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Tag: 2019

  • Online training as a weapon to fight the new coronavirus

    More than 25 000 people across the globe have accessed real-time knowledge from WHO experts on how to detect, prevent, respond to and control the new coronavirus in the 10 days since the launch of an open online training.

    The learning team of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme worked with technical experts to quickly develop and publish the online course on 26 January – 4 days before the 2019-nCoV outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern.

    Approximately 3000 new users have registered for the training every day since its launch, demonstrating the high level of interest in the virus among health professionals and the general public. In addition, more than 200 000 people have viewed the introductory video to the course on YouTube.

    The high engagement levels emerged as the international community launched a US$675 million preparedness and response plan to fight further spread of the new coronavirus and protect states with weaker health systems.

    The free learning resource is available to anyone interested in novel coronavirus on WHO’s open learning platform for emergencies, OpenWHO.org. The platform was established 3 years ago with emergencies such as nCoV in mind, in which WHO would need to reach millions of people across the globe with real-time, accessible learning materials.

    The online training – entitled “Emerging respiratory viruses, including nCoV: methods for detection, prevention, response and control” – is currently being produced in all official UN languages and Portuguese.

    “Our job is to work with technical health experts to package knowledge using adult learning principles, quickly so that it is most useful to health workers and our staff,” said Heini Utunen, who manages OpenWHO for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE). “Our online platform – OpenWHO – is already accessed by users from every country on earth, providing more than 60 courses in 21 languages. Delivering trainings in the local language of responders is really important, especially in an emergency”.    

    WHE has been investing in learning and training to strengthen preparedness and real-time response to health emergencies. The programme developed its first-ever learning strategy in 2018 and has a small dedicated Learning and Capacity Development Unit that allows WHE to develop trainings quickly and get know-how to those who most need it at the front line.  

    For the latest information on the new coronavirus, visit the 2019-nCoV page.

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    https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/07-02-2020-online-training-as-a-weapon-to-fight-the-new-coronavirus

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  • WHO to accelerate research and innovation for new coronavirus

    WHO to accelerate research and innovation for new coronavirus

    WHO is convening a global research and innovation forum to mobilize international action in response to the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). 
    “Harnessing the power of science is critical for bringing this outbreak under control,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There are questions we need answers to, and tools we need developed as quickly as possible. WHO is playing an important coordinating role by bringing the scientific community together to identify research priorities and accelerate progress.”
    The forum, to be held 11-12 February in Geneva, is organized in collaboration with the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness.
    The forum will bring together key players including leading scientists as well as public health agencies, ministries of health and research funders pursuing 2019-nCoV critical animal health and public health research and the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, among other innovations. 
    Participants will discuss several areas of research, including identifying the source of the virus as well as sharing of biological samples and genetic sequences.
     
    Experts will build on existing SARS and MERS coronavirus research and identify knowledge gaps and research priorities in order to accelerate scientific information and medical products most needed to minimize the impact of the 2019-nCoV outbreak.  
    The meeting is expected to produce a global research agenda for the new coronavirus, setting priorities and frameworks that can guide which projects are undertaken first. “Understanding the disease, its reservoirs, transmission and clinical severity and then developing effective counter-measures is critical for the control of the outbreak, to reduce deaths and minimize the economic impact,” said Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist.
    This will also fast-track the development and evaluation of effective diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines, while establishing mechanisms for affordable access to vulnerable populations and facilitating community engagement.
    “The WHO R&D Blueprint is a global strategy and preparedness platform that drives coordinated development of drugs and vaccines before epidemics, and allows the rapid activation of R&D activities during epidemics. It speeds up the availability of the diagnostics, vaccines and treatments and technologies that ultimately save lives,” added Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme.  
    Setting clear global research priorities for the novel coronavirus should lead to more efficient investments, high-quality research and synergies among global researchers.

    WHO to accelerate research and innovation for new coronavirus
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    https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/06-02-2020-who-to-accelerate-research-and-innovation-for-new-coronavirus

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  • US$675 million needed for new coronavirus preparedness and response global plan

    US$675 million needed for new coronavirus preparedness and response global plan

    To fight further spread of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China and globally, and protect states with weaker health systems, the international community has launched a US$675 million preparedness and response plan covering the months of February through to April 2020.

    “My biggest worry is that there are countries today who do not have the systems in place to detect people who have contracted with the virus, even if it were to emerge,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Urgent support is needed to bolster weak health systems to detect, diagnose and care for people with the virus, to prevent further human to human transmission and protect health workers.”

    The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) for the new coronavirus lays out activities and resources needed by international health organizations globally, including WHO, to implement priority public health measures in support of countries to prepare and respond to nCoV-2019 for a period February-April 2020. The objectives of the plan are to  limit human-to-human transmission of the virus, particularly in countries most vulnerable if they were to face an outbreak; identify, isolate and care for patients early; communicate critical risk and event information; minimize social and economic impact; reduce virus spread from animal sources; and address crucial unknowns.

    The plan focuses on:

    • Rapidly establishing international coordination and operational support;
    • Scaling up country readiness and response operations;
    • Accelerating priority research and innovation.

    “The effectiveness of outbreak response depends on the preparedness measures put in place before outbreaks strike,” said Dr Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. “That is why we are seeking resources to safeguard the most vulnerable countries to protect people from the new coronavirus before it arrives on the doorstep.”

