policy has helped delinquent borrowers remain in their homes. But it has tightened the credit box as well, which will have severe and long-term consequences. It will keep some homeowners from being able to refinance their mortgages to reduce their monthly payments, shorten their loan's period, or tap home equity to better weather this crisis. In addition, some renters who would be homebuyers will be locked out of homeownership. Black and Hispanic households will disproportionately feel the impact of a tighter mortgage credit box, potentially halting their progress toward economic security and widening the persistent racial homeownership gap."
Urban Institute
Neal, Michael; Zhu, Linna; Schwartz, Faith
2020-09
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Impact of COVID-19 on Either Shore of the Mediterranean
From the Introduction: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has wreaked havoc on almost every nation of the world, creating new challenges and exacerbating preexisting ones. Attention has been focused on the health sector, as it was the first impacted by the pandemic. However, various actors rapidly utilized the effects of the health crisis for political purposes. At the same time, the pandemic has become a decisive factor in many countries' economic, political, and social development. This necessitates deeper analysis to understand the pandemic's long-term impact in the various regions of the world. The states of North Africa and the broader Mediterranean region are no exception; in each one, the crisis has become a central factor around which old and new forces have converged. Understanding the interplay between these states' responses to the pandemic and their struggles to manage conflicts, economic problems, migration, and protest movements is vital for the public and policymakers alike. The purpose of this issue brief is to assess systemic changes in the Mediterranean region--redistribution of power, economic relations, and migratory flows--as a consequence of the impact of COVID-19. Currently, the Mediterranean region's power system highlights the predominance of the north shore, but some have posited that the spread of COVID-19 could lead to a redistribution of power projection. Others have pointed to the effects on broader geopolitical power struggles in the region."
Atlantic Council of the United States
Mezran, Karim K.; Burchfield, Emily; Alli, Paolo . . .
2020-09
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WHO SAGE Values Framework for the Allocation and Prioritization of COVID-19 Vaccination
From the Executive Summary: "This Values Framework offers guidance globally on the allocation of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccines between countries, and to offer guidance nationally on the prioritization of groups for vaccination within countries while supply is limited. The Framework is intended to be helpful to policy makers and expert advisors at the global, regional and national level as they make allocation and prioritization decisions about COVID-19 vaccines. This document has been endorsed by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE). The Framework articulates the overall goal of COVID-19 vaccine deployment, provides six core principles that should guide distribution and twelve objectives that further specify the six principles. To provide recommendations for allocating vaccines between countries and prioritizing groups for vaccination within each country, the Values Framework needs to be complemented with information about specific characteristics of available vaccine or vaccines, the benefit-risk assessment for different population groups, the amount and pace of vaccine supply, and the current state of the epidemiology, clinical management, and economic and social impact of the pandemic. Hence, the final vaccination strategy will be defined by the characteristics of vaccine products as they become available."
World Health Organization
2020-09-14
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COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa: Impact, Responses, and Lessons from Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda
From the Document: "The outbreak of the novel coronavirus [2019] (COVID-19) has caused widespread disruption of lives the world over. In response, governments have elevated the pandemic to the level of national security and instituted measures to mitigate its spread and impact. In Africa, the spread of infections across the continent has pushed African governments to initiate extraordinary responses. These include mandatory quarantines, social distancing, border closures, travel restrictions, bans on social and religious gatherings, and curfews. While these measures have partially contributed to Africa's relatively low infection rate, they have adversely affected the socio-economic and political landscape of most states across the continent. According to the World Bank, as a result of the pandemic, economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 will decline from 2.4 percent, as initially projected, to between -2.1 percent and -5.1 percent. As a result, the region will likely experience its first recession in 25 years. Politically, preparations for scheduled elections in 2020 in several countries are under threat. Moreover, some African leaders are instrumentalizing COVID-19 to perpetuate their incumbency, including by shrinking the space for political participation and dissenting views. In light of the foregoing, this paper examines the impact of COVID-19 and response strategies in Africa with a specific focus on three countries--Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Rwanda."
