HighlightsSignificant growth reported in influenza vaccine production capacity since 2006.Seasonal influenza vaccine production capacity has reduced since 2013.Pandemic influenza vaccine production capacity is at its highest recorded level.Challenges remain regarding maintenance of capacity and equitable distribution.

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Of the more than 1.4 million blind children worldwide, 75% live in developing countries. To reduce the prevalence of childhood blindness and associated diseases, attention is given to understanding the perceptions and level of awareness held by caregivers. This understanding can enable tailored health programs to reduce the global prevalence of blindness with increased efficiency. This study, which took place in Ghana, Honduras, and India, found that 95% of caregivers believed in the importance of eye exams for children, yet 66% of caregivers said that none of their children had ever received an eye exam. Participants' major reasons for not bringing their children included the belief that their child had no eye problems along with similar and unique socio-economic barriers. Further information was gained through the use of a five-question test on basic child eye care symptoms, which showed that out of the three country locations, the studied population in India had the least understanding about pediatric eye symptoms. Further analysis revealed significant gaps in understanding of general eye health while detected knowledge barriers provide evidence that fundamental misconceptions appear to be inhibiting caregivers' competence in facilitating their children's eye health.

Background To prepare key stakeholders for the global COVID-19 vaccination rollout, the World Health Organization and partners developed online vaccination training packages. The online course was launched in December 2020 on the OpenWHO learning platform. This paper presents the findings of an evaluation of this course. Objective The aim of this evaluation was to provide insights into user experiences and challenges, measure the impact of the course in terms of knowledge gained, and anticipate potential interest in future online vaccination courses. Methods The primary source of data was the anonymized information on course participants, enrollment, completion, and scores from the OpenWHO platform’s statistical data and metric reporting system. Data from the OpenWHO platform were analyzed from the opening of the courses in mid-December 2020 to mid-April 2021. In addition, a learner feedback survey was sent by email to all course participants to complete within a 3-week period (March 19 to April 9, 2021). The survey was designed to determine the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the training packages and to understand barriers to access. Results During the study period, 53,593 learners enrolled in the course. Of them, 30,034 (56.0%) completed the course, which is substantially higher than the industry benchmark of 5%-10% for a massive open online course (MOOC). Overall, learners averaged 76.5% on the prequiz compared to 85% on the postquiz, resulting in an increase in average score of 9%. A total of 2019 learners from the course participated in the survey. Nearly 98% (n=1647 fully agree, n=308 somewhat agree; N=1986 survey respondents excluding missing values) of respondents fully or somewhat agreed that they had more confidence in their ability to support COVID-19 vaccination following completion of this course. Conclusions The online vaccine training was well received by the target audience, with a measurable impact on knowledge gained. The key benefits of online training were the convenience, self-paced nature, access to downloadable material, and ability to replay material, as well as an increased ability to concentrate. Online training was identified as a timely, cost-effective way of delivering essential training to a large number of people to prepare for the COVID-19 vaccination rollout.