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.