GNN monthly update: July' 22

 

Dear all,

 

This month ends with two great meetings where some of you were able to meet face-to-face and it is always a pleasure to see the NITAG community so vibrant.

3 main points from this monthly update:

1. a SAGE extraordinary meeting is being held on August 11th to discuss Valneva vaccine, second booster for covid-19 vaccines and updates to the interim recommendations for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The draft agenda ia available here
2. a GNN webinar will be organized on HPV vaccination on August 31^st
3. a great presentation compiling all the information you need to have on hand while revising your covid-19 vaccines recommendations has been updated and is available here.

 

I leave you to discover the rest!

 

COVID-19 vaccines

Additional doses:

• NACI issued Interim guidance on planning considerations for a fall 2022 COVID-19 vaccine booster program in Canada. NACI recommends
• Individuals who are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 should be offered a fall COVID-19 vaccine booster dose* regardless of the number of booster doses previously received
• All other individuals 12 to 64 years of age maybe offered a COVID-19 booster dose* in the fall of 2022, regardless of the number of booster doses they have previously received.
• COVID-19 booster doses may be offered at an interval of 6 months since a previous COVID-19 vaccine dose or SARS-CoV-2 infection. A shorter interval of at least 3 months may be warranted in the context of heightened epidemiologic risk, as well as operational considerations for the efficient deployment of vaccine programs.

ATAGI updated their recommendations for a winter dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The updated recommendations are:

• Adults aged 50 to 64 years are now recommended to receive a winter booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Adults aged 30 to 49 years can receive a winter booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, however the benefit for people in this age group is less certain.
• The interval recommended between a recent SARS-CoV-2 infection or the first booster dose and a winter booster dose is now 3 months.

JCVI also updated their statement on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for autumn 2022. Under the advice, those eligible for a further dose will be:

• all adults aged 50 years and over
• those aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group, including pregnant women
• those aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
• those aged 16 to 49 years who are carers
• residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
• frontline health and social care workers

The NITAG in Belgium published their advisory report on COVID-19 vaccination for Autumn / Winter season 2022 � 2023 in Belgium. It recommends that all risk groups as defined in the report be vaccinated with an additional booster by the end of September 2022 at the latest. The French NITAG has already recommended an additional booster for people aged 60 and over and now recommends extending it to adults under 60 with comorbidities and to pregnant women from the first trimester of pregnancy, who are at risk of developing severe forms of Covid-19. It also recommends a cocooning strategy for people living in the neighborhood or in regular contact with immunocompromised or vulnerable people, who can receive an additional booster dose if they wish. Finally, immunocompromised people regardless of their age, as well as children and adolescents at high risk, and suffering from pathologies justifying it, are eligible for an additional booster dose. El Salvador NITAG recommends a 4th dose only health personnel, people over 50 years of age and adults from 18 years of age with immunosuppressive diseases.

 

Pediatric vaccination:

• ACIP issued interim recommendations for the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months - 5 years and for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months - 4 years in the United States for prevention of COVID-19. The recommendations are accompanied by the GRADE tables for Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
• NACI issued recommendations on the use of Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine in children 6 months to 5 years of age. NACI recommends that:
• A primary series of two doses of Moderna Spikevax (25 mcg) COVID-19 vaccine may be offered to children 6 months to 5 years of age who do not have contraindications to the vaccine, with a dosing interval of at least 8 weeks between the first and second dose. (Discretionary NACI recommendation)
• A primary series of three doses of Moderna Spikevax (25 mcg) COVID-19 vaccine may be offered to children 6 months to 5 years of age who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, with an interval of 4 to 8 weeks between each dose. (Discretionary NACI recommendation)
• At this time, Moderna Spikevax (25 mcg) COVID-19 vaccine should not routinely be given concurrently (i.e., same day) with other vaccines. (Strong NACI recommendation)

• CoNaIn (Argentina) recommends COVID-19 vaccination of infants 6 months to 3 years once the vaccine is authorized by the National Administration of Drugs, Foods and Medical Devices. CoNaIn also recommends a heterologous booster for children 3 and 4 years. The meeting minutes and the secretariat presentation are available.

• The Peru NITAG recommends starting the Vaccination in children older than 6 months to 5 years with the Modern vaccine with a 2 dose schedule.

 

Rotavirus:

• the French NITAG recommends the vaccination against rotavirus for all infants aged 6 weeks to 6 months, using a two-dose (at 2 and 3 months of life) vaccination schedule for the monovalent vaccine (Rotarix) and three doses (at 2, 3 and 4 months of life) for the pentavalent vaccine (RotaTeq) and the strict compliance with this vaccination schedule in order to ensure the completeness of the vaccination schedule before the age limit (6 months for Rotarix and 8 months for RotaTeq). More here.

 

WHO resources:

• Update of the WHO slide deck summarizing COVID-19 policy recommendations and other considerations for choosing Covid-19 vaccine products, available here.
• WHO and UNICEF national estimates of immunization coverage (WUENIC) data up to 2021 was released on Friday 15 July. New data shows that global vaccination coverage continued to decline in 2021, with 25 million infants missing out on lifesaving vaccines. This is 2 million more than those who missed out in 2020 and 6 million more than in 2019, highlighting the growing number of children at risk from devastating but preventable diseases. Read more here.
• Update of Global Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy was launched at the WHO Member States Information Session and published on Friday July 22^nd : https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/global-covid-19-vaccination-strategy-in-a-changing-world--july-2022-update

 

Webinars:

• On 17 August 2022 from 13:30 - 15:30 CEST, WHO will host a webinar focused on:  Understanding of Post COVID-19 Condition in Children. To register, see attached or click here.

The webinar will address the following topics:

1. Overview of current WHO activities related to post COVID-19 condition along with a testimonial from a caregiver.
2. Recognition of post COVID-19 condition in children.
3. Rehabilitation and models of care in post COVID-19 condition in children.
4. Data from research cohorts and core outcomes set for post COVID-19 condition in children and young persons. 

• On August 31^st, the GNN is holding a webinar on HPV vaccination at 2.pm CEST. Let me know if you are interested and have not yet receive the invitation.

Enjoy the summer,

Louise