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Maria Van Kerkhove Profile picture
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Jun 19 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
We are not yet living with #COVID19 responsibly. Not even close.

Short🧵

↗️People are dying unnecessarily
↗️Millions infected each week
↗️Billions not fully vaccinated
↗️Lives & livelihoods suffering
↘️Dismantling systems needed to end the global emergency & fight the next one
While some countries have managed to significantly reduce hospitalisations and deaths, many have not. Too many vulnerable people continue to be missed with vaccination, clinical care, tests, accurate & reliable information…

#VaccinEquity remains a significant problem globally
… Far too many countries have abandoned public health measures (masks indoors, distance), not invested (ventilation, PPE, HCW), continue to politicize #COVID19 undermining the effectiveness of tools that work… all of which allows the virus to continue to circulate intensely…
…This also results in too many deaths (4% ⬆️ from last week globally), more #LongCOVID, more health worker burnout, further inequities in access and care…

…and this risks more variants emerging that are more transmissible, may be more severe, may have more immune escape…
What keeps me up at night is the complacency, people suffering, death, the dismantling of surveillance, testing, sequencing, workforce…

Pandemic preparedness should be happening now… while we are fighting the current pandemic. Invest now. What are we waiting for?

@WHO
Latest @WHO #COVID19 Weekly Epidemiological Update and Weekly Operational Update

who.int/emergencies/di…

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More from @mvankerkhove

Maria Van Kerkhove Profile picture
Mar 15
We @WHO recognise the tremendous desire to move on from #COVID19, the difficulties to keep fighting & the enormous toll this has taken on our lives.

However, the pandemic will end with our actions & we have the power to take the death and devastation out of COVID.

Short🧵
There are alot of questions about what’s going on with #COVID19 so let’s break it down…

First, #Omicron is still spreading at a very intense level and we are starting to see an increase in cases after a few weeks of decline (this is despite big reductions in testing)
Increasing cases will occur where measures are lifted