Thread by @mvankerkhove

UPDATED @WHO guidance: Critical preparedness, readiness and response actions for #COVID19

Continue to take all necessary public health & social measures to reduce exposure to #SARSCoV2

who.int/publications/i…

Variants of #SARSCoV2 are circulating, some with increased transmissibility. However, the preparedness, readiness and response actions that are needed remain the same, and should be reinforced.

Countries need access to vaccines and should administer #COVID19 vaccines according to their National Deployment and Vaccination Plans. #COVAX @WHO

Countries should be able to deliver the #COVID19 care pathway for patients, including life-saving therapies of corticosteroids and oxygen for those with severe disease, regardless of transmission scenario. @WHO

There are seven transmission scenarios for #COVID19: no cases, sporadic cases, clusters of cases and four levels of community transmission. Countries should assess the transmission scenarios at sub-national levels using data captured from surveillance and health systems. @WHO

Countries should respond to all #COVID19 transmission scenarios while including communities in decision making processes to enhance adherence to public health and social measures. @WHO

Prioritization of resources for each technical area will depend on which #COVID19 transmission scenario(s) a country is facing, as well as the response capacity. (Countries could be facing multiple transmission scenarios at the same time). @WHO

There is still much to understand about #COVID19 and its impact in different contexts. Preparedness, readiness and response actions will continue to be driven by rapidly accumulating scientific and public health knowledge.

Preparedness, readiness is a constant. @WHO

Last few pages of this guidance provided links to the many guidance materials by @WHO. No one guidance document contains all recommendations.

@WHO is grateful to work with so many collaborative, dedicated, smart, humble public health professionals across so many disciplines 🌎