Preparing Pandemic Vaccine Capacity

Among the challenges of a pandemic is the need to scale up to billions of doses, at a larger scale than typically needed for vaccines, from raw materials all the way through to the materials for the containers for fill/finish. Having adequate raw materials, building and staffing the facilities, and tech transfer are all keys to success. [...]we can plug into existing infrastructure, including services (gas, water, waste, etc.) as well as analytics and quality labs." Emergent BioSolutions says that its flexible CDMO capacity deployment model can respond quickly to demand fluctuations. The company's facilities in France, Switzerland, and the US are working on the project;at CordenPharma Colorado, unique high-pressure chromatography systems usually used for manufacturing peptides have been reallocated for purifying lipids.

Connecting the Dots for Pharma

A major driver for innovation within the bio/pharma sector has been the COVID-19 pandemic, which propelled advances such as the approval of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines at record-breaking speeds and led to many companies pivoting to deal with the urgent requirements for capacity and supply chain flexibility needed to overcome pandemic challenges. "Before deciding on a location, we conducted extensive market research, and it quickly became clear, just by the sheer proximity of so many biopharmaceutical companies, associations, and research centres, that the event had to be in Geneva. Organized as four half-days, they will each address a theme related to the four main areas of the supply chain present in the exhibition area: pharmaceutical packaging (primary and secondary), medical devices, pharmaceutical sub-contracting, and pharmaceutical equipment. The dream scenario, the real measure of success, is when a product comes to market that happened as a result of a meeting or discussion that took place at our event.

The challenge of 'COVID-19 free' Australia: international travel restrictions and stranded citizens

This paper uses Australia as a case study to analyse restrictions on international movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on inbound and outbound travel have been a key tool deployed by governments across the globe to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic. We use 'COVID zero' Australia as a case study to assess an extreme response to restricting international movement. We look at the recent complaint launched before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The action was raised with the support of a group of Australian citizens stranded abroad with the assistance of the expert in Australian constitutional law who is the second author of this paper. We argue that the measures implemented by Australian governments to effectively eliminate COVID-19 domestically have provided insufficient consideration of, and alternatives to, the current system's failure to facilitate essential international travel. For this reason, Australia's framework for restricting international movement lacks proportionality and necessity from the perspective of human rights and freedoms. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Human Rights is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Dynamic modelling of changes in emotional and behavioural problems in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aims: Children and adolescents were affected in various ways by the measures due to COVID-19 pandemic. The aims of this study were to investigate and compare the effects on mental health across age, to identify latent class trajectories of emotional and behavioural problems over 12-months and to examine the association of classes of trajectories with baseline demographic and clinical predictors. Method(s): Children (n = 1854) and adolescents (n = 1243) from the general population were assessed baseline, at 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up. They were eligible if they were residents in Austria, Germany, or Switzerland, were parents/caregivers of a child aged between 7 and 10 years or adolescents >=11 years, had sufficient German language skills and provided informed consent. Results and Conclusion(s): Significant age-effects were found regarding type and frequency of problems. While children had the largest increase in aggressive behaviours, adolescents reported the largest increase in emotional problems. Sociodemographic variables, exposure to and appraisal of COVID-19, psychotherapy before COVID-19 and parental mental health significantly predicted change in problemscores (F >= 3.69, p <= .001). Using growth mixture modelling, a oneclass solution was detected for the trajectory of aggressive behaviours and a two- and three-class solution for withdrawn/depression and anxiety/depression. A substantial proportion of children and adolescents experienced age-related mental health problems during the different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. These results suggest that psychological problems of specific sub-groups should be monitored over the longer-term and interventions to improve communication, emotion regulation, and appraisal style should be offered to risk groups.

Survey and 10-day diary data on infant nutrition, development, and home learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic from the LEARN-COVID pilot study

The LEARN-COVID pilot study collected data on infants and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessments took place between April and July 2021. Parents (N = 357) from Switzerland (predominantly), Germany, and Austria answered a baseline questionnaire on their behaviour related to the pandemic, social support, infant nutrition, and infant regulation. Subsequently, parents (n = 222) answered a 10- day evening diary on infant nutrition, infant regulation, parental mood, and parental soothing behaviour. Data and documentation are stored on Zenodo, https://doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.6946048. These data may be valuable to researchers interested in infant development and parenting during the pandemic as well as to researchers interested in daily variability in infant behaviour, parenting, and nutrition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Continued Innovation is Key for COVID-19 Recovery

According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), more than a quarter of a million businesses are due to close their doors for the final time in 2021 (1). A key reason behind Switzerland leading the way in the World Intellectual Property Organization's 2020 Global Innovation Index for 10 consecutive years (4) is due to its excellent innovation outcomes including patent applications, IP receipts, and high-tech manufacturing products. utilizing IP Put simply, the UK needs to take a leaf from Switzerland's book and focus on how we can turn the UK into an IP powerhouse. Solutions are available It is clear more needs to be done to educate businesses around the value of innovation, while demonstrating the availability of funding through schemes readily available, and already baked into the budget such as the R&D tax credit scheme and Patent Box.

