Jon Andrus, an American physician, epidemiologist and immunization specialist, [1] is the former deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). [2]
Andrus obtained a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University (Biologic Science), a medical doctor degree from the UC Davis School of Medicine, and has completed his residencies in family medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (Family Practice) and preventive medicine at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is also a graduate of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Epidemic Intelligence Service. [3]
Andrus is the director, Division of Vaccines and Immunizations, is adjoint professor of family medicine and pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Infectious Disease, School of Medicine and adjunct professor of Epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. [4] Based at the center's Washington, D.C., office, Andrus leads the University of Colorado's efforts to advocate for the evidence-based use of life-saving vaccines in the world's poorest communities. Jon has more than 30 years of experience working in global health at all levels of the health system.
Currently, Andrus is also adjunct professor of Global Health at the Department of Global Health, the Milken Institute School of Public Health of George Washington University where he teaches a course on global vaccinology. Andrus also holds a faculty appointment at the University of California, San Francisco.
Andrus has served as a deputy director at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). [5] At PAHO, among several duties, he oversaw departments of Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief; and Knowledge Management and Communication. Prior to that, he was the lead technical advisor for PAHO's immunization program, providing oversight and guidance for PAHO's technical cooperation to member countries. He also served as polio focal point for polio eradication in Southeast Asia and regional advisor for immunization during the 1990s. [6]
He began his global health career in 1985 as a Peace Corps volunteer, serving as a district medical officer in Malawi and has since held positions in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Global Immunization Division, as head of the Vaccinology and Immunization Program at the Institute for Global Health at the Universities of California at San Francisco and Berkeley, and as director and professor of the Global Health MPH Program at George Washington University.
Currently Andrus is the co-chair of the Global Polio Partners Group, chair of the PAHO's Regional Committee for Monitoring the Sustainability of Measles and Rubella Elimination in the Americas, and a member of the Independent Monitoring Board for the Polio Transition. Andrus serves on other World Health Organization (WHO) advisory committees, including PAHO's Technical Advisory Group for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, and WHO's South East Asia Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination.
Andrus has published more than 120 scientific peer-reviewed papers on topics covering disease eradication, the introduction of new vaccines and primary care. [7] He has received numerous awards, including: the 2016 the Presidential Citation of the Society for Public Health Education in recognition and gratitude for contributions to the Society for Public Health Education's textbook, Introduction to Global Health Promotion; the 2013 Transformational Leadership Award of the University of California; [8] the 2011 Global Leadership Award of the Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts, and the 2000 Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award of United States Public Health Service, for leadership in polio eradication in South-East Asia., [9] [10] In 1982, Andrus was given the John Driscoll, M.D. Award given to the outstanding graduating Family Practice Resident for service and teaching at the Santa Rosa Family Practice Program of University California San Francisco. The ministries of health of El Salvador, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru have awarded Andrus for his contributions to immunization services in countries of Latin America. He has received numerous other awards for his leadership in the eradication of measles, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome, as well as the introduction of new vaccines in developing countries.
Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and last for three days. It usually starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. The rash is sometimes itchy and is not as bright as that of measles. Swollen lymph nodes are common and may last a few weeks. A fever, sore throat, and fatigue may also occur. Joint pain is common in adults. Complications may include bleeding problems, testicular swelling, encephalitis, and inflammation of nerves. Infection during early pregnancy may result in a miscarriage or a child born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Symptoms of CRS manifest as problems with the eyes such as cataracts, deafness, as well as affecting the heart and brain. Problems are rare after the 20th week of pregnancy.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) in charge of international health cooperation in the Americas. It fosters technical cooperation among member countries to fight communicable and noncommunicable diseases, strengthen health systems, and respond to emergencies and disasters. It has 35 Member States and four Associate Members in the region. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., PAHO is the regional office for the World Health Organization in the Americas, and the health organization of the Inter-American System. It is known in Latin America as the OPS or OPAS.
Polio eradication, the permanent global cessation of circulation of the poliovirus and hence elimination of the poliomyelitis (polio) it causes, is the aim of a multinational public health effort begun in 1988, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Rotary Foundation. These organizations, along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The Gates Foundation, have spearheaded the campaign through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Successful eradication of infectious diseases has been achieved twice before, with smallpox in humans and rinderpest in ruminants.
Operation MECACAR is a multi-national immunization program launched in 1995 by the World Health Organization to coordinate polio vaccination efforts. The name of the operation was derived from the names of the regions participating in the operation: Eastern Mediterranean, Caucasus, Central Asian Republics and Russia. Currently, 18 countries are participating and more than 60 million children have been vaccinated.
Ciro Carlos Araujo de Quadros was a Brazilian leader in the field of Public Health, in particular, the area of vaccines and preventable diseases. He was born in Rio Pardo, Brazil.