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Frimpong, Osei Baffour; Minani Bihuzo Bin Kakuru, Rigobert, 1960-; Commodore, Richmond
2020-09
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Pandemic Forum: COVID-19's Impact on Geopolitical Risk and Global Resiliency [video]
In this video, the Wilson Center brings a panel together for a forum to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), lessons learned, and ways to be better prepared in the future. From the Video Description: "The global spread of COVID-19 exposed the vulnerability of industry and government to systemic shocks; consequently, risk management teams must build protections into their operations that anticipate and dampen the effect of future incidents. In this forum, we will learn from healthcare professionals, former national security leaders, and risk management executives about the wide reaching impacts of health on geopolitical risks and considerations for public and private resiliency. How have risk management procedures adapted as a result of the pandemic? In terms of public and private resiliency, what lessons have we learned so far and what challenges might COVID-19 offer in the future? What systemic weaknesses were exposed and are leaders better equipped to address these shocks moving forward? How can leaders from the public and private sectors collaborate in future scenarios and what policy solutions are necessary to make that happen?" The duration of this video is 1 hour, 50 minutes, and 34 seconds. An auto-generated transcript is available to read during video play.
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
2020-09-10
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Report 32: Age Groups That Sustain Resurging COVID-19 Epidemics in the United States
From the Summary: "Following initial declines, in mid 2020, a resurgence in transmission of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has occurred in the United States and parts of Europe. Despite the wide implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions, it is still not known how they are impacted by changing contact patterns, age and other demographics. As COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] disease control becomes more localised, understanding the age demographics driving transmission and how these impacts the loosening of interventions such as school reopening is crucial. Considering dynamics for the United States, we analyse aggregated, age-specific mobility trends from more than 10 million individuals and link these mechanistically to age-specific COVID-19 mortality data. In contrast to previous approaches, we link mobility to mortality via age specific contact patterns and use this rich relationship to reconstruct accurate transmission dynamics. Contrary to anecdotal evidence, we find little support for age-shifts in contact and transmission dynamics over time. [...] In areas with continued, community-wide transmission, our transmission model predicts that re-opening kindergartens and elementary schools could facilitate spread and lead to additional COVID-19 attributable deaths over a 90-day period. These findings indicate that targeting interventions to adults aged 20-49 are an important consideration in halting resurgent epidemics and preventing COVID-19-attributable deaths when kindergartens and elementary schools reopen."
Imperial College London
Monod, Mélodie; Blenkinsop, Alexandra; Xi, Xiaoyue . . .
2020-09-17
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Publishing Research at Pandemic Speed: Preprints and Peer Review [video]
In this video, four panelists from the Bloomberg COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Forum discuss preprints and peer reviewed research during a pandemic. Greg Kirk, Vice Dean for Research at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, introduces the forum topic and the panelists. He reports that during the first four months since the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed, about 16,000 scientific articles have been released, and the "uptake in access to COVID-19 articles is about 15 times higher than among non-COVID articles." The duration of this video is 1 hour, 14 minutes, 53 seconds.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2020-09-15
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Report 33: Modelling the Allocation and Impact of a COVID-19 Vaccine
From the Summary: "Several SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] vaccine candidates are now in late-stage trials, with efficacy and safety results expected by the end of 2020. Even under optimistic scenarios for manufacture and delivery, the doses available in 2021 are likely to be limited. Here we identify optimal vaccine allocation strategies within and between countries to maximise health (avert deaths) under constraints on dose supply. We extended an existing mathematical model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission across different country settings to model the public health impact of potential vaccines, using a range of target product profiles developed by the World Health Organization. We show that as supply increases, vaccines that reduce or block infection - and thus transmission - in addition to preventing disease have a greater impact than those that prevent disease alone, due to the indirect protection provided to high-risk groups."
Imperial College London
Hogan, Alexandra B.; Winskill, Peter; Watson, Oliver . . .
2020-09-25
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Emergency Global Supply Chain System (COVID-19), Catalogue as of 23.09.2020
From the Document: "The items in this catalogue represent an initial prioritized selection of items and are subject to constant review. Nothing in this catalogue should be construed as offer or guarantee for allocation of supplies. Item costs are estimates only."
World Health Organization
2020-09-23
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Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: Quidel Corporation, Sofia 2 Flu + SARS Antigen FIA
From the Document: "This Fact Sheet informs you of the significant known and potential risks and benefits of the emergency use of the Sofia 2 Flu + SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] Antigen FIA [fluorescent immunoassay]. The Sofia 2 Flu + SARS Antigen FIA is authorized for use with certain respiratory specimens collected from individuals suspected of respiratory viral infection consistent with COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] by their healthcare provider within the first five days of the onset of symptoms."
