Innovations for Tackling Tuberculosis in the Time of COVID-19: Current Tools and Challenges: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief

Excerpt

The Forum on Microbial Threats of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Health and Medicine Division hosted a virtual workshop on July 22, 2021 to evaluate the current status in tuberculosis (TB) eradication and the impact that COVID-19 has had on the global fight against TB. With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the workshop examined technological and strategic innovations that can be leveraged to meet the targets set by the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis and the END TB Strategy from the World Health Organization.

Workshop discussions comprised four main topics: gaps and challenges in diagnostic technologies, including point-of-care testing; promising potentials of vaccination approaches, including existing tools in the development pipeline and new vaccine platforms; possibilities and encouraging progress toward achieving a shorter, non-toxic treatment regimen; and opportunities for engaging increased and sustained commitments to achieve targets for ending TB in the face of challenges from COVID-19 and future disease threats. This Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief summarizes the presentations and discussions that occurred during the workshop.