1.Healthy cities approach as a new paradigm of public health policy.
Jinhee KIM ; Won Gi JHANG ; Eunjeong KANG ; Kwangwook KOH ; Keon Yeop KIM ; Kwan Jun PARK ; Yoon Hyung PARK
Journal of the Korean Medical Association 2011;54(8):884-891
The healthy cities approach emphasizes the role of the leadership of local governments in promoting the health of the population in city settings. The concept emerged from public health strategies declared in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, and reflects the characteristics of the third public health revolution. The Korean healthy cities movement, characterized by voluntary participation of local governments in the Alliance for Healthy Cities, has grown rapidly in recent years. A strong push of the healthy cities movement by a local government without a profound commitment to the vision may hinder the effective and sustainable development of the movement. By reviewing the historical background and significance of the healthy cities movement and its underlying concepts, and illustrating the main strategies and goals of the movement, that is, the development of partnerships, community participation and empowerment, and working in networks for stimulating change, this article argues that the healthy cities movement is a potent vehicle for implementing the new paradigm of public health introduced to local governments. We also argue that the Korean healthy cities movement needs more active participants and more support of the central government and other related stakeholders.
Consumer Participation
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Health Promotion
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Korea
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Local Government
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Natural Resources
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Power (Psychology)
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Public Health
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Vision, Ocular
2.Loss of Neutralizing Activity of Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab (Evusheld™) Against Omicron BN.1, a Dominant Circulating Strain Following BA.5During the Seventh Domestic Outbreak in Korea in Early 2023
Jinyoung YANG ; Seokhwan HYEON ; Jin Yang BAEK ; Min Seo KANG ; Keon Young LEE ; Young Ho LEE ; Kyungmin HUH ; Sun Young CHO ; Cheol-In KANG ; Doo Ryeon CHUNG ; Kyong Ran PECK ; Gunho WON ; Hye Won LEE ; Kwangwook KIM ; Insu HWANG ; So Yeon LEE ; Byung Chul KIM ; Yoo-kyoung LEE ; Jae-Hoon KO
Journal of Korean Medical Science 2023;38(27):e205-
Tixagevimab/cilgavimab is a monoclonal antibody used to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 among immunocompromised hosts and maintained neutralizing activity against early omicron variants. Omicron BN.1 became a dominant circulating strain in Korea early 2023, but its susceptibility to tixagevimab/cilgavimab is unclear. We conducted plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) against BN.1 in a prospective cohort (14 patients and 30 specimens). BN.1 PRNT was conducted for one- and three-months after tixagevimab/ cilgavimab administration and the average PRNT ND 50 of each point was lower than the positive cut-off value of 20 (12.9 ± 4.5 and 13.2 ± 4.2, respectively, P = 0.825). In the paired analyses, tixagevimab/cilgavimab-administered sera could not actively neutralize BN.1 (PRNT ND 50 11.5 ± 2.9, P = 0.001), compared with the reserved activity against BA.5 (ND 50 310.5 ± 180.4). Unlike virus-like particle assay, tixagevimab/cilgavimab was not active against BN.1 in neutralizing assay, and would not be effective in the present predominance of BA.2.75 sublineages.
3.SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine ElicitsSustained T Cell Responses Against the Omicron Variant in Adolescents
Sujin CHOI ; Sang-Hoon KIM ; Mi Seon HAN ; Yoonsun YOON ; Yun-Kyung KIM ; Hye-Kyung CHO ; Ki Wook YUN ; Seung Ha SONG ; Bin AHN ; Ye Kyung KIM ; Sung Hwan CHOI ; Young June CHOE ; Heeji LIM ; Eun Bee CHOI ; Kwangwook KIM ; Seokhwan HYEON ; Hye Jung LIM ; Byung-chul KIM ; Yoo-kyoung LEE ; Eun Hwa CHOI ; Eui-Cheol SHIN ; Hyunju LEE
Immune Network 2023;23(4):e33-
Vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been acknowledged as an effective mean of preventing infection and hospitalization.However, the emergence of highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) has led to substantial increase in infections among children and adolescents. Vaccineinduced immunity and longevity have not been well defined in this population. Therefore, we aimed to analyze humoral and cellular immune responses against ancestral and SARSCoV-2 variants after two shots of the BNT162b2 vaccine in healthy adolescents. Although vaccination induced a robust increase of spike-specific binding Abs and neutralizing Abs against the ancestral and SARS-CoV-2 variants, the neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant was significantly low. On the contrary, vaccine-induced memory CD4+ T cells exhibited substantial responses against both ancestral and Omicron spike proteins.Notably, CD4+ T cell responses against both ancestral and Omicron strains were preserved at 3 months after two shots of the BNT162b2 vaccine without waning. Polyfunctionality of vaccine-induced memory T cells was also preserved in response to Omicron spike protein.The present findings characterize the protective immunity of vaccination for adolescents in the era of continuous emergence of variants/subvariants.