Thread by @JeremyFarrar

Two pandemics: as we ease up, virus sweeps the world theguardian.com/world/2021/may…

While in some parts of the world it is easy to hope the worst is almost over, Covid-19 is now charting a catastrophic course globally. The world ignores the unfolding disaster at its peril.

“No-one,either individual country or through collective global leadership, is acting on scale needed right now. Public health & humanitarian crises are escalating not only in India but many part of South Asia,Central & South America & Middle East & at grave risk spreading further

Leaders in the G7, G20 and at the @UN Security Council cannot stand back. Sharing vaccines with vulnerable countries, & all the tools needed to tackle the virus, is urgent. Any decision to delay further will have dire consequences.

“Rich countries, including the UK, US & EU, have bought up the majority of existing vaccine supplies. They must start sharing vaccines with the rest of the world now through COVAX, alongside national rollouts.

Vaccinating whole world isn’t just the morally right thing to do – it’s in every nation’s scientific, public health & economic self-interest. Controlling the pandemic everywhere is our only way of saving lives, restoring livelihoods and growing economies.

If we fail to drive down virus transmission globally at this critical moment, we will all ultimately suffer. Our world will become even more inequitable, fragmented & far more dangerous, just at the time we need to come together to address shared challenges of the 21stCentury

The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board has issued this clear & powerful statement @TheGPMB

"The @TheGPMB is deeply concerned by COVID-19 situation globally, which has entered a new & very serious phase. The number of new cases continues to grow & hospitals & health workers in many countries are overwhelmed, with oxygen & COVID-19 treatments in critically low supply.

Health care systems under extreme pressure, some close to collapse or have collapsed. This situation is beyond capacity of the health sector to solve on its own; it requires a determined & collective political response. It now a whole of society, a humanitarian & a security issue

This virus knows no borders & the disastrous situation is now threatening the whole South Asia region, the Middle East, and South East Asia. The situation in South & Central America continues to worsen & the continent of Africa is at grave risk of further waves, as is South Asia.

If the virus takes hold of very vulnerable regions with millions of displaced people and fragile or conflict zones, the world will face a public health and humanitarian disaster of unprecedented magnitude.

The @TheGPMB urges mobilization of an international response to urgently support India as it fights to contain the virus and assist vulnerable countries in the region to prevent a potential surge in cases.

. @TheGPMB urges countries support equitable access COVID-19 vaccines thru COVAX. COVAX has insufficient supplies to respond to this crisis at scale required. We ask G7 & G20 nations to immediately share their current supply & commit to roadmap sharing future supply thru COVAX

The GPMB calls on the @UN Security Council to demonstrate its concern & immediately take action with the World Health Organization & @UN to prevent this rapidly growing crisis from escalating further.

We ask for this situation to be urgently put on the agenda of the UN Security Council & upcoming G7 & G20 meetings as well as the regional bodies & international finance organizations.

If we do not act now, this will turn into a world crisis – health, social, economic and humanitarian– of historic proportions.

And yet we have the tools, all the tools needed - science and public health has delivered & yet we have not been willing to ensure their equitable access