Thread by @kakape

"One year ago, the first death from #COVID19 was reported”, says @DrTedros at @WHO presser. Now: almost 2 million deaths.
"And while we are hopeful about the safe and effective vaccines that are being rolled out, we want to see this sped up and vaccines allocated equitably."

@DrTedros @WHO "I call for a collective commitment so that within the next 100 days vaccination for health workers, and those at higher risk in all countries are underway”, says @drtedros.

@DrTedros @WHO A @WHO team is in China now, says @drtedros, "working with producers of the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines to assess compliance with international quality manufacturing practices ahead of potential emergency use listing by WHO”.

@DrTedros @WHO "Over the weekend, @WHO was notified by Japan about a new variant of the virus”, says @DrTedros. "The more the virus spreads, the higher the chance of new changes to the virus."

@DrTedros @WHO "Most notably, transmissibility of some variants of the virus appears to be increasing”, says @DrTedros. "This can drive a surge of cases and hospitalizations, which is highly problematic for health workers and hospitals already close to breaking point."

@DrTedros @WHO "What's most critical is that we sequence the virus effectively, so we know how it's changing, and how to respond”, says @DrTedros. “While diagnostics and vaccines still seem to be effective against the current virus, we may need to tweak them in the future."

@DrTedros @WHO "We call on all countries to increase the sequencing of the virus to supplement ongoing surveillance monitoring and testing efforts and to share that data internationally”, says @DrTedros. “This helps us better understand when variants of concern are identified."

@DrTedros @WHO Members of @WHO mission on #sarscov2 origins "are commencing their travel to China”, says @drtedros. “Studies will begin in Wuhan to identify the potential source of infection of the early cases.”

@DrTedros @WHO Q about equitable vaccine distribution.
“Right now we have an inequitable situation where vaccines are going to high-income countries and upper middle-income countries and not yet to the lowest income countries”, says Bruce Aylward.

@DrTedros @WHO "We have strong confidence that we should be able to be vaccinating in February in these countries”, says Bruce Aylward. “But we cannot do that on our own, we require the cooperation of vaccine manufacturers to prioritize deliveries to the COVAX facility”, financiers, suppliers.

@DrTedros @WHO "Most notably, transmissibility of some variants of the virus appears to be increasing”, says @DrTedros. "This can drive a surge of cases and hospitalizations, which is highly problematic for health workers and hospitals already close to breaking point."

@DrTedros @WHO "What's most critical is that we sequence the virus effectively, so we know how it's changing, and how to respond”, says @DrTedros. “While diagnostics and vaccines still seem to be effective against the current virus, we may need to tweak them in the future."

@DrTedros @WHO "We call on all countries to increase the sequencing of the virus to supplement ongoing surveillance monitoring and testing efforts and to share that data internationally”, says @DrTedros. “This helps us better understand when variants of concern are identified."

@DrTedros @WHO Members of @WHO mission on #sarscov2 origins "are commencing their travel to China”, says @DrTedros. “Studies will begin in Wuhan to identify the potential source of infection of the early cases.”

@DrTedros @WHO Q about equitable vaccine distribution.
“Right now we have an inequitable situation where vaccines are going to high-income countries and upper middle-income countries and not yet to the lowest income countries”, says Bruce Aylward.

@DrTedros @WHO "We have strong confidence that we should be able to be vaccinating in February in these countries”, says Bruce Aylward. “But we cannot do that on our own, we require the cooperation of vaccine manufacturers to prioritize deliveries to the COVAX facility”, financiers, suppliers.

@DrTedros @WHO “We are ready to start vaccinating”, says Aylward. But threefold challenge:
1. manufacturers prioritizing supply to COVAX (and getting info on efficacy and quality to WHO)
2. Countries with access to vaccine sharing/donating doses
3. country readiness to vaccinate

@DrTedros @WHO “This disease can be significantly controlled by the application of the measures that we have been outlining here for a year", says @DrMikeRyan. And many countries have managed to do that, he points out, others have not, for different reasons:

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan "The disease has come early, it entered silently, they've been caught unawares, they haven't been able to sustain a response over a long period of time, surveillance systems have been weak, their populations have not been willing or able to implement longterm behavioral measures"

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan "For those of you who have the virus under control: Do not lose control. Look at what other countries are suffering, as they have lost control of the virus”, says @DrMikeRyan.
"So if you're in a low incidence or a zero incidence situation: Keep it up. It is worth the effort."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan "If you're - as many countries are - in a difficult transmission environment right now: There are no other options, but to do what you've done before”, says @DrMikeRyan.
“All we can do is pick ourselves up and take the fight back to the virus."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan New variants are almost like "a substitution in 2nd half of a football game”, says @DrMikeRyan:
“It gives the virus some new energy, some new impetus, it adds to the challenge you face … It doesn't change the rules of the game. It doesn't change what we need to do to win."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan New variants are making control harder, says @mvankerkhove. But: "There were increases in transmission in a number of countries before these variants … were circulating, and that was due to increased mixing of people. There's no way around that. "

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove “The number of contacts that individuals had and their families had increased significantly over the Christmas and New Year holiday”, says @mvankerkhove. "And that has had a direct impact on the exponential growth we have seen in many countries."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Exponential growth in some places is almost vertical, @mvankerkhove notes. "But that doesn't mean we've lost the battle. … Biggest thing that we can do right now is keep physical distance from others. I know that's really difficult. But it is true."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove “Let this mission and the other missions be about the science, not about the politics”, says @drmikeryan on @WHO mission to China.
"We are looking for the answers here that may save us in the future, not culprits and not people to blame.”

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove “We can blame climate change, we can blame policy decisions made 30 years ago” on everything from urbanization to how we exploit forests, says @DrMikeRyan.
“If you're looking for someone to blame, you can find people to blame on every level of what we're doing on this planet."