United States. Food and Drug Administration
2020-10-02
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Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: Shenzhen New Industries Biomedical Engineering Co., Ltd. (SNIBE), MAGLUMI 2019-nCoV IgM/IgG
From the Document: "This Fact Sheet informs you of the significant known and potential risks and benefits of the emergency use of the MAGLUMI 2019-nCoV [Novel Coronavirus] IgM/IgG [Immunoglobulin M/Immunoglobulin G]."
United States. Food and Drug Administration
2020-09-14
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Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: Vela Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Virokey SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Test v2.0
From the Document: "This Fact Sheet informs you of the significant known and potential risks and benefits of the emergency use of the ViroKey SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] RT-PCR [reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction] Test v2.0. The ViroKey SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Test v2.0 is authorized for use with respiratory specimens collected from individuals suspected of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] by their healthcare provider."
United States. Food and Drug Administration
2020-09-22
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Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), UCLA SwabSeq COVID-19 Diagnostic Platform
From the Document: "This Fact Sheet informs you of the significant known and potential risks and benefits of the emergency use of the UCLA [University of California, Los Angeles] SwabSeq COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Diagnostic Platform. The UCLA SwabSeq COVID19 Diagnostic Platform is authorized for use with upper respiratory specimens collected from individuals suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider."
United States. Food and Drug Administration
2020-10-06
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Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: Clear Labs, Inc., Clear Dx SARS-CoV-2 Test
From the Document: "This Fact Sheet informs you of the significant known and potential risks and benefits of the emergency use of the Clear Dx SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] Test. The Clear Dx SARS-CoV-2 Test is authorized for use with respiratory specimens collected from individuals suspected of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] by their healthcare provider."
United States. Food and Drug Administration
2020-09-23
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Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: Emergency Use of the COViage System During the COVID-19 Pandemic
From the Document: "This Fact Sheet informs you of the significant known and potential risks and benefits of the emergency use of the 'COViage' System (or 'COViage') for use by healthcare providers (HCP) in the hospital setting for adult patients (18 years of age or older who are admitted to the hospital) with confirmed COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] (based on a positive PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test result) for the computation of proprietary patient status indices referred to as Respiratory Decompensation Status and Hemodynamic Instability Status as an adjunct to patient monitoring during the COVID-19 outbreak. The COViage indices provide HCP with predictive screening information as a diagnostic aid to assist with the early identification of COVID-19 patients who are likely to be diagnosed with hemodynamic instability or respiratory decompensation, which are common complications associated with COVID-19."
United States. Food and Drug Administration
2020-09-24
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Executive Order 13991: Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing
From the Document: "It is the policy of my Administration to halt the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by relying on the best available data and science-based public health measures. Such measures include wearing masks when around others, physical distancing, and other related precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Put simply, masks and other public health measures reduce the spread of the disease, particularly when communities make widespread use of such measures, and thus save lives. Accordingly, to protect the Federal workforce and individuals interacting with the Federal workforce, and to ensure the continuity of Government services and activities, on-duty or on-site Federal employees, on-site Federal contractors, and other individuals in Federal buildings and on Federal lands should all wear masks, maintain physical distance, and adhere to other public health measures, as provided in CDC guidelines."
United States. Office of the Federal Register
Biden, Joseph R., Jr.
2021-01-20
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Executive Order 13987: Organizing and Mobilizing the United States Government to Provide a Unified and Effective Response to Combat COVID-19 and to Provide United States Leadership on Global Health and Security
From the Document: "The Federal Government must act swiftly and aggressively to combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To that end, this order creates the position of Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response and Counselor to the President and takes other steps to organize the White House and activities of the Federal Government to combat COVID-19 and prepare for future biological and pandemic threats."
United States. Office of the Federal Register
Biden, Joseph R., Jr.
