Currents for December 30, 2021 (Dec 30, 2021)

____________________________________________________________________________

Rotary International News

Rotary Internationals Position Statement on Vaccination

Dear District Governors and Club Presidents,

We see the decision to vaccinate as a civic and humanitarian imperative. Rotary is not a political or religious organization, it is a service organization and this is the lens through which we are advising you of our position.

Global vaccination is the path to ending the pandemic and the emergence of new variants. Rotary endorses and strongly encourages vaccination for all individuals including our members who are currently able to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In areas where COVID-19 is surging, communities are facing extreme challenges, health systems are overwhelmed, and contentious rhetoric is dividing us. It is critical that the virus be contained so that the world may begin to heal. To that end, the purpose of this statement is to reinforce Rotary’s position.
Misinformation has become an “infodemic” that hinders the fight against COVID-19. In line with our Four-Way Test, Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation are committed to providing our members with science-based information.
Rotary International staff at One Rotary Center were required to be vaccinated by 10 October 2021, as a criterion for employment after that date. RI’s employee vaccination rate stands at over 99 percent.
Globally, Rotary is actively engaged in assuring equity in vaccine access to all people. Our efforts have included advocacy with the G-20, and a proof-of-concept program with GAVI/COVAX to leverage our frontline experience with polio eradication to facilitate vaccine delivery in several low- and middle-income countries where Rotarians are active. While we know many clubs are already deeply involved in COVID-19 prevention, we are working on additional strategies to multiply our collective efforts. GAVI/COVAX is a partnership including WHO and UNICEF focused on global access and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.
Those children for whom vaccines are not currently available are at significant risk. Until vaccines are available for all children, the vaccination of adults is the best way to protect children who cannot be vaccinated. Pediatric admissions for COVID-19 are rising precipitously in areas of low vaccination.
Rotary salutes health care workers everywhere as they continue to provide lifesaving services. Local recognition of these heroes by each of our clubs can help to encourage them to continue their important work. Rotary abhors any harassment and attacks on healthcare workers.
Rotary and Rotaract clubs are encouraged to
- set good examples by being exemplary role models;
- redouble their efforts to support COVID-19 treatment, prevention, and vaccination efforts.
Vaccines have proven to be one of the greatest advances of modern medicine. The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines save between 2 to 3 million children’s lives each year, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative estimates the polio vaccine has saved more than 19 million children from paralysis. Vaccines are safe, effective and are responsible for eliminating or controlling many other vaccine-preventable diseases such as smallpox, measles, rubella, and Ebola. And now, there is the opportunity to end the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccines.
The eradication of polio remains a goal of the highest order for Rotary. We can apply the lessons we have learned in fighting polio to the efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regards,

Shekhar Mehta John Germ
President, Rotary International Chair, The Rotary Foundation

CC: RI Board of Directors & Directors-elect, TRF Board of Trustees and incoming Trustees, District Governors-elect, Club Presidents-elect, Regional Leaders, COVID-19 Task Force, International PolioPlus Committee, Communications Committee

ONE ROTARY CENTER

1560 SHERMAN AVENUE

EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 60201-3698 USA

ROTARY.ORG

_______________________________________________________________________________

Rotary’s World Polio Day Program

Looks Toward Polio Eradication’s Endgame

by Ryan Hyland

Rotary’s goal of ridding the world of polio is within reach, global health experts said during the 2021 World Polio Day Online Global Update on 24 October. The 30-minute program, “Delivering on our Promise of a Polio-Free World,” provided encouraging information about the progress and remaining challenges in the fight to end polio.

So far in 2021, only two cases of wild polio have been reported — the lowest circulation of the disease ever — with one infection each in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two countries where polio remains endemic.

During a Q&A session, Dr. Hamid Jafari, director for the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region, attributed the low case count to several factors. He said these include mass polio vaccination campaigns resuming after the interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the natural immunity induced by the wild polio outbreaks of previous years, and the restrictions on travel and population movement that also were due to the pandemic.

“This is truly unprecedented that we are seeing this decline simultaneously in the two countries,” Jafari said.

He added that the low case count provides a window of opportunity for health workers, but cautioned that a resurgence of the poliovirus is possible since summer is the high polio transmission season. “So this is the time to really press hard in making use of the opportunity that presents itself now,” he told Q&A host Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large for Time magazine.

Jafari also addressed the challenges of political change and security concerns in Afghanistan and explained that the polio program there is used to adapting operationally during uncertainty. “Currently we do see opportunities coming up as well, so that we may have access to all parts of Afghanistan for implementing mass vaccination campaigns,” he said.

According to the WHO and UNICEF, nationwide house-to-house polio vaccinations will resume in Afghanistan in early November, providing access to children in areas where campaigns had been banned for the last three years.

“You know with the evolving situation in Afghanistan, it is of course very, very important that we partners maintain our neutrality and impartiality of the polio eradication program,” Jafari added. “As always, we will continue to work with all parties.”

Mohammad Ishaq Niazmand, chair of Rotary’s Afghanistan PolioPlus Committee, echoed Jafari’s sentiments in a video address with his counterpart for Pakistan, Aziz Memon.

Niazmand said of Afghanistan, “Rotary and our partners are working with all stakeholders to ensure that polio eradication remains a top priority, even in the midst of change. Work is underway to ensure that children have access to lifesaving polio [vaccines] and other childhood vaccines.”

Memon, a Rotary Foundation trustee and chair of the Pakistan PolioPlus Committee, said Rotary continues to build trust with government, community, and religious leaders. “By bringing broader health services to children and families alongside polio vaccinations, we’re ensuring better health care and greater vaccine acceptance,” he said.

Strategies for the future

This year, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) announced a new five-year strategy for 2022-26 to end all polioviruses, including tackling the persistent transmission of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus. Rotary and our GPEI partners identified the remaining obstacles to polio eradication and developed approaches to reaching the goal. The plan aims to achieve and sustain a polio-free world through a focus on implementation and accountability while using innovative methods and tools.

This is truly unprecedented that we are seeing this decline simultaneously in the two countries.

Dr. Hamid Jafari
Director for WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region

Rotary in the news

For World Polio Day, media outlets around the world published more than 900 news stories highlighting Rotary members and our work to end polio. That coverage included TVC News in Nigeria, the Times of Malta, ABS-CBN News in the Philippines, and Saltwire in Canada.

Rotary members in the U.S. also had great success writing opinion pieces and letters to the editor, which appeared in publications such as MinnPost, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Bangor Daily News, and the Dallas Morning News.

Voice of America published two stories highlighting the progress Rotary and our partners have made against polio. One story, featuring Pakistan PolioPlus Committee Chair Aziz Memon, showcased his country’s efforts to eradicate polio and noted its low case counts. The other story, which quoted Rotary International PolioPlus Director Carol Pandak, reported on the resumption of polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan.

India’s Statesman published an opinion piece by India PolioPlus Committee Chair Deepak Kapur, in which he focused on what we’ve learned from COVID-19 about the importance of continued immunization and vigilance in maintaining India’s polio-free status.

Gary Hirsch, a member of the Rotary Club of Tucson, Arizona, USA, and co-chair of the Ride to End Polio fundraiser, spoke on a local radio program about Rotary’s polio eradication efforts and how, over the past 12 years, Rotary members’ participation in the El Tour de Tucson cycling event has — with the help of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 2-to-1 match — raised nearly $54 million.

__________________________________________

Rotary International Convention in Houston Texas 2022

RI Convention June 4-8, 2022 in Houston TX

Ron again announce that the Rotary International Convention will be in Houston. Read more by clicking here Registration fee until 15 December will be $475.