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Emerging from COVID-19

SLEEVES ROLLED UP: COVID-19 RESEARCH

A snapshot of some of the projects completed in the reporting period:

COVID-19: Infectious Disease Molecular Epidemiology for Pathogen Control & Tracking (COVID-19 IMPACT)

This UWI-led collaborative study established national capacity for rapid SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing, and carried out genomic surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern to Trinidad and Tobago and 16 other member states of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). The rapid detection and reporting of variants of concern by the project helped inform public health policy and decision-making for economic reopening, international travel restrictions and work policies.

Beyond COVID-19 IMPACT: Establishing a sustained capacity for genomic surveillance in Trinidad and Tobago

This project sought to enhance capacity for pathogen genomic sequencing in order to better support public health bodies. It facilitated the purchase of equipment that doubled The UWI’s capacity for highthroughput whole genome sequencing and the capacity built has been applied to other pathogens of public health importance.

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) service

The Department of Microbiology at The UWI Mona, working in close collaboration with the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) and Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW), also established a Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) service which proved to be essential to the national COVID-19 response, helping to identify circulating variants as well as new variants. In its first run, appropriate samples were selected from the National Public Health Laboratory under the guidance of the National Surveillance Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, and the first results revealed a preponderance of the Omicron variant in Jamaica.

The Caribbean Community of Practice for COVID-19 Study

The HEU, Centre for Health Economics, conducted workshops and studies to identify, adapt, and scale up best practices to improve the regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB) allowed participants from Jamaica, The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago to share their best practices across six thematic areas:

  • The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers;
  • The Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of the General Population;
  • Maintaining Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic;
  • Behaviour Change and COVID-19;
  • Vulnerable Groups and COVID-19; and
  • Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery.

Reports were produced for each thematic area followed by a final report containing health policy recommendations.

COVID-19 Impacts on Breast Cancer Screening and Care in the Caribbean and marginalised communities in Ontario

Led by GA-CDRC Investigators: Simon Anderson, with funding of CA$498,238 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

The UWI team, led by Dr Joshua Anzinger, (back, right) pictured in a training session conducted by Illumina – a US firm that develops, manufactures, and markets integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological function.

Psychological responses to the climate and COVID-19 crises in young people in four Caribbean countries, and their agency to build the world they hope to see

Also led by GA-CDRC Investigator: Simon Anderson

Scale up of hand sanitizer production for reopening of the Campus and inperson activities.