Thread by @kakape

“An estimated 1.4 million fewer people received care for TB in 2020, compared with 2019”, says @drtedros at @WHO presser, noting that it’s #WorldTBDay tomorrow and that #covid19 has disrupted services. “We fear that more than half a million more people may have died. "

@DrTedros @WHO “In January, I said that the world was on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure unless urgent steps were taken to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines”, says @drtedros. “We have the means to avert this failure. But it's shocking how little has been done to avert it.”

@DrTedros @WHO "Countries that are now vaccinating younger, healthy people at low risk of disease are doing so at the cost of the lives of health workers, older people, and other at risk groups, in other countries”, says @DrTedros.

@DrTedros @WHO "The world's poorest countries wonder whether rich countries really mean what they say when they talk about solidarity”, says @DrTedros.
"The inequitable distribution of vaccines is not just a moral outrage, it is also economically and epidemiologically self-defeating."

@DrTedros @WHO More than 800 experts met on Friday to discuss global genomic surveillance of #SARSCoV2, says @drtedros.
"Knowing when, how and where the virus is evolving is vital information. But it's of limited use if countries do not work together to suppress transmission everywhere…"

@DrTedros @WHO "There are some countries that have set a great example”, says @DrTedros. "The Republic of Korea, despite being a high income country that could easily afford to buy vaccines through bilateral deals, has waited its turn for vaccines through #COVAX."

@DrTedros @WHO “AstraZeneca is the only company that has committed to not profiting from its# COVID19 vaccine during the pandemic”, says @drtedros. “It's the only vaccine developer that has made a significant contribution to vaccine equity by licensing its technology to several other companies"

@DrTedros @WHO Results out from Chile, Peru and US today are mentioned by @drtedros.
(Story here: sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/a…)
"These data are further evidence that the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective"

@DrTedros @WHO Q about Brazil
“Certainly the situation in Brazil now requires concerted action”, says @DrMikeRyan. “It's not just in the Amazonas region but in other regions of Brazil the numbers are on the rise, and the pressure on the system ...remains very high."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan 25 of 27 federal units in Brazil have reported ICU occupancy of more than 80%, says @mvankerkhove. "In the last seven days, the average number of cases reported per day has exceed 70,000, with more than 2000 deaths per day. So the country is under some heavy burden."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Had to take care of an interview int he middle of this, but going to post a few highlights from the rest of the presser now.
Also, one correction: I wrote #WorldTBDay tomorrow, but it’s Wednesday, so day after tomorrow. (Today definitely feels like its been two days already)

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove Normally, 3-5 billion doses of vaccine are produced per year, says @doctorsoumya. “That's the combined annual output of all the vaccine manufacturers around the world. And now we have an additional burden of 10, 12, 14 billion doses that are going to be needed."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove @doctorsoumya Q about situation in Europe
"Four of our five WHO regions are seeing an increase in transmission”, says @mvankerkhove "This is the fifth week in a row globally that we have seen an increase in transmission. In the last week cases have increased by 8%."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove @doctorsoumya In Europe cases increased by 12%, "driven by several countries across the European region”, says @mvankerkhove. "A lot of that is driven by the #B117 variant that was first identified in the UK, that is now starting to circulate in many countries in the eastern part of Europe."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove @doctorsoumya “We want to make sure that as vaccines are rolling out that we continue to adhere to the individual-level measures that keep us and our loved ones safe”, says @mvankerkhove. Deaths also increasing again globally. “This is also a worrying sign."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove @doctorsoumya On Europe:
“Coming out of restrictive measures without good surveillance, without high levels of vaccine coverage, with a huge amount of fatigue at play, ... is a recipe for larger outbreaks at community level”, says @DrMikeRyan.

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove @doctorsoumya “The formula for this may be boring, it may not be attractive” says @DrMikeRyan. "There are no silver bullets, but we have got to get back to strong, comprehensive strategic approaches to control of #COVID19 that include vaccination as ONE of those strategies."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove @doctorsoumya People think “if we just get enough vaccine and we push enough vaccine to people, that's going to take care of it”, says @DrMikeRyan.
"I'm sorry it's not. There aren't enough vaccines in the world and they're distributed terribly inequitably."

@DrTedros @WHO @DrMikeRyan @mvankerkhove @doctorsoumya This:
“The reality is that the disease is on the march again in countries in which we've got opening up, natural fatigue, low vaccination coverage, poor surveillance and control measures in place”, says @DrMikeRyan. “We just have got to turn back and face those realities."