2021-01-20
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) and COVID-19 [Updated January 14, 2021]
From the Summary: "The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not currently have a specific standard that protects health care or other workers from airborne or aerosol transmission of disease or diseases transmitted by airborne droplets. Some in Congress, and some groups representing health care, meat and poultry processing, and other workers, are calling on OSHA to promulgate an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect workers from exposure to SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2], the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) gives OSHA the ability to promulgate an ETS that would remain in effect for up to six months without going through the normal review and comment process of rulemaking. OSHA, however, has rarely used this authority in the past--not since the courts struck down its ETS on asbestos in 1983."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Szymendera, Scott
2021-01-14
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Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic: In Brief [Updated January 12, 2021]
From the Introduction: "The National Bureau of Economic Research declared the start of the current economic downturn in February 2020, marking the end of the longest period of expansion in U.S. history. This expansion followed the Great Recession (December 2007 to June 2009), a downturn widely considered to be the worst since the Great Depression (August 1929 to March 1933). The unemployment rate rose quickly in March 2020, and by April 2020 it had greatly surpassed its previous peaks observed during and just after the Great Recession. This spike in unemployment coincided with various mandated stay-at-home orders implemented in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and other pandemic-related factors affecting U.S. demand. Although unemployment rates have declined since April, the December rate (6.7%) remains almost twice as high as the rate observed during February (3.5%). This report discusses recent unemployment rate patterns at the national and state levels using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Falk, Gene; Carter, Jameson A.; Nicchitta, Isaac A. . . .
2021-01-12
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Funding for COVID-19 Vaccines: An Overview [Updated January 11, 2021]
From the Document: "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized for emergency use Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines sponsored by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. Several other COVID-19 vaccines are currently in clinical trials; additional vaccines may become available within months. Operation Warp Speed (OWS)--the COVID-19 medical countermeasure initiative led by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD)--has contracted with manufacturers to purchase hundreds of millions of doses (including Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna's vaccines) and related supplies. OWS is also planning and implementing a nationwide vaccine program. OWS has thus far been financed largely by emergency funding provided in the coronavirus supplemental appropriations acts. [...] This Insight provides overviews of supplemental appropriations for selected vaccine-related activities and available information on allocations and obligations. It does not address health care financing issues related to vaccine administration or regular appropriations."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Sekar, Kavya
2021-01-11
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COVID-19 and Direct Payments to Individuals: Comparison of the Second Round of 'Stimulus Checks' in P.L. 116-260 to the First Round in the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) [January 13, 2021]
From the Document: "At the end of 2020, lawmakers included a second round of direct payments in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260). The payments equal $600 per eligible individual ($1,200 for most married couples) plus an additional $600 per eligible child, phasing down for higher-income households. The first round of direct payments was enacted in the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act (P.L. 116-136) in March 2020. As with the first round of direct payments, the second round of payments are structured as a new one-time refundable credit against 2020 income taxes. Generally, these payments are being automatically issued by the Treasury based on 2019 tax data until January 15, 2021. Eligible households who do not automatically receive a second payment (or who receive less than they would based on their 2020 income and family size) are to generally be able to receive the payment (or receive an additional payment) as a refundable credit when they file their 2020 income tax return. These payments are not taxable and do not count as income or resources for a 12-month period in determining eligibility for, or the amount of assistance provided by, any federally funded public benefit program."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
2021-01-13
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CARES Act (P.L. 116-136): Provisions Designed to Help Banks and Credit Unions [Updated January 11, 2021]
From the Document: "The economic effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may cause numerous borrowers to miss loan repayments, potentially leading to distress at banks and credit unions. Because of the importance of those institutions to the economy, regulators have implemented 'safety and soundness' regulations, including lending, capital, and liquidity rules. Regulators also require the institutions to report financial information. As part of Congress's response to COVID-19, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136) includes four sections--4011, 4012, 4013, and 4014--that temporarily relax some of the regulations banks face. Section 4016 expands access to the Central Liquidity Facility (CLF), which is a liquidity facility for credit unions that is administered by at the National Credit Union Administration. This Insight examines those sections."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Perkins, David W.; Gnanarajah, Raj; Getter, Darryl E.
