ECCVID platform is free for December

Haven’t had the chance to access all of the great on-demand ECCVID content?

ESCMID is offering access to the ECCVID platform for free during the month of December, to allow all of our colleagues to be able to access the more than 100 fantastic on-demand sessions. In a time when CM and ID professionals the world over are working more than ever, we hope that this open access will enable a much greater number of people the ability to be a part of the first ever ESCMID virtual conference.

Free access will be available from 1 December until 25 December, 2020.

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Applications accepted for Assistant ECCMID Programme Director

REVIVE/GARDP Antimicrobial Encyclopaedia

GARDP has announced the launch of their new resource, the REVIVE Antimicrobial Encyclopaedia.

This resource includes definitions of terms from the field of antimicrobials including ‘Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient’, ‘Bacterial efflux’ and ‘Minimum Inhibitory Concentration’. Each term has links for users to find more information on the subject and wherever available there are also links to REVIVE content such as webinar recordings and Antimicrobial Viewpoints on the subject. Some terms also include bespoke explanatory videos with clear diagrams featuring REVIVE experts.

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EU-JAMRAI Antibiotic Resistance Logo announced

EU-JAMRAI called to action individuals from all over the world and organized a design contest that was launched during 2019 EAAD celebration. They were looking for the first global antibiotic resistance symbol; something tangible, that anyone, anywhere, could make at home and wear with pride.

A multidisciplinary jury with 30 representatives from relevant stakeholders working on AMR (including ESCMID Executive Committee members Alexander Friedrich and Jesús Rodríguez-Baño) decided upon the winning logo, which can be viewed online here.

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EMA communication: safety monitoring plan and guidance on risk management planning for COVID-19 vaccines

EMA and the national competent authorities (NCAs) in EU Member States have prepared a safety monitoring plan for COVID-19 vaccines. The plan outlines how relevant new information emerging after the authorisation and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in the pandemic situation will be collected and promptly reviewed.

The safety of COVID-19 vaccines will be monitored according to the guidance set out by EMA and NCAs in the good pharmacovigilance practices (GVP), that applies to all medicines. In view of the extraordinary circumstances, though, EU authorities have planned several activities that will apply specifically to COVID-19 vaccines.

In this context, EMA has also published guidance to support pharmaceutical companies’ preparation of risk management plans (RMPs) for COVID-19 vaccines. As for any medicine, companies applying for a marketing authorisation for COVID-19 vaccines must submit RMPs. The RMP explains how the company must monitor and report on the safety of the vaccine once authorised, and what measures it must put in place to further characterise and manage risks. RMPs are updated as new information becomes available.

All RMPs for COVID-19 vaccines will be published on the EMA’s website. This is part of EMA’s exceptional measures to maximise the transparency of its regulatory activities on medicines for treatment and prevention of COVID-19.

For more information please click here. You can also check EMA’s dedicated webpage on COVID-19 for the latest updates.

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EMA organises public meeting on COVID-19 vaccines on 11 December 2020

EMA will organise a public meeting on 11 December 2020 to inform European citizens about the EU regulatory processes for the approval of COVID-19 vaccines and the Agency’s role in their development, evaluation, approval and safety monitoring.

Together with the European medicines regulatory network, EMA is supporting the development of COVID-19 vaccines and has taken steps to speed up the evaluation processes for these vaccines. The Agency and its partners are doing so while ensuring that the same high regulatory standards for quality, safety and efficacy are being applied to COVID-19 vaccines.

The public meeting will inform citizens about EMA’s role in the pandemic and of EU regulatory procedures. It will also give the opportunity to the public and stakeholder groups to speak and share their needs, expectations and any concerns, that will be considered by EMA and the European medicines regulatory network in the decision-making process.

Those interested in making an intervention during the public meeting should fill in this form no later than 27 November 2020. EMA will look at all requests and, in view of the available time, will select a group of people to speak at the meeting. EMA will publish the list of speakers who will make an intervention in advance of the event.

The public meeting will be broadcast live and will be open to all citizens. In addition to the selected list of speakers, during the meeting there will be a mailbox open via EMA’s website for the public to make comments.

The agenda and all information related to the event are available on the EMA website event page.

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CMI highlight: Neurological manifestations associated with COVID-19: a multicentric registry

This study aims to provide an overview of the spectrum, characteristics and outcomes of neurological manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. A multicentric, retrospective study was conducted by the authors during the French COVID-19 epidemic in March-April 2020. All COVID-19 patients with de novo neurological manifestations were eligible.

The results obtained highlighted the broad spectrum of neurological manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: the majority of neurological manifestations were COVID-19 associated encephalopathy, acute ischemic cerebrovascular syndrome, encephalitis (21/222, 10%), and Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Neurological manifestations appeared after first COVID-19 symptoms with a median delay different for each manifestations. Altered mental status was reported in 52% of patients in our registry.

In conclusion, clinical spectrum and outcomes of neurological manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection were broad and heterogeneous, suggesting different underlying pathogenic processes.

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