Thread by @WHO_Europe

🔴🎥Watch LIVE as WHO/Europe holds a virtual press briefing on COVID-19 with @hans_kluge and technical experts, including a message from @aronanderson ahead of #WorldCancerDay twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

The European Region has recorded 12 million new cases in the past week. This is the highest weekly case incidence since the start of the pandemic and is largely being driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, as it sweeps from West to East @hans_kluge

30% of all COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began have been reported this year alone.

We now have nearly 150 million reported cases of #COVID19 in Europe and Central Asia to date.

22% of all tests recorded are positive @hans_kluge

Hospitalizations continue to rise, mainly in countries with lower vaccination uptake in vulnerable populations @hans_kluge

This rise however, is not as rapid as the case incidence rate – and overall, admissions to intensive care have not increased significantly. For now, the number of deaths across the Region is starting to plateau @hans_kluge

I wish to reiterate the firm call I made last week which is indeed referring to a plausible endgame for the pandemic – not to say that it is now all over - but to highlight that in the European Region, there is a singular opportunity to take control of the transmission...

... because of the congruence of 3 elements:

1⃣A large capital of vaccine derived and natural immunity by Omicron
2⃣A favourable seasonality pause as we move out of the winter
3⃣A lower severity of the Omicron variant, now well established
@hans_kluge

This context, that we have not experienced so far in this pandemic, leaves us with the possibility for a long period of tranquility and a much higher level of population defense against any re-surge in transmission, even with a more virulent variant @hans_kluge

This period of higher protection should be seen as a “ceasefire” that could bring us enduring peace, on the condition that we:

1⃣Consolidate and preserve immunity by keeping vaccinating and boosting;

2⃣focus on the five stabilizers for the most vulnerable, with strong governmental oversight and commitment;
3⃣Promote self-protecting behaviour and individual responsibility – here with lower governmental oversight to limit unnecessary socio-economic impacts;

4⃣Intensify surveillance to detect new variants.

I believe that it is possible to respond to new variants that will inevitably emerge - without re-installing the kind of disruptive measures we needed before @hans_kluge

It is because we see that opportunity that the top priority is to bring all countries to a level of protection which allows them to grasp this opportunity & look ahead towards more stable days. But this demands a drastic & uncompromising increase in vaccine-sharing across borders

We cannot accept vaccine inequity for one more day – vaccines must be for everyone, in the remotest corner of our vast Region and beyond @hans_kluge

Tomorrow is #WorldCancerDay, and I want to take the opportunity to underscore the catastrophic impact the pandemic has had over the past two years on people with #cancer

@hans_kluge

The impact of COVID-19 indeed goes far beyond the disease itself.

Cancer touches all our lives, either directly or through its effect on family and loved ones @hans_kluge

One in four people in Europe and Central Asia will receive a #cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.

It is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the WHO European Region, accounting for more than 20% of all deaths @hans_kluge

Looking back over these past two years, cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment have suffered in an unprecedented way as health services have struggled to respond to #COVID19 @hans_kluge

Consider this: During the early stages of the pandemic, the diagnosis of invasive tumors fell by 44% in Belgium; in Italy, colorectal screenings decreased by 46% between 2019 and 2020; in Spain, the number of cancers diagnosed in 2020 was 34% lower than expected @hans_kluge

The latest Global Pulse Survey – conducted by @WHO on the continuity of essential health services during the #COVID19 pandemic – indicates that in the last quarter of 2021 there was a disruption in cancer care – screening & treatment of between 5-to-50% in all countries reporting

The situation has improved since the first quarter of last year, where services were disrupted by more than 50% in 44% of countries, and by between 5-to-50% in the rest, but the knock-on effect of this disruption will be felt for years @hans_kluge

44% of countries around the world reported an increase in service backlogs for cancer screening in the second half of 2021 @hans_kluge

The way in which the pandemic delays cancer care and creates service backlogs, is a deadly interplay @hans_kluge

At this point in time, 24 months since COVID-19’s arrival, the health workforce is overstretched and exhausted - repurposed to address the direct impact of the virus @hans_kluge

But any respite that widespread immunity provides thanks to vaccination and in the wake of the less severe Omicron, together with the coming spring and summer season, must be used immediately to enable health workers to return to other important health care functions...

... in order to bring backlogs for chronic care services down. @hans_kluge

As we go forward, maintenance of essential health services, including services along the continuum of cancer care – from prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and palliative care – must be a component of emergency planning and response @hans_kluge

#WorldCancerDay tomorrow, is a timely reminder that 30-40% of cancers in Europe and Central Asia - are preventable. To mark the day, we are publishing a new guide on cancer screening, summarizing evidence and ethics, addressing misconceptions @hans_kluge

This is part of an initiative we introduced a year ago - #UnitedActionAgainstCancer – a commitment by WHO to fast-track the elimination of cancer as a life-threatening disease in Europe & Central Asia – through cost-effective, evidence-based policies at every point of cancer care

From where we stand now, as we see cases surge across Europe and Central Asia, we remain at a critical juncture @hans_kluge

But I remain optimistic that if we use the circumstances before us, we have the opportunity to experience more stable days ahead – a time when we will be able to not only manage #COVID19, but also have the capacity to address other urgent health priorities. @hans_kluge