2021-01-11
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CARES Act Bank and Credit Union Relief: Expirations and Extensions Under P.L. 116-260 [January 11, 2021]
From the Document: "The economic effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may cause numerous borrowers to miss loan repayments, potentially leading to distress at banks and credit unions. As part of Congress's response, Division A of the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act (P.L. 116-136) included six sections--4008, 4011, 4012, 4013, 4014, and 4016--that either temporarily relaxed regulations facing banks and credit unions or provided regulators additional temporary authorities to support those institutions and their lending. [...] This Insight identifies which provisions were extended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260); which provisions expired; and the possible implications of those extensions and expirations. As enacted, the CARES Act provisions would have expired on the earlier of (1) the termination date of the COVID-19 national emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020, under the National Emergencies Act (P.L. 94-412) or (2) the end of 2020. P.L. 116-260, Division N, Sections 540 and 541, extended the expiration date of CARES Act Sections 4013, 4014, and 4016 until the earlier of the emergency termination date or the end of 2021. The act did not extend Sections 4008, 4011, and 4012, and they expired on December 31, 2020."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Perkins, David W.; Getter, Darryl E.; Gnanarajah, Raj
2021-01-11
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Larger Businesses and COVID-19: Financial Relief and Assistance Resources [Updated January 13, 2021]
From the Document: "This CRS [Congressional Research Service] Insight presents selected resources and CRS products on economic relief and assistance for medium and large businesses that were directly affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27, 2020, contains provisions to assist businesses. This Insight focuses on sources of assistance designated for medium and large businesses that do not qualify for Small Business Administration programs or other assistance programs for small businesses. [...] Note that this Insight may not include every instance of federal assistance to medium or large firms provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Jennings, Julie
2021-01-13
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COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance: Federal Bureau of Prisons Clinical Guidance
From the Purpose: "The purpose of this guidance is to provide direction on use of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine for all adults who meet the criteria established by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), with guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The goal of this guidance is to promote vaccine use as a means of controlling pandemic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] (the virus that causes COVID-19) and reducing morbidity and mortality from this infection."
Department of Justice. Federal Bureau of Prisons
2021-01-04
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COVID-19: A Risk Context
From the Editorial: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has shown the fragility of our global networks. A health crisis has shocked economies, policies, governance, trade, infrastructure. In short, it has changed today's society and may well leave a significant mark on the shaping of tomorrow's society. The clearest lesson from the pandemic has been the necessity to be prepared for disasters. This is pointed out in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015- 2030), which explicitly calls for work to prevent or mitigate the effects of 'small and large scale, frequent and infrequent, sudden and slow onset disasters, whether caused by natural or man-made hazards, as well as related environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks'. Several partners and communities are developing a variety of concepts that contribute significantly to building preparedness for this type of complex and interlinked threat. It is vital to understand the risks and vulnerabilities in everything that surrounds us. This is the objective of this newsletter: understanding better these risks means approaching them from different perspectives and different points of view, absorbing the information and reflecting on it. This will help to address effective preparedness from a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder perspective, as required by the complexity of the threats we face and we will face."
United Nations. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
2020?
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Technical Recommendations: Multiple-Hazards and Systemic Risk: Addressing Climate-Related Disasters in Times of COVID-19
From the Background: "As the Global Risk Assessment Report (GAR2019) has highlighted, the nature and scale of risk has changed. In our increasingly complex inter-connected world risk has become systemic, challenging governance mechanisms of established risk management institutions and single-hazard approaches. As an example of the above, the systemic nature of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] disaster and its unprecedented cascading effects has impacted all sectors and levels, in all countries of the Americas and the Caribbean region. The current effort on fighting COVID-19 cannot conceal the fact that climatic and geological hazards affect Latin-America and the Caribbean every year. At a time when countries of the region are actively responding to the pandemic, they also need to prepare for and implement actions to mitigate the potential impacts of other recurrent hazards. For instance, countries like Guatemala and El Salvador have been recently hit by tropical storm Amanda and, as the Caribbean region faces its annual hurricane season, countries are enhancing climate-hazard preparedness. Many countries are bracing for a two-tier crisis as they grapple with complicated logistics, limited resources and scant supplies. As we start to think in going back to a new normal, it is important that national governments and inter-governmental political and financial institutions consider the negative effects that the pandemic has on the vulnerability of populations and economic systems and their exposure to other latent and recurrent hazards."
United Nations. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction; United Nations Development Coordination Office. Latin America and the Caribbean
2020?
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Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers: GK Pharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing Operations, GK ACCU-RIGHT SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR KIT
From the Document: "This Fact Sheet informs you of the significant known and potential risks and benefits of the emergency use of the GK ACCU-RIGHT SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR KIT [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 real time/reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction kit]. The GK ACCU-RIGHT SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR KIT is authorized for use with upper respiratory specimens collected from individuals suspected of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] by their healthcare provider."
United States. Food and Drug Administration
2020-09-18