Ethnographic Explorations of the Impacts of COVID-19 on Sociality and Spatiality in a Swiss Live Music Venue

The globally experienced suspension of cultural life brought about by the COVID-19 crisis has been duly acknowledged and discussed in a growing number of publications, reports and online seminars, most often in terms of the impact of COVID-19 on the music/culture industry. Despite the worsening pandemic situation in Switzerland and elsewhere during the autumn of 2020, I happened to be conducting field research in the city of St. Gallen (in north-eastern Switzerland) where the authorities opted for a "liberal” handling of the health crisis. As a result, the city's live music venue "Palace”, where I was doing my fieldwork observations, remained open to the public as late as mid-December 2020, albeit with shortened opening hours and with a dancing ban. This allowed me to gain first-hand fieldwork experience during the pandemic's significant constraints on social behaviour. The present article accordingly addresses the ethical dilemmas that I encountered when operating in this "grey zone” of field research, while also documenting the challenges and adjustments that the Palace venue had to undergo during pandemic times from the perspectives of producers, musicians and audiences alike. The article specifically focuses on understanding and analysing changes in the experience of the Palace's sociality and spatiality under social distancing rules. Ultimately, this work provides a different angle on the existing body of music-cultural research, which largely focuses on the cancellations and transformations of music events into virtual gatherings. © Equinox Publishing Ltd 2022.

Erratum: Psychological responses and strategies towards the COVID-19 pandemic among higher education students in Portugal and Switzerland: A mixed-methods study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.903946.].

Blurry Microgeographies of the New Normal: Grappling with COVID-19 Disruptions, Disgust and Despair in Switzerland

This paper investigates the adjustments to everyday life among ordinary Swiss residents from a variety of backgrounds after a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grounded in an appreciation of the quotidian, the paper explores how pandemic-related disruptions have destabilized the traditional boundaries between work and leisure, producing a blurry everyday life that combines labor with home time and, subsequently, results in confused and uncertain reactions to the challenges of prolonged lockdown. This has been exacerbated by a fragmented government response due to Swiss federalism, combined with a climate of poor communication from authorities. The paper highlights how respondents from all corners of this small but diverse country experience feelings of fatigue, frustration, and isolation that transcend linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic divides. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Mortality risk factors in community-dwelling, subjectively healthy, Swiss older adults: update after 8-years follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide population is ageing, but little is known regarding risk factors associated with increased mortality in subjectively healthy, community-dwelling older adults. We present the updated results of the longest follow-up carried out on Swiss pensioners and we provide results on potential risk factors associated with mortality before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Within the SENIORLAB study, we collected demographic data, anthropometric measures, medical history, and laboratory parameters of 1467 subjectively healthy, community-dwelling, Swiss adults aged ≥ 60 years over a median follow-up of 8.79 years. The variables considered in the multivariable Cox-proportional hazard model for mortality during follow-up were selected based on prior knowledge. Two separate models for males and females were calculated; moreover, we fitted the old model obtained in 2018 to the complete follow-up data to highlight differences and similarities. RESULTS: The population sample included 680 males and 787 females. Age of participants ranged between 60 and 99 years. We experienced 208 deaths throughout the entire follow-up period; no patients were lost at follow-up. The Cox-proportional hazard regression model included female gender, age, albumin levels, smoking status, hypertension, osteoporosis and history of cancer within predictors of mortality over the follow-up period. Consistent findings were obtained also after gender stratification. After fitting the old model, female gender, hypertension, and osteoporosis still showed statistically significant independent associations with all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the predictors of a healthy survival can improve the overall quality of life of the ageing population and simultaneously reduce their global economic burden. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The present study was registered in the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number registry: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN53778569 (registration date: 27/05/2015).

