Achieving COVID-19 and Routine Immunization Data Systems Integration on the Electronic Management of Immunization Data System in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: In 2021, Nigeria developed a novel Electronic Management of Immunization Data (EMID) system to address COVID-19 data management challenges and ensure the successful implementation of its COVID-19 vaccine deployment plan. The EMID system was envisioned to be interoperable with the DHIS2 national data management system and serve as a gateway into the integration of other primary health care (PHC) service data management. However, the EMID system faced challenges, including inability to filter reports, missing or loss of data, and difficulties with data synchronization, which curtailed its potential to meet the country's needs for COVID-19 data management and negatively impacted system scalability to enable integration with other PHC data systems. METHODS: Multilayered stakeholder interviews were conducted to determine the optimal functionality requirements for the EMID system. Based on these findings, an optimization plan was designed and implemented to address identified gaps and create a more stable and scalable system to enable further system integrations. Following optimization, a routine immunization module was developed and integrated with the EMID system as a first step to achieving an integrated data management system for PHC services in Nigeria. RESULTS: The integrated system currently provides an opportunity to address data fragmentation and strengthen PHC service delivery in Nigeria. By allowing 1 health care worker to deliver both vaccinations, there is also potential for reduction in cost and redundancies, informing redistribution of the health workforce and overall system strengthening. CONCLUSION: The journey from the initial challenges faced by the EMID system to the development of an integrated system for PHC services in Nigeria has been a transformative one. Through a thorough optimization process, training and capacity-building, stakeholder-driven improvements, and an elicitation exercise, the EMID system has evolved into a powerful tool for addressing data fragmentation and enhancing public health service delivery in the country.

Understanding the implications of SARS-CoV-2 re-infections on immune response milieu, laboratory tests and control measures against COVID-19.

Several months after the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), cases of re-infection after recovery were reported. The extent and duration of protective immunity after SARS-CoV-2 infection is not fully understood. As such, the possibility of re-infection with SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, cases of re-infection were mainly due to different variants or mutant SARS-CoV-2. Following the fast and pandemic-scale spread of COVID-19, mutations in SARS-CoV-2 have raised new diagnostic challenges which include the redesign of the oligonucleotide sequences used in RT-PCR assays to avoid potential primer-sample mismatches, and decrease sensitivities. Since the initial wave of the pandemic, some regions had experienced fresh outbreaks, predisposing people to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 re-infection. Hence, this article sought to offer detailed biology of SARS-CoV-2 re-infections and their implications on immune response milieu, diagnostic laboratory tests and control measures against COVID-19.