Category: Infectious Disease

Global Health

CDC Update on COVID-19

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With a health issue like COVID-19, we all like a linear story: There’s a killer virus out there, but we’ve found a vaccine that stops it cold in an individual, and when enough of us get the vaccine, the virus fades away and we all return to life, liberty and our pursuit of happiness.

That isn’t the COVID-19 story, though. It’s a dangerous virus, where some people get sick, some die and some never feel a thing. There are remarkable vaccines, but they have a sliding scale of effectiveness, and then they attenuate, and so we’ll need a booster to keep the virus from breaking through. Then some people who get sick from COVID-19 get well and seem protected, but then ill health effects return. These long-haulers are a mystery. Don’t even ask about the variants where the first COVID-19 was bad, but some of the follow-ups are worse by spreading faster and making people sicker.

Community Health Worker Related

WiRED’s Community Health Workers Update from Kenya

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When WiRED International’s Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Kisumu, Kenya, graduated early in 2020 nobody could have foreseen that they would soon have to defend their communities from a global pandemic. WiRED’s CHWs continue to witness firsthand the effects of COVID-19 on their communities and the impact the pandemic is having not only on health but on businesses, jobs, schools and daily life. As fully trained vaccinators, thanks to WiRED’s Vaccinator Training Program (VTP), WiRED’s CHWs now stand ready to further support their communities by working with local doctors and nurses to distribute and administer vaccines as soon as they arrive.

Global Health

WiRED Requests Support to Expand Vaccinator Training Program

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WiRED International has run a number of articles on this website about our Vaccinator Training Program, but as we get closer to the day COVAX distributes vaccines, our concerns are growing about the availability of qualified staff in underserved countries to move the vaccines, set up shot clinics and administer the vaccinations. We recognize that agencies supplying vaccines have not prepared for the shortage of vaccination teams, so to avoid vaccines spoiling in warehouses we’re stepping up our efforts to reach out to regional health agencies and to donors for assistance with this vaccinator training program. So far, we have successfully trained medical teams in Kenya, Uganda and Liberia and funded this with small donations. We are asking our supporters to circulate the following statement (in PDF form here and at the end of the article) about our Vaccinator Training Program with the aim of reaching larger donors to make this program available across Africa, Latin America and beyond.

Community Health Worker Related

WiRED’s Community Health Workers Update from Kenya

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WiRED’s Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Kisumu, Kenya, continue to educate and strengthen their communities.

In the month of June, 12 WiRED CHWs reached a total of 5,101 people. Although COVID-19 remains an urgent focus, the CHWs addressed issues in their communities as diverse as malaria, nutrition, diabetes and drug abuse. Educating their communities on important steps to stop the spread of COVID-19, such as handwashing and bolstering the immune system, can have a positive impact on reducing other illnesses. This is perfectly illustrated by one of WiRED’s CHWs, who shares this example:

Global Health

WiRED Vaccinator Train-the-Trainer Launched in Uganda and Liberia

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WiRED International launched the train-the-trainer portion of our Vaccinator Training Program (VTP) on July 6 when lead medical trainers in Kisumu, Kenya, connected by Zoom with medical professionals in Naguru, Uganda. A participant in Liberia also joined the session. The purpose of the three-day workshop was to prepare medical professionals to use WiRED’s VTP curriculum to train local vaccinators on how to distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines scheduled to arrive later this year.

Community Health Worker Related

WiRED’s Community Health Workers Battle COVID-19 Delta Variants in Kenyan Communities

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Less than 1% of Africans have received a vaccination against COVID-19. As the virus, strengthened by the Delta variant, sweeps through Africa, WiRED International’s Community Health Workers (CHWs) are preparing communities to accept the idea of vaccinations even before COVAX delivers the vaccines. Moreover, WiRED-trained vaccinators stand ready to administer vaccinations as soon as those vaccines are delivered. And so, training of health workers and vaccinators prepares these communities in two important ways: by gaining their acceptance of COVID-19 vaccinations and training workers to be ready to administer them.

In Kisumu, Kenya, WiRED’s CHWs continue to battle COVID-19 and other dangerous infections within their communities. What follows are excerpts from their recent reports.

Global Health

Americans Celebrate July 4th as COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Rise

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On July 4th, WiRED International’s volunteers and board celebrate along with millions of other Americans who have been fortunate enough to get their COVID-19 shots, and are now free from most restrictions faced last year at this time. We are reminded, however, that people in most of the countries we serve are still waiting for an opportunity to receive their shots, avoid the infection and get back to a normal life.