Governmental Measures in Switzerland Against Mass Bankruptcies During the Covid-19 Pandemic

This article examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on debt enforcement and insolvency law in Switzerland. Despite the absence of strict lockdown measures, many sectors of the Swiss economy suffered significant losses. The government responded by introducing generous public support schemes to keep businesses afloat. The article focuses on the modifications made to Swiss law during the pandemic to avoid mass bankruptcies and facilitate restructurings. The government first introduced a general stay of proceedings, preventing debt collection but not affecting the underlying obligation to pay, and later the Covid-19 Ordinance on Insolvency Law, which provided relief to companies, especially SMEs, to implement the necessary restructuring measures. Some unsuccessful initiatives, such as a special moratorium introduced for SMEs, are also discussed. Finally, the article considers the limited take-up of some of the insolvency measures and discusses the possible consequences of the obligation to repay Covid-19 loans in the future. Overall, it provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of the pandemic on debt enforcement and insolvency law in Switzerland and the measures taken to mitigate its effects.

"This Is Where We Have Scored”: Exploring the Interface between Project and Institutional Sustainability Facilitated by a Faith-Based Development Organisation in Sierra Leone

This paper explores the issue of project sustainability through an analysis of the experiences of a Faith-Based Development Organisation (FBDO) in Bo, Sierra Leone. The FBDO in question was approached by members of their local Catholic Women Association (CWA) to help them with the planning and management of a farm that had been donated to them by a chief. They agreed to this, and a series of workshops were held in June 2014, along with follow-up discussions with local experts and businesses as to what could be done to help support the women in their endeavour. Amongst other priorities, the women identified the need for the farm to produce food, income and help with their development. However, an outbreak of the Ebola virus that occurred between 2014 and 2016, following as it did on the back of an 11-year (1991–2002) civil war in Sierra Leone, led to a re-evaluation of the farm project in the eyes of the FBDO as they decided to shift to earlier priorities in education and health care. Given the constraints regarding resources and personnel, community projects, such as the CWA farm project, became of much lesser importance even though it resonated strongly with the goals of the FBDO and government, and had garnered much support amongst international donors. The paper sets out that story, beginning with the workshops and discussions held in 2014, and the ramifications of these responses to various ‘shocks', such as those presented by the civil war and disease outbreaks (Ebola and COVID-19);it also provides recommendations that might be of use regarding the interface between project and institutional sustainability within FBDOs and, indeed, the wider community of development organisations.

Civil society diplomacy: characterizing collective and connective actions for a shared cause

PurposeThis study proposes a description of the civil society diplomacy that emerged in the early solutions found to fight the COVID-19 crisis. The author analyses this concept as the intersection of the social movements of individuals and civil society organisations' and international health care. Its purpose is to determine the international structure of the connective actors aimed to find concrete solutions against COVID-19 and to characterize the communication visible on Twitter towards this civil society engagement.Design/methodology/approachBased on a data-driven approach, the author collected a large dataset of tweets from Switzerland between March and June 2020 and conducted a computational text analysis methodology.FindingsThe results showed who the participants were, provided a visualisation of the digital networking process between engaged and mentioned participants at national and international levels, and determined the emotions that emerged during three event phases.Originality/valueThe study reveals that features of connective social care actions and strategic collective communication can illustrate civil society diplomacy for a shared cause in times of health crisis.

DELINEATING FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ASYMPTOMATIC PRIMARY SARS-CoV-2 INFECTION

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to a broad range of clinical manifestations, from no symptoms to critical illness. Pre-stimulated innate defenses, rapid induction of SARS-CoV-2 responses and pre-existing crossreactive immunity to circulating human coronaviruses (HCoV) may early dampen SARS-CoV-2 infection, preventing symptomatic disease. Here we explore SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV antibody impact on asymptomatic infection in individuals first encountering SARS-CoV-2 in March 2020-March 2021 participating in a longitudinal pediatric cohort (n=2917) and a cross-sectional adult and children diagnostic cohort (n=882) in Switzerland. Method(s): Antibodies (Ab) to S1 of the four HCoV strains and SARS-CoV-2 antigens S1, RBD, S2 and N were determined in saliva (n=4993) and serum (n=7486) samples. Mucosal and systemic neutralization activity against wildtype SARS-CoV-2-Wuhan, and Alpha, Delta and Omicron (BA.2) variants of concerns (VoC) was assessed by pseudovirus neutralization in a subset of individuals. Result(s): Analysis of simultaneously sampled saliva and plasma revealed a strong correlation of mucosal and systemic SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike responses in recent infection. Notably, pre-existing high HCoV antibody response was significantly associated with higher systemic (IgG, IgA, and IgM, p< 0.001) and mucosal (IgG, p=0.03) SARS-CoV-2 responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Adjusting for age and sex, we found four saliva SARS-CoV-2 Ab parameters, namely total Ig S2, total Ig S1, IgA S2 and IgM S1 (p< 0.001, p< 0.001, p=0.02, p=0.01 respectively), inversely associated with salivary viral load highlighting the impact of mucosal Ab response on viral suppression. Saliva neutralization activity was modest but surprisingly broad, retaining same level activity against Wuhan, Alpha and Delta, but not Omicron BA.2, whereas plasma neutralization activity showed the typical decrease for all three VoCs compared to Wuhan. Most interestingly, asymptomatic individuals presented with higher IgG S2 antibody reactivity in saliva (p=0.03) and higher pre-existing HCoV-S1 IgG activity in plasma (HKU1, p=0.04) and saliva (total hCoV, p=0.02) suggesting immune factors that restrict disease severity. Conclusion(s): Focusing on a SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccine naive population, our study reveals interdependencies of systemic and mucosal SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV immunity following primary SARS-CoV-2 infection and locates reactivities linked with reduced viral load and asymptomatic infection.

