Thread by @kakape

“The pandemic does not mean life has to stop”, says @DrTedros at @WHO presser. "We must all learn to live with the virus, and to take the steps necessary to live our lives while protecting ourselves and others, especially those at the highest risk of #COVID19."

@DrTedros @WHO "In many countries, more than 40% of #COVID19-related deaths have been linked to long-term care facilities”, says @DrTedros. Up to 80% in some high-income countries. @WHO has new policy brief on preventing and managing #covid19 in such facilities. who.int/publications/i…

@DrTedros @WHO But young people are at risk too, says @DrTedros. “One of the challenges we face, is convincing younger people of this risk. Evidence suggests that spikes of cases in some countries are being driven in part by younger people letting down their guard."

@DrTedros @WHO "We have all seen the harm done by misinformation”, says @DrTedros. “But information alone is not enough.” Says countries are using many tools to influence behaviour: information campaigns, laws, regulations, guidelines, fines. “We are learning what works and what doesn’t."

@DrTedros @WHO “That’s why behavioural science is so important”, says @DrTedros. Announces that @WHO has created "Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health”: 22 outside experts, chaired by @CassSunstein.

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein New group incl. experts in psychology, neuroscience, behavioural economics, anthropology and more, says @DrTedros. It will "advise @WHO on how to increase and improve the use of behavioral and social sciences in a range of health areas, including #covid19."

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein “Health involves behavior, and whether we're speaking of #covid19 or sexual and reproductive health or smoking, or other non communicable diseases, human behavior is at the root of it”, says @CassSunstein and runs through a few things "we know":

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein - habits are persistent even if unhealthy, but they can be changed
- humans often focus on present more than future and that can lead to unhealthy behavior
- humans tend to be unrealistically optimistic and that can lead to good outcomes, but also reluctance to take precautions

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein "We know that simple, clear communications are often highly effective, and that complicated, unruly communications aren't.
We know that it's essential to meet people where they are, rather than to speak in terms that are unintelligible”, says @CassSunstein.

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein Q about situation in Latin America.
"Many countries still have very very intense community transmission”, says @DrMikeRyan. “The number and rates of cases and deaths is still rising across large areas in Central and South America so from Mexico, all the way down to Argentina"

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein @DrMikeRyan “From the perspective of @WHO we still consider Central and South America to be an epicenter of of transmission and much work is still to be done”, says @DrMikeRyan. “Progress is being made, but Latin America is still very much in in a big fight to battle this disease."

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein @DrMikeRyan Q: How will @WHO ensure that most vulnerable people in Africa have access to any successful vaccine?
In response @doctorsoumya explains COVAX facility. (I explain what that is here: sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/v…)

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein @DrMikeRyan @doctorsoumya If COVAX works, "perhaps for the first time we would have a situation where people, regardless of where they live, will get the vaccines, as they become available at the same time, rather than some countries having to wait for others”, says @doctorsoumya.

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein @DrMikeRyan @doctorsoumya Q about how WHO looks back at past six months (since #PHEIC declared).
“It has been a pretty incredible six months”, says @mvankerkhove. "I think we can characterize the response globally as mixed.” Many countries that had experience with SARS, MERS, etc did better, she says.

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein @DrMikeRyan @doctorsoumya @mvankerkhove "I think we're all learning lessons that there's been a deep underinvestment in the public health architecture, the capacity to do surveillance, the capacity to do contact tracing, the capacity to run an integrated response”, says @DrMikeRyan.

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein @DrMikeRyan @doctorsoumya @mvankerkhove WHO may have overestimated public health capacities in some countries, says @DrMikeRyan. “I do think we need to look really, really hard at what we assume to be capacities for public health intervention in all countries.”

@DrTedros @WHO @CassSunstein @DrMikeRyan @doctorsoumya @mvankerkhove A single person or community making healthier choices tomorrow than it did yesterday can make a dent in a problem, says @CassSunstein. “That kind of thing scales up from cities to nations, and from nations to continents and of course, to the world."