NEWS
WHO calls for action to protect health workers from COVID-19
A Steering Committee led by the World Health Organization has issued an urgent call for concrete action to better protect health and care workers worldwide from COVID-19 and other health issues. The Frontline Health Workers Coalition; Global Health Workforce Network; Health Service Executive, Ireland; International Council of Nurses; International Pharmaceutical Federation; International Labour Organization; OECD; Public Services International and the World Medical Association are partnering with the WHO to raise their concerns that large numbers of health and care workers have died from COVID-19. They are also highlighting the fact that an increasing proportion of the workforce are suffering from burnout, stress, anxiety and fatigue.
In a joint statement, WHO and partners called on all Member State governments and stakeholders to strengthen the monitoring and reporting of COVID-19 infections, ill-health and deaths among health and care workers. They stated that this should also include disaggregation by age, gender and occupation as a standard procedure, to enable decision makers and scientists to identify and implement mitigation measures that will further reduce the risk of infections and ill-health. The partners further called upon leaders and policy makers to ensure equitable access to vaccines so that health and care workers are prioritised in the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations. Available data from 119 countries suggest that by September 2021, 2 in 5 health and care workers were fully vaccinated on average, with considerable difference across regions and economic groupings. Less than 1 in 10 have been fully vaccinated in the African region while 22
mostly high-income countries reported that above 80% of their health and care workers are fully vaccinated. These rates only account for data reported to WHO through the standard mechanisms. “We have a moral obligation to protect all health and care workers, ensure their rights and provide them with decent work in a safe and enabling practice environment. This must include access to vaccines,” said Jim Campbell, director of the WHO Health Workforce Department. “Beyond vaccines, economic recovery and all new investments in emergency preparedness and response must prioritise the education and employment of health and care workers, linking to the UN Secretary-General’s Global Accelerator for Jobs and Social Protection,” he added. A new WHO working paper estimates that between 80 000 to 180 000 health and care workers could have died from COVID-19 in the period between January 2020 to May 2021, converging to a medium scenario of 115 500 deaths. These estimates are derived from the 3.45 million COVID-19 related deaths reported
to WHO as at May 2021; a number by itself considered to be much lower than the real death toll (60% or more than what is reported to WHO). “The WHO working paper provides a stark number to stimulate greater action; we cannot afford to lose more health and care workers and our world will not recover from the pandemic without long-term, sustainable investments in the health workforce,” said Catherine Duggan, chief executive officer of the International Pharmaceutical Federation and one of several members of the World Health Professions Alliance allied with the Joint Statement.
WHO is leading efforts to develop a global health and care worker compact, which aims to provide Member States, stakeholders and institutions with comprehensive guidance on their existing obligations to protect health and care workers and safeguard their rights, free from gender, racial and all other forms of discrimination. The guidance will be presented to the 75th World Health Assembly in May 2022.
Biologics increase COVID-19 risk in psoriatic patients
Treatment with biologics increases the risk of COVID-19 infection in psoriatic patients but appears to protect them from ICU hospitalisation and death, the results from an Italian study revealed at the 29th EADV Congress (EADV Virtual).
The study compared 1193 adult psoriatic patients receiving biologics and small molecules under the care of the San Donato Hospital in Milan, Italy, compared with the population of the Lombardy Region, Italy from 21 February 2020 (first case of Coronavirus in Italy) to 9 April 2020.
Compared with the general population of Lombardy, patients receiving biologics were at higher risk of testing positive for COVID-19 (unadjusted OR 3.43 [95%CI 2.25-5.73], p<0.0001), being self-quarantined at home (OR 9.05 [95%CI 5.61-14.61], p<0.0001) and being hospitalised (unadjusted OR 3.59 [95%CI 1.49-8.63], p=0.0044). However, their risk of being admitted to ICU (unadjusted OR 3.41 [95%CI 0.21-54.55], p=0.3861) and of dying (unadjusted OR 0.41 [95%CI 0.03-6.59], p=0.5306) were not statistically significant.
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Dr. Giovanni Damiani, a dermatologist at University of Milan, IRCCS Instituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, said: “Despite the higher risk for COVID-19 displayed by obese, active smokers and COPD patients, there were almost no data about the risk for psoriasis patients treated with biologics. Although biologics, increased patients’ risk of being infected with COVID-19, since they suppress the immune system, we were pleasantly surprised to see that they did not increase their risk of severe disease and death.”
JANUARY 2022
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