Thread by @WHO

Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros pscp.tv/w/c59QrTI2MTAy…

@DrTedros "Globally, newly-reported cases of #COVID19 have now declined for 8 weeks in a row, and deaths have declined for the 7th straight week. This is good news, but new infections and deaths remain high globally"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Last week more than 2.5 million #COVID19 cases and almost 64,000 deaths were reported – that’s 250 cases and 6 deaths every minute, that we know of"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1406993593525583880?s=20

@DrTedros "The rate of decline in most regions has slowed, and every region has countries that are seeing a rapid increase in #COVID19 cases and deaths"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "In Africa, the number of #COVID19 cases and deaths increased by almost 40% in the past week, and in some countries the number of deaths tripled or quadrupled"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "While a handful of countries have high vaccination rates & are now seeing lower numbers of hospitalisations & deaths, other countries in Africa, the Americas & Asia are now facing steep #COVID19 epidemics. These cases and deaths are largely avoidable"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros "There are several reasons for these increases, including the increased spread of variants of concern, more social mixing, ineffective use of public health and social measures and vaccine inequity"-@DrTedros #COVID19

@DrTedros "The inequitable access to #COVID19 vaccines has demonstrated that in a crisis, low-income countries cannot rely on vaccine-producing countries to supply their needs"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros "We’ve seen it before with #HIV, when people in low- & middle-income countries couldn’t access lifesaving antiretroviral treatment.

We’ve seen it with #diabetes, where insulin is priced high despite having been around for more than a century"-@DrTedros #HealthEquity

@DrTedros "The #COVID19 pandemic has shown that relying on a few companies to supply global public goods is limiting, & dangerous. To boost manufacturing, WHO has continued to call for the sharing of know-how, technology & licenses, & the waiving of intellectual property rights"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "Enhancing local production of health products has been an area of focus for WHO for several years, but the pandemic has brought it into even sharper focus"-@DrTedros #HealthEquity

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1406994824067178505?s=20

@DrTedros "Just a few weeks ago, the #WHA74 adopted a landmark resolution on strengthening local production of medicines and other health technologies to improve access"-@DrTedros #HealthEquity

@DrTedros "And today, I joined the World Local Production Forum, which aims to strengthen production capacity where it exists, and to build it where it is lacking"-@DrTedros #HealthEquity

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1406995058654646272?s=20

@DrTedros "In April, WHO issued a call for Expressions of Interest to establish technology transfer hubs for #COVID19 mRNA vaccines"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1383068983595765764?s=20

@DrTedros "Tech-transfer hubs are training facilities where manufacturers from low- and lower-middle income countries can receive training in how to produce certain vaccines, and the relevant licenses to do so"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1406995839285927939?s=20

@DrTedros "mRNA technology has been in development for decades, and is the basis for at least two safe and effective #COVID19 vaccines. It’s potentially easier to scale than other vaccine technologies and could be faster and easier to adapt to variants of concern"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros "Following our call for expressions of interest, we received 50+ proposals, about 1/2 of which were from companies/ institutions interested in receiving technology, & 1/2 were interested in providing the technology, or acting as the training hub, or both"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros "Today I am delighted to announce that WHO is in discussions with a consortium of companies and institutions to establish a technology transfer hub in #SouthAfrica"-@DrTedros bit.ly/3gRz7fe

@DrTedros "The consortium involves a company Afrigen Biologics & Vaccines, which will act as the hub both by manufacturing mRNA vaccines itself & by providing training to a manufacturer Biovac. In time, Afrigen could provide training to other manufacturers in Africa & beyond"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "@AfricaCDC will provide guidance through the Partnership for African Vaccines Manufacturing. WHO is facilitating this effort by establishing the criteria for the tech transfer, assessing the applications, developing standards & providing ongoing support & training"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @AfricaCDC "We are now in negotiations with several companies that have indicated interest in providing their mRNA technology to the hub"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1406998391264100362?s=20

@DrTedros @AfricaCDC "This selection will be based on how advanced the technology is, in terms of clinical efficacy data, and on the terms under which the company is willing to share its technology"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1406998538056314885?s=20

@DrTedros @AfricaCDC "In the coming weeks, we will continue to assess proposals for other tech-transfer hubs for mRNA and other technology platforms"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @AfricaCDC "It’s important to emphasise that this is an important step that will yield results in the medium-term. In the short-term, we need to do everything possible to increase the equitable production and distribution of vaccines, through #COVAX"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @AfricaCDC "To say more about the 🇿🇦 hub, it’s my great honour to be joined by President @CyrilRamaphosa. This is a great step forward for 🇿🇦 & for the 🌍. I hope this will be a key moment for increasing production capacity in Africa for #COVID19 vaccines & for future vaccines"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @AfricaCDC @CyrilRamaphosa "🇫🇷 has been a strong supporter of local production, and President @EmmanuelMacron has personally committed time and resources to work with WHO and our partners to achieve this goal. President Macron could not be with us in person, but he has sent us this video message"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @AfricaCDC @CyrilRamaphosa @EmmanuelMacron "WHO’s primary focus remains supporting countries to suppress #COVID19 transmission, save lives and end this pandemic.

At the same time, we must all use this opportunity to prepare for the future, by building capacities for our children and their children"-@DrTedros