Thread by @kakape

“I wish to confirm that all hypotheses remain open and require further analysis and studies”, says @drtedros about origin of #covid19 at @WHO presser. Calls the origins mission "a very important scientific exercise in very difficult circumstances”.

@DrTedros @WHO "The expert team is working on a summary report which we hope will be published next week”, says @DrTedros.
“The full final report will be published in the coming weeks.”

@DrTedros @WHO “The number of reported cases of #COVID19 globally has declined for the 4th week in a row and the number of deaths also fell for the 2nd consecutive week” says @DrTedros. "This decline appears to be due to countries implementing public health measure more stringently."

@DrTedros @WHO Some people thought a vaccine could not be produced within a year but it happened, says @drtedros.
"Now, some people say that vaccinating, the world is not possible.
They are dead wrong."

@DrTedros @WHO "I'm inviting everyone to join me in a call to action to accelerate production and share technology, so we can produce enough vaccines for the world, and share them equitably”, says @DrTedros.
Quotes Mandela: "it always seems impossible until it's done. "

@DrTedros @WHO WHO held a global meeting this week "to advance our understanding of what is officially called post-COVID condition or long COVID”, says @drtedros. "This was the first in a series of meetings focused on working towards an agreed clinical description of the condition"

@DrTedros @WHO "This illness affects patients with both severe and mild #COVID19”, says @DrTedros. "Part of the challenge is that patients with long COVID can have a range of different symptoms that can be persistent or can come and go.” New case reporting form should help collect more data.

@DrTedros @WHO Q about Ebola in DRC from @HelenBranswell:
3rd case now, says @DrMikeRyan. Sequence data on 1st case could be available this weekend. “It's really important that we understand the origin of this first case and that sequencing data will give us vital information to move forward."

@DrTedros @WHO @HelenBranswell @DrMikeRyan Q: Does WHO consider origins mission a success?
“We've made progress, and that's all you ever make in science is progress”, says @drmikeryan.

@DrTedros @WHO @HelenBranswell @DrMikeRyan "I think we have been successful in many ways”, says @Peterfoodsafety. Clearer that there was no widespread transmission in or around Wuhan prior to December '19. "We have also been able to trace back all the suppliers of different wild animal products to the market."

@DrTedros @WHO @HelenBranswell @DrMikeRyan @Peterfoodsafety Still far from understanding the origin of #SARSCoV2, pinpointing an intermediary species or finding path how it was transmitted, says @Peterfoodsafety. “We knew from before going there that it would take a long time and a lot of effort to get there, so it's just a start."

@DrTedros @WHO @HelenBranswell @DrMikeRyan @Peterfoodsafety So far vaccines seem to protect completely from severe illness and death even when protection from infection with variants is lowered, says @doctorsoumya reiterates. “There hasn't been a single case reported."

@DrTedros @WHO @HelenBranswell @DrMikeRyan @Peterfoodsafety @doctorsoumya Q about giving just one dose of vaccine to people with prior infection.
“More studies are needed, longer follow up is needed to find out how long this kind of protection is going to last”, says @doctorsoumya. For now, WHO guidelines are still to use two doses.