Rachel Wittenauer, MPH

PhD student in Health Policy & Economics @UW | vaccine policy 💉 infectious disease prevention 🦠 access to medicines 🚑 | she/her

[MSF Access @MSF_access]

We co-authored this article calling for better access to long-acting antiretroviral meds for #HIV treatment & prevention. Current drugs are under the firm control of pharma corporations & unavailable or cost-prohibitive for people in much of the world.

[Shailly Gupta @Shaillytweeting]

The relentless never ending patent evergreening attempt by @GileadSciences to extend monopoly on lifesaving HIV drug Tenofovir for additional 20 years beyond the existing patent term of 20 years. #AIDS2024 presented by Caroline, IP lawyer from Brazil.

[Olivier Salgado @olivier_salgado]

The magic of #Mali’s digital pharmaceutical registry https://t.co/cNgfA6LIVY

[MSF Access @MSF_access]

🧵1/7
.@WHO & govts have been working on a global #PandemicAccord to better prevent, prepare for & respond to (PPR) future pandemics collectively.

We call on them to ensure the pandemic accord addresses inequities in access to medical products by taking the following steps: 👇

[Rachel Wittenauer, MPH @rachelwitty37]

New HPV vaccine by @SerumInstIndia will be ~1/10th of the price of those sold by Merck and GSK 💸, making it more feasible to adopt nationally and reduce cases of cervical cancer 📉 (the 2nd-highest cause of cancer deaths among women in India)
https://t.co/Gwn6zaw0Ha

[MSF Access @MSF_access]

5 things to know about antimicrobial resistance (#AMR), during this #WorldAMRAwarenessWeek. Equitable access to treatments, tests & vaccines can help reduce AMR. #WAAW2023

https://t.co/eIny02niLV

[Rachel Wittenauer, MPH @rachelwitty37]

Access to medicines is a human right 💊 and public health professionals must continue to advocate for a ceasefire. The current trickle of aid is not sufficient to meet the vast and desperate needs of people in Gaza

[World Health Organization (WHO) @WHO]

Risk of disease spread soars in #Gaza as health facilities, water and sanitation systems disrupted

As deaths and injuries in Gaza continue to rise due to intensified hostilities, intense overcrowding and disrupted health, water, and sanitation systems pose an added danger: the rapid spread of infectious diseases. Some worrying trends are already emerging.

Lack of fuel has led to the shutting down of desalination plants, significantly increasing the risk of bacterial infections like diarrhea spreading as people consume contaminated water. Lack of fuel has also disrupted all solid waste collection, creating an environment conducive to the rapid and widespread proliferation of insects, rodents that can carry and transmit diseases.

The situation is particularly concerning for almost 1.5 million displaced people across Gaza, especially those living in severely overcrowded shelters with poor access to hygiene facilities and safe water, increasing risk of infectious diseases transmission. @UNRWA, WHO, and the Ministry of Health are scaling up a flexible disease surveillance system in many of these shelters and health facilities.  The current disease trends are very concerning.

Since mid-October 2023, over 33,551 cases of diarrhea have been reported. Over half of these are among children under age five—a significant increase compared to an average of 2000 cases monthly in children under five throughout 2021 and 2022. 8944 cases of scabies and lice, 1005 cases of chickenpox, 12635 cases of skin rash, and 54,866 cases of upper respiratory infections have also been reported.

Disrupted routine vaccination activities, as well as lack of medicines for treating communicable diseases, further increase the risk of accelerated disease spread. This is compounded by incomplete coverage of the disease surveillance system, including early disease detection and response capacities.  Limited internet connectivity and phone system functioning further constrain our ability to detect potential outbreaks early and respond effectively.

In health facilities, damaged water and sanitation systems and dwindling cleaning supplies have made it almost impossible to maintain basic infection prevention and control measures.  These developments substantially increase the risk of infections arising from trauma, surgery, wound care and childbirth.  Immunosuppressed individuals, such as patients with cancer, are especially at risk of complicating infections.  Insufficient personal protective equipment means that health care workers themselves can acquire and transmit infections while providing care to their patients.  The management of medical waste at hospitals has been severely disrupted, further increasing exposure to hazardous materials and infection.

WHO calls for urgent, accelerated access for humanitarian aid – including fuel, water, food, and medical supplies – into and throughout the Gaza Strip. All parties to the conflict must abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including health care.  

WHO calls for the unconditional release of all hostages and a humanitarian ceasefire to prevent further death and suffering.