    As noted in the SPRP, WHO assesses that the outbreak poses a very high risk in China, and high risk regionally and globally. The risk assessment was based on factors including the likelihood of further spread, the potential impact on human health, and the varying levels of effectiveness in national preparedness and response measures. Accelerated action, as called for in the plan, can address these risks and areas requiring support.

    As of 10 a.m. Central European Time on 5 February, 25 countries have reported confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, including China, where 24,363 people had contracted the virus, or over 99% of all cases. In all other countries, 191 cases have contracted the virus.

    US$675 million needed for new coronavirus preparedness and response global plan
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    https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/05-02-2020-us-675-million-needed-for-new-coronavirus-preparedness-and-response-global-plan

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  • French carmaker PSA defies sales slowdown with record profits

    French carmaker PSA defies sales slowdown with record profits

    French car giant PSA Peugeot-Citroen, currently in the process of merging with rival Fiat Chrysler, said Wednesday it shook off a drop in sales to notch up record profits in 2019.

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  • How to Protect Your Business From a Cyber Attack

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    What is your chief worry when it comes to business?

    Ask any business owner and it is VERY likely that you will get the same response: cyber attacks!

    Cyber attacks consistently remain the primary concern of most company owners.

    And there is good reason for that.

    Contemporary research concluded that in 2018 there were triple the amount of medical industry computer data breaches in the medical industry than the previous year, with more than 15 million medical records exposed!

    An independent 2019 inquiry led researchers to these findings: there were 1,200-plus data breaches leaving 440 million personal data exposed!

    But of all the studies, this conclusion resonates loudest among the average business owner. Fifty-eight percent of the total amount of 2018 cyber attacks were aimed at small business corporations. Swallow that statistic along with another one: data breach recovery expenses averaged about $385,000. all Perhaps most noteworthy is the same year’s Data Breach Investigations Report conducted by Verizon: 58 percent of all cyber attacks were directed towards small business, with recovery costs at an average of close to $385,000.

    What can a company – large, small or medium-sized – do to shield itself from becoming the target of a cyber attack? Aside from technical and learned safety tactics, a related insurance policy can be the catalyst of assistance to climb out of the mess created by hackers – with the coverage paying for associated losses.

    Here are just a couple of associated claims examples that prove the point.

    Two Data Breach Insurance Claim Scenarios

    Ransomware Coverage

    An employee working in one of the departments of a global agency accidentally opened an email that exposed the business computer system to a virus, possibly impacting up to six hundred and sixty servers all around the world.

    The agency chartered a global IT forensics enterprise to deal with the misfortune. This included getting the ransom amount that the hacker demanded, negotiating with the criminals and completing a forensic investigation.

    After the IT forensics team got the hackers to go down from the first ransom demand of $540,0000 to $450,000, insurance coverage stepped in, paying the ransom, allowing the decrypting to move forward.

    Negligence Coverage:

    A patient was livid when she discovered a nurse employed at the doctor’s practice where she had been treated exposed her medical records. She accused the nurse of passing on her private medical records as well as her personal data to other people. Adding insult to injury, said the patient, was that the nurse altered the records to include false information meant to humiliate her.

    The doctor’s office issued a statement that there is a standing policy of not allowing access and disclosure of patient information. Nonetheless, the nurse had crossed the lines of professional creed set down by the medical practice.

    The matter was resolved by a 5 digit out-of-court settlement which the insurance company covered.

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    Source by M Wyzanski

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  • Health Insurance: The Race Against the Clock

    Health Insurance: The Race Against the Clock

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    There is still time for Congress to pick up the pieces of changing the healthcare system to help stabilize it. The fate of the Affordable Care Act is yet to be determined. In the meantime, people wait while paying extremely high premiums and have mountains of out-of-pocket bills on the kitchen table. Where is the affordability of the Affordable Care Act?

    Tick ​​Tock for the insurance companies as well. They are under a timeline for filing dates this summer. Insurance companies have time to decide if they will still offer ACA plans or not. By withdrawing ACA plans, things will start moving back to before the law was signed. This time capsule can be good for many.

    The insurance companies may begin screening for health conditions. Do not panic just yet! Years ago, the only problem with pre-existing conditions was not 'if' an insurance company would take you, but which one. Each insurance companies had personalities for health conditions. Just because a big name insurance company turned someone down, that did not mean you could not get health insurance from another company. Insurance brokers just had to match the personality with the insurance company. It is as simple as that.

    If nothing happens by late March, we could be moving into more increases on the health plans in 2019. This is terrible news for folks on the brink of losing their health insurance due to cost. Not everyone does well enough to pay for their health insurance with no problem, and much more do not qualify for any government subsidies for the premiums.

    Governors in Alaska, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Nevada came up with "A Bipartisan Blueprint for Improving Our Nation's Health System Performance." It brings together a high-level overview of what some changes should occur. It does not get specific enough to make a difference. Maybe it is too soon at this point. However, policyholders need some answers, and hard proof something will change that will benefit them.

    Collective action by 20 US States recently sued the federal government claiming the law was no longer constitutional after the repeal of individual mandate starting in 2019. Individuals and families not having ACA compliant coverage will no longer be fined a tax penalty in 2019. The Individual Mandate was the very rule that was determined by the Supreme Court in 2012 saying it was constitutional as a tax penalty.

    The future of the law and health plans are yet to be determined. Since 2014, it seems that most policies are changing every year. Every year the premiums go up, and the policies cover less. At what point is the breaking point? With this race against the clock, we will have to wait until the clock stops to know if we have real change coming.

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    Source by Butch Zemar

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