Thread by @kakape

“No country can just pretend the pandemic is over”, says @drtedros at @WHO presser on #COVID19. "The reality is that this coronavirus spreads easily.
It can be fatal to people of all ages and most people remain susceptible."

@DrTedros @WHO "Opening up without having control is a recipe for disaster”, says @DrTedros. “We believe there are 4 essential things that all countries, communities and individuals must focus on to take control."

@DrTedros @WHO 1. Prevent clusters
“In many countries we have seen explosive outbreaks linked to gatherings of people at stadiums, nightclubs, places of worship, and in other crowds”, says @drtedros. “Preventing these amplifying events is essential."

@DrTedros @WHO “Countries or communities experiencing significant community transmission may need to postpone events for a short time, to reduce transmission”, says @DrTedros. “Communities with sporadic cases or small clusters can find creative ways to hold events while minimizing risk."

@DrTedros @WHO 2. Protect the vulnerable
“Countries that do this well may be able to cope with low levels of transmission, as they open up. By protecting those who are most at risk, countries can save lives, prevent people becoming severely ill, and take the pressure off their health systems"

@DrTedros @WHO 3. Make sure individuals protect themselves and others.
"Stay at least one meter away from others.
Clean your hands regularly.
Practice respiratory etiquette and wear a mask.
Avoid the 3 Cs: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings."

@DrTedros @WHO 4. Test, trace, isolate, quarantine.
"Widespread stay-at-home orders can be avoided if countries take temporary and geographically-targeted interventions”, says @DrTedros.

@DrTedros @WHO “National unity and global solidarity are essential”, says @drtedros. “This virus thrives when we are divided. When we are united, we can defeat it.”

@DrTedros @WHO Q about what to look for as late stage vaccine results come out.
"We'd like to see a vaccine with at least 50% efficacy preferably higher”, says @doctorsoumya. Ideally lower bound off efficacy would not be below 30%.

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya Ensuring safety takes time, says @doctorsoumya. “What is important is to really follow up this cohort in order to assess what could potentially be more serious side effects and make sure that that these are still rare and occur at an acceptable frequency."

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya “What's going to be really important is to make decisions based on science”, says @doctorsoumya.
If vaccine is approved prematurely, risk is:
1. will be make it difficult to continue randomised trials
2. vaccine could have low efficacy or be harmful

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya Q from @HelenBranswell about status of COVAX (today is target date for countries to commit to joining).
Bruce Aylward says EU is joining forces with COVAX, as well as individual countries like Germany. “So far it looks quite encouraging”, he says.

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell Some countries may still join late, says Aylward. “The next big milestone of course is going to be 18th of September, and that's the date by which countries will have needed to make a binding financial commitment of their intent."

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell Q about #covid19 in children.
“While we don't have a complete picture of what transmission looks like within children there appear to be differences by age group”, says @mvankerkhove. "So we're still learning."

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove Q about situation in Europe
"I think what we're finding out is that our new normal includes physical distancing, our new normal includes making some modifications to our daily life to keep ourselves protected” and to protect others, says @mvankerkhove.

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove Aylward adds on Europe: "I think that while we cannot be complacent there's some encouraging signs already that even these initial up-swings can be turned around much more rapidly than they were in the spring because of the knowledge, skills and capacities that have been built."

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove Q about infectiousness.
@mvankerkhove explains that a PCR detects viral fragments, but a positive test does not necessarily mean someone is infectious. Tests looking to isolate live virus give a better sense of that.

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove While results are still preliminary, "it appears people are most infectious at around the time they've developed symptoms, and for the first 5, 6, 7, 8 days of illness”, says @mvankerkhove. “It can be different for individuals who have severe disease."

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove Q about WHO stance on China and Russia authorising emergency use of vaccines.
“Our preferred approach is to have complete data sets that could be used for pre-qualification of vaccines, and that would then allow large scale procurement by global bodies”, says @doctorsoumya.

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove Any large scale use needs to be flanked by close monitoring, @DrMikeRyan points out. “If you move too quickly to vaccinating millions or hundreds of millions or billions of people, you may miss certain adverse events that you won't pick up with smaller numbers."

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove @DrMikeRyan Q about Sweden (apparently David Nabarro lauded the country’s #covid19 response on NZ radio)
“There is a misunderstanding that Sweden has not implemented control measures", says @DrMikeRyan. "Sweden has implemented quite strong control measures for COVID."

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove @DrMikeRyan What Sweden did differently: It "has tried to rely on individuals and communities to comply with the advice of government”, says @drmikeryan. “That's based on a very high level of trust historically between governments in Sweden and its own population"

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove @DrMikeRyan Q about creative ways to have mass gatherings.
"I've seen some very creative nightclub situations where ... you'd only have one or two people per car, and no one can leave their car and there's a DJ playing", says @mvankerkhove. "We are social creatures."

@DrTedros @WHO @doctorsoumya @HelenBranswell @mvankerkhove @DrMikeRyan Q about how how to react to protests like the ones in Berlin this weekend?
“It's really important that governments don't overreact to people protesting against measures”, says @DrMikeRyan. Important to enter into a dialogue. "And you may not convince everybody."

And presser ends with strong words from @DrTedros on people saying “but only the elderly are dying, it’s fine”: “Accepting someone to die because of age is moral bankruptcy at its highest and we shouldn’t allow our society to behave this way. We should care for one another.”

@DrTedros “The best way to end this pandemic is through solidarity, through cooperation”, says @drtedros. "Whether we like it or not, we're living in a globalized world. We are intertwined. The only option we have is to move together. And to fight this enemy together."