[Rachel Wittenauer, MPH @rachelwitty37]

Pharmacy access is a vital part of keeping communities healthy ❤️‍🩹. Pharmacy chains have announced closures of hundreds more stores ➡️ evidence shows these closures will disproportionately affect Black, Latino, and low-income neighborhoods. Great read by @statnews @dimamqato !

[STAT @statnews]

Lack of access to a nearby pharmacy can have major health consequences by impeding people's ability to get vaccinations and keep up with prescriptions. https://t.co/TsjbRf5gxF

[Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative @DNDi]

We are concerned that the obligation for @WHO Member States to attach access conditions when they fund R&D has been removed from the initial draft of the #PandemicAccord. From our experience, this is a critical tool to operationalize equity. Our statement: https://t.co/SG73lNX82A

[Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen]

🚨My latest:

In the early 2000s, Brazil proved that all people could be treated for HIV, not just those in rich countries. But the power of Big Pharma has become entrenched since then through trade rules & lawsuits.

Prices went up. So has HIV.

https://t.co/eTneVKP7Lk

[MSF Access @MSF_access]

Ahead of @WHO #INB pandemic agreement meeting: 📢 We call for legally binding norms to establish international stockpiles & overcome intellectual property (IP) barriers, ensuring access to affordable meds, vax & tests for people everywhere.

🧵1/5

👇
https://t.co/FLNg63FYxF

[Rachel Wittenauer, MPH @rachelwitty37]

New vaccine (🥳), same old story of inequity (😠): travelers from the US will have access to it before residents of countries like Brazil, Paraguay and India, where 98% of the 440,000+ global chikungunya cases occurred this year. This system must change 💉🌎

[News from Science @NewsfromScience]

The first vaccine against the mosquito-borne viral disease chikungunya may soon come to market.

It will likely be recommended to U.S. travelers first, but many expect an FDA approval to grease the wheels for it to become available in endemic countries. https://t.co/LWKSEgfvVS

[Africa CDC @AfricaCDC]

@AfricaCDC, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and @PATHtweets have released a new briefing paper, “Current and planned vaccine manufacturing in Africa,” following an assessment of vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa.
More 👇🏼
https://t.co/MsAlbzxKGy

[KFF @KFF]

For most people with private insurance, the updated COVID-19 vaccines and associated visit costs must be covered in network with no cost-sharing.

Use this cheat sheet to learn more about all the rules for vaccine coverage by insurance status and type: https://t.co/vNXHCnYCH4

[LSHTM AMR Centre @LSHTM_AMR]

Over half a million #AMR-associated deaths could be preventable using vaccines, shows new research in @GlobalHealthBMJ 💉

The team from @IVIHeadquarters, @WHO & @LSHTM say their predictions support the need for vaccine scale-up and development 👉 https://t.co/xs5WrTGKqW

[BMJ Global Health @GlobalHealthBMJ]

"New TB vaccines could be highly impactful and help narrow income based disparities in the health and the economic consequences of TB for low-income and middle income countries." @AllisonPortnoy @ra_clark18 @markjit @richardwhite321

📣 New Research ➡️ https://t.co/aFzLksWwyH

[Rachel Wittenauer, MPH @rachelwitty37]

97% of deaths from RSV in children occur in LMICs, but existing prevention tools 💊 are few and costly💸 Evidence is still needed on the economic value and accessibility of the💉technologies in the pipeline for RSV patients in LMICs. Thanks @PATHtweets for driving this review!⬇️

[BMC Medicine @BMCMedicine]

2nd paper in our new RSV article collection guest edited by @markjit: @rachelwitty37 et al's systematic review on the cost-of-illness and cost-effectiveness of #RSV prevention interventions in #LMICs: https://t.co/dmGOnfMVFD.

Article collection here: https://t.co/7MFBGCCume

[Nandita V @nandita_venky]

We did it! In a landmark verdict, the Indian Patent Office rejected Johnson and Johnson’s patent application that would have extended the monopoly on key anti-TB drug #Bedaquiline! @ptisile and I – both of us TB survivors -- had filed pre-grant opposition against the application

[Richard White @richardwhite321]

Is the full value of new Tuberculosis vaccines being underestimated?

You decide!

Highlights from our new work with @WHO, released today, below...

https://t.co/3O5LjINx9V

[The Bureau of Investigative Journalism @TBIJ]

How far would Big Pharma and some rich countries go to kill an international proposal they didn’t like?

Our latest investigation with @Politico reveals the death of a radical idea aimed at ditching intellectual property protections for Covid-19 products

https://t.co/ar7seOeTed