The eradication of infectious diseases is the reduction of the prevalence of an infectious disease in the global host population to zero.
The Expanded Program on Immunization is a World Health Organization program with the goal to make vaccines available to all children.
Mirta Roses Periago is an Argentine epidemiologist who served as Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) from 2003 until 2013.
Jean Marie Okwo-Bele is a Congolese physician, public health expert and former Director of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Measles vaccine protects against becoming infected with measles. Nearly all of those who do not develop immunity after a single dose develop it after a second dose. When the rate of vaccination within a population is greater than 92%, outbreaks of measles typically no longer occur; however, they may occur again if the rate of vaccination decreases. The vaccine's effectiveness lasts many years. It is unclear if it becomes less effective over time. The vaccine may also protect against measles if given within a couple of days after exposure to measles.
Rubella vaccine is a vaccine used to prevent rubella. Effectiveness begins about two weeks after a single dose and around 95% of people become immune. Countries with high rates of immunization no longer see cases of rubella or congenital rubella syndrome. When there is a low level of childhood immunization in a population it is possible for rates of congenital rubella to increase as more women make it to child-bearing age without either vaccination or exposure to the disease. Therefore, it is important for more than 80% of people to be vaccinated. By introducing rubella containing vaccines, rubella has been eradicated in 81 nations, as of mid-2020.
Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) is a vaccination programme launched by the Government of India in 1985. It became a part of Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme in 1992 and is currently one of the key areas under the National Health Mission since 2005. The programme now consists of vaccination for 12 diseases- tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, hepatitis B, rotaviral gastroenteritis, Japanese encephalitis, rubella, pneumonia and Pneumococcal diseases. Hepatitis B and Pneumococcal diseases were added to the UIP in 2007 and 2017 respectively. The cost of all the vaccines are borne entirely by the Government of India and is funded through taxes with a budget of ₹7,234 crore (US$910 million) in 2022 and the program covers all residents of India, including foreign residents.
India National PolioPlus Society is a non-profit organization. The Initiative has achieved significant progress toward its goals. There has been a dramatic decline in cases everywhere in the seventeen years since the target was set in 1988.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is an initiative created in 1988, just after the World Health Assembly resolved to eradicate the disease poliomyelitis. Led by the World Health Organization, it is the largest international public health initiative in history.
Isao Arita was a Japanese physician, virologist and vaccination specialist who headed the World Health Organization (WHO) Smallpox Eradication Unit in 1977–85. During this period, smallpox became the first infectious disease of humans to be eradicated globally. For this work, he and his colleagues were awarded the Japan Prize in 1988. He also advised the successful programme to eradicate poliovirus from the Western Pacific region.
Dr. Robert Kezaala is a medical doctor, epidemiologist, scholar and public health leader in the field of immunization and health emergencies. Currently he is serving as a Senior Health Advisor and team lead for Accelerated Immunization Initiatives: measles, rubella, epidemic meningitis and yellow fever control and Immunization in Emergencies at the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Michael Joseph Ryan is an Irish epidemiologist and former trauma surgeon, specialising in infectious disease and public health. He is executive director of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, leading the team responsible for the international containment and treatment of COVID-19. Ryan has held leadership positions and has worked on various outbreak response teams in the field to eradicate the spread of diseases including bacillary dysentery, cholera, Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever, Ebola, Marburg virus disease, measles, meningitis, relapsing fever, Rift Valley fever, SARS, and Shigellosis.
The World Health Organization (WHO) created the Global Commission for the Certification of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis in 1995 to independently verify the eradication of wild poliovirus. The GCC certified the worldwide eradication of indigenous wild poliovirus type 2 on 20 September 2015, and wild poliovirus type 3 on 17 October 2019. In addition, five of the six World Health Organization Regions certified their status as free of indigenous transmission of all three serotypes of wild poliovirus :
The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) is the principal advisory group to World Health Organization (WHO) for vaccines and immunization. Established in 1999 through the merging of two previous committees, notably the Scientific Advisory Group of Experts and the Global Advisory Group by Director-General of the WHO Gro Harlem Brundtland. It is charged with advising WHO on overall global policies and strategies, ranging from vaccines and biotechnology, research and development, to delivery of immunization and its linkages with other health interventions. SAGE is concerned not just with childhood vaccines and immunization, but all vaccine-preventable diseases. SAGE provide global recommendations on immunization policy and such recommendations will be further translated by advisory committee at the country level.
Folake Olayinka, physician and global health leader. Since October 2020, she has served as the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Global Immunization lead/STAR Fellow. She also served as Technical and Strategy lead for the COVID19 Vaccine Access and Delivery Initiative Washington DC, United States.
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