Impacts of rising COVID-19 incidence and changed working conditions on forest visits in early 2020 of the pandemic: Evidence from Switzerland.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many nations to implement a certain degree of lockdown measures to contain the spread of the virus. It has been reported that recreational visits to forests and green spaces increased in response to the lockdown. In this study, we investigated the effect of the policy-induced changes in working conditions during the lockdown period, as well as the effect of COVID-19 infection rates, on forest visits throughout Switzerland early in the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from an online panel survey first conducted one week before the government imposed the lockdown in Switzerland and repeated two weeks after the lockdown began. We use a modeling approach to assess the impact of the home-office and short-time working situation on forest visitation frequency, as well as their effects on the length of visits to the forest. For those who visited the forest both before and during the lockdown, the frequency of forest visits increased during the early lockdown phase considered here, while the duration of visits decreased. According to our model, the opportunity to work from home was a significant driver of the increased frequency of forest visits by this visitor group, while COVID-19 infection rates had no effect on their forest visits.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Elective and Emergency Inpatient Procedure Volumes in Switzerland - A Retrospective Study Based on Insurance Claims Data.

BACKGROUND: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS­CoV­2) pandemic forced hospitals to redistribute resources for the treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), yet the impact on elective and emergency inpatient procedure volumes is unclear. METHODS: We analyzed anonymized data on 234 921 hospitalizations in 2017-2020 (55.9% elective) from a big Swiss health insurer. We used linear regression models to predict, based on pre-pandemic data, the expected weekly numbers of procedures in 2020 in the absence of a pandemic and compared these to the observed numbers in 2020. Compensation effects were investigated by discretely integrating the difference between the two numbers over time. RESULTS: During the first COVID-19 wave in spring 2020, elective procedure numbers decreased by 52.9% (95% confidence interval -64.5% to -42.5%), with cardiovascular and orthopedic elective procedure numbers specifically decreasing by 45.5% and 72.4%. Elective procedure numbers normalized during summer with some compensation of postponed procedures, leaving a deficit of -9.9% (-15.8% to -4.5%) for the whole year 2020. Emergency procedure numbers also decreased by 17.1% (-23.7% to -9.8%) during the first wave, but over the whole year 2020, net emergency procedure volumes were similar to control years. CONCLUSION: Inpatient procedure volumes in Switzerland decreased considerably in the beginning of the pandemic but recovered quickly after the first wave. Still, there was a net deficit in procedures at the end of the year. Health system leaders must work to ensure that adequate access to non-COVID-19 related care is maintained during future pandemic phases in order to prevent negative health consequences.

Interrupted Futures: Transformed Activist and Research Knowledge Practices in Times of 'Crisis'

Creating collective imaginaries of the future is a central practice in our respective fieldwork with the Fridays For Future movement in Mexico and urban activists in Switzerland. In light of the global pandemic, the knowledge practices that forge these imaginaries, such as concerted action in public space, were interrupted and now stand transformed, allowing us to find commonality between our otherwise distinct fields and our reimagined research trajectories. In this article, we examine how activist practices and ways of producing research knowledge have morphed during the SARS-CoV-2 crisis through the digitalization or hyperlocalization of activism in both contexts. We argue that the interrupted future imaginaries we have observed play a significant role in reshaping the knowledge repertoires (della Porta and Pavan 2017) of both activist and academic endeavours and create possibilities for changed forms of future-making. Through both synchronous and asynchronous collaborative writing practices facilitated by digital tools, we create a joint space in which to reflect, reframe and respond to each other's encounters within our research fields. With this collective exercise, we embrace the 'vulnerabilities, anxieties and uncertainties' (Checker, Davis and Schuller 2014) that are inherent in the entanglements of academia and activist work, so as to reimagine our study of future-oriented activism in times of crisis and beyond.