2020 in Review, Plans for 2021, and Happy Holidays from the Team at the Global Sepsis Alliance
Oh, what a year. Thank you for supporting the Global Sepsis Alliance, World Sepsis Day, and the global fight against sepsis throughout 2020 - we really couldn’t do this without you. This year was a very special year for sepsis awareness, despite and because of the challenges presented through the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, we have summarized 2020 for you, and look ahead to our plans for 2021 – a year that will hopefully be much easier for all of us.
A Look Back on 2020
January / February
The year started out with the publication of the most comprehensive clinical study on sepsis to date in The Lancet - The Global Burden of Sepsis Study. The report exposed the true extent of the burden of sepsis, showing that 1 in 5 deaths globally is associated with sepsis. However, it also highlighted that despite an increase in recorded numbers, demonstrating that the international and collaborative effort in past decades has made a significant impact. The research confirmed the urgent need for this effort to continue, and the need to further implement and enact the 2017 WHO Resolution on Sepsis.
We released our newly designed infographics, World Sepsis Day Flyers, and sepsis awareness pocket cards including the findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study. As always these are free to download so you can spread awareness about sepsis in your networks and organizations.
March
This was the month that the COVID-19 pandemic truly took a grip globally. The World Sepsis Day Head Office moved to working from home, and like most organizations, we needed to re-think how we continue our work through a difficult and strange time.
The 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance was moved to being online (and can be watched here) which ensured the collaborative fight against sepsis across Europe could continue despite social distancing measures. Unfortunately, our supporter meeting was regretfully postponed due to the 40th ISICEM in Brussels being canceled where the meeting would be held.
Prof. Konrad Reinhart spoke with other experts at the ‘The Sepsis Comprehensive Center Charité (SCCC)’ Hot Topics - Global Burden, Diagnosis and Adjunctive Therapies and Sepsis and COVID-19. Offering an update on the global burden of sepsis and on novel approaches for the early detection of sepsis and treatments, an essential dialogue needed for the COVID-19 pandemic and for improving sepsis prevention. You can still watch this on YouTube here.
April
Despite the pandemic taking a tight grip over our lives, April turned out to be a month filled with the development of impressive tools to fight sepsis and provide support for those affected. Sepsisfonden began our month with the excellent launch of a wonderful educational video about sepsis (we highly recommend watching or using it as an awareness tool), targeted at younger people.
We also launched our ‘Life After Sepsis’ guide, a free downloadable brochure for guiding survivors and their families. However, we recommend that the general public and health professionals use the guide too.
We also added Spanish and Italian translations of infographics - helping spread sepsis awareness even further.
The GSA had the opportunity to interview Dr. Mercedes Bonet, the study lead at the WHO who led on the ‘Global Maternal Sepsis Study (GLOSS)’ - which highlighted that every pregnant or recently pregnant woman is at risk of an infection that could trigger sepsis, regardless of where she lives, and it is essential this is recognized to build effect responses worldwide.
We also launched a COVID-19 information page on our website, assembling an international task force of experts to answer the questions of our wider network.
May / June
Our response to a controversial argument about the overestimation of the incidence of sepsis was released in Intensive Care Medicine, outlining that sepsis needs to be established as a global health priority and should not be downplayed.
Fortunately, our voice is being heard, demonstrated in the WHO’s pledge to publish the first global report on sepsis epidemiology and burden. But a greater focus is still needed and we continue to advocate and push for change along with our network.
Executive Committee member Prof. Simon Finfer was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to intensive care medicine, to medical research and education, and to global health institutes.
Prof. Flavia Machado was interviewed by JAMA Network about the pandemic in Brazil and confirmed that in most cases people are dying from refractory septic shock. The correlation between COVID-19 and sepsis was becoming very clear to the scientific community.
July / August
We have supported the growth of patients groups as well, whose perspective must be central in the fight against sepsis. We gladly welcomed the creation of the France Sepsis Association. President Jamila Hedjal shared with us the story about the loss of her son - Farès in 2018 to sepsis, and her brave response to this tragedy. Also thanks to her strong efforts, France is moving forward towards preventing sepsis deaths.
Our World Sepsis Day Infographics and Sepsis Awareness Posters were made available in Turkish - adding to the list of translations in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Finnish, and German.
