WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts issued its recommendations on the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech #COVID19 vaccine. It reiterated the need to use the WHO Prioritization Roadmap to ensure that #healthworkers at high risk & older people are prioritized bit.ly/3biEl2f
We owe it to #healthworkers, who have been working around the clock, caring for our loved ones, to ensure that they are vaccinated as soon as possible. Given limited supplies, this is the right thing to do. bit.ly/3biEl2f
Vaccines give us great hope in 2021, but we must continue using ALL the #COVID19 tools at our disposal, incl. tests & treatments. These life-saving tools will only be effective if they are available for the most vulnerable equitably & simultaneously in all countries. #ACTogether
The priority must be to protect health systems and national programmes should enable equitable access to #COVID19 vaccines, especially to population groups disproportionately affected by the virus. #ACTogether
"COVAX, set up by @gavi@CEPIvaccines & WHO in April 2020, has now secured contracts of 2B doses of safe & effective #COVID19 vaccines, which we're ready to rollout as soon as the vaccines are delivered.
We also have the right of first refusal on an additional 1B doses"-@DrTedros
"At present, 42 countries are rolling out safe & effective #COVID19 vaccines. 36 of these are high-income countries & 6 are middle-income.
There’s a clear problem that low- & most middle-income countries are not receiving the vaccine yet"-@DrTedros
Yearly half of the 🌐’s children (approx. 1 billion) are affected by physical, sexual or psychological violence, suffering injuries, disabilities & death, because countries have failed to follow established strategies to #EndViolence against children.
Nearly 3 in 4 children (300 million) aged 2-4 years regularly suffer physical punishment and/or psychological violence at the hands of parents and caregivers.
"In our first briefing of 2021, I want to take a quick step back & tell you what’s going to be coming up in the next few weeks. The #COVID19 pandemic is still a major public health crisis. We’re in a race to save lives, livelihoods & end this pandemic"-@DrTedros
"However, WHO is not just fighting the #COVID19 pandemic, we’re fighting numerous disease outbreaks across the world, picking up and analysing hundreds of potential signals every week"-@DrTedros
Regulatory experts from around the 🌐 reviewed the data on the Pfizer/BioNTech #COVID19 vaccine’s safety, efficacy & quality. They found that the vaccine met the must-have criteria for safety & efficacy & that the benefits of using it to address the disease offset potential risks
The WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval processes to import & administer the #COVID19 vaccine. It also enables @UNICEF to procure the vaccine for distribution to countries in need.