The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the biggest challenges worldwide. The psychological disorders associated with the pandemic causing depression, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety reduce emotional stability. Different antidepressant drugs with several mechanisms of action are used with a prescription. The excretion of the compounds and their metabolites reach municipal wastewaters and enter sewage treatment plants with a low rate of remotion of pharmaceutical compounds and the releasing on the environment. Several effects on aquatic species exposed to antidepressants have been reported as the impact in gene transcription, reproduction cycles, predator defense, and motility. The aim of this work is to resume the common antidepressants detected in wastewater around the world and show the increment of its use during SARS-CoV-2 crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged healthcare systems worldwide. Efforts in low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs) cannot keep stride with infection rates, especially during peaks. A strong international collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU), Tec de Monterrey (TEC), and Servicios de Agua y Drenaje de Monterrey (Local Water Utilities) is acting to integrate wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) of SARS-CoV-2 in the region as a complementary approach to aid the healthcare system. Wastewater was collected from four sewer catchments in the Monterrey Metropolitan area in Mexico (pop. 4,643,232) from mid-April 2020 to February 2021 (44 weeks, n = 644). Raw wastewater was filtered and filter-concentrated, the RNA was extracted using columns, and the Charité/Berlin protocol was used for the RT-qPCR. The viral loads obtained between the first (June 2020) and second waves (February 2021) of the pandemic were similar; in contrast, the clinical cases were fewer during the first wave, indicating poor coverage. During the second wave of the pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 quantification in wastewater increased 14 days earlier than the COVID-19 clinical cases reported. This is the first long-term WBE study in Mexico and demonstrates its value in pandemic management.

Almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and one year after the approval of the first vaccine, bottlenecks in production and supply chain infrastructure continue to delay vaccination campaigns in the Global South. Mobile on Demand (MOD) vaccine manufacture may help quickly ramp up production capacity while bypassing infrastructure bottlenecks. Such decentralised small-scale factories can help tip the scales in the battle against COVID-19 and future pandemics. In this work, we designed two MOD vaccine manufacturing units based on a protein antigen expressed in yeast and in vitro transcription of mRNA. Each unit consists of two shipping containers and allows to produce on the order of 10,000 vaccine doses daily for competitive prices and in close proximity of their end users. Abandoning economies of scale may lead to a moderate increase in production costs that may be outweighed by reduced closed-vial dose wastage and an earlier protection of vulnerable populations.