The CODA ZERO team in July hosted a series of online events, the first one being Pandemic Sepsis: Lessons from COVID19 - Online Event August 5th, 2020. You can still watch this virtual event, and we recommend following them for future events designed to educate, connect, and foster advocacy around global health.
August saw the big launch of our online shop. Now you can easily and securely order anything to make your sepsis awareness event even greater, from apparel like t-shirts and sports jerseys to event material and give-aways like environmentally-friendly balloons, stickers, thumb drives, to printed material like our Pocket Cards for Medical Professionals or Laypeople, and more.
September
September is always a very big month for us, with our focus being on World Sepsis Day. This year was no less busy especially due to our World Sepsis Congress Spotlight: Sepsis, Pandemics, and Antimicrobial Resistance – Global Health Threats of the 21st Century, in partnership with the WHO on September 9th. There were 6 sessions, with over 30 speakers from 20 countries. You can still watch all six sessions if you missed them.
Our friends the German Sepsis Foundation were also very busy this month for World Sepsis Day - hosting a press conference and panel discussion focused on sepsis and pandemics, with high-profile representatives of the healthcare system. German speakers can watch this on YouTube.
We were delighted the promote 17-year-old Allison Guo’s fantastic and beautifully illustrated picture book - COVID-19: Not Just the Flu, COVID-19 Pathogenesis Explained Easily for All. It is free to download and has been peer-reviewed by our very own Prof. Konrad Reinhart.
This year ahead of World Sepsis Day on September 13th, we wanted to ensure that our members and supporters were aware that COVID-19 can lead to sepsis and therefore actions to improve clinical management and raising awareness about sepsis are critical and save lives. We issued a press release to be read and shared across our network.
October / November
We were incredibly excited to officially announce the winners of the 2020 GSA Awards - kindly sponsored by the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation - to honor outstanding efforts to increase sepsis awareness and raise the quality of sepsis prevention and management, they are even more inspirational in times of COVID-19. The Winners included; Queensland Health, Sepsisfonden, The African Research Collaboration on Sepsis, James Karugba of Holy Innocents Children’s Hospital in Uganda, and David Carlbom who works at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
We also launched our ‘Stop Sepsis Save Lives’ face masks on our online store - and they are still available for sale.
Our 2020 WSD Event Poster was made available, summarizing hundreds of events and activities that took place for this year’s World Sepsis Day to raise awareness about sepsis. It is available for download and physical copies via our online store.
November ended on an exciting new chapter for the GSA, welcoming in Niranjan ‘Tex’ Kissoon as the new President. On November 10th, 2020, the Board of the GSA elected Tex, who has an extensive background in pediatrics, emergency medicine, and critical care. He has been serving as Vice President of the Global Sepsis Alliance previously and has been an important pillar of the GSA from the very beginning.
As we welcomed in our new president, we reflected on the enormous achievement of the GSA so far thanks to the dedication of our previous president Prof. Dr. Konrad Reinhart - who created the GSA in 2010, and his instrumental efforts in establishing World Sepsis Day in 2012. We are very happy to say that he will remain a pivotal part of the GSA on the executive committee, continuing to support the fight against sepsis.
December
December began with #GivingTuesday, a movement established in 2012 as a response to the consumeristic overdose of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We were very kindly supported through donations, helping us to continue fight sepsis globally - raising awareness, affecting policy and implementing national sepsis plans, educating healthcare providers and laypeople about sepsis, and much more.
We also rounded off this year making our World Sepsis Day Infographics even more accessible globally - and we can now offer them translated into Arabic.
Looking Ahead to 2021
We will continue to heavily advocate for sepsis to be prioritized as a major global health threat, and this task will be elevated by the major strides made in 2020.
We are also working to affirm the notion that COVID-19 is viral sepsis amongst our stakeholders and that other forms of sepsis must be equally treated as an emergency. Early in 2021, you can expect a statement in a medical journal - stay tuned.
We have also started planning our 3rd World Sepsis Congress, titled ‘Advancing Prevention, Survival, and Survivorship of Sepsis and COVID-19’. It’s currently scheduled for April 21st and 22nd, 2021 – save the date!
You can also expect the 2021 GSA Awards, a (online-only) ceremony for the 2020 GSA Award Winners, and, as every year, more material in more languages. We are also planning WSD Supporter Meetings, as well as a couple of events from our Regional Sepsis Alliances.
And of course, as every year we will be promoting World Sepsis Day on September 13th - hopefully with more events and possibilities…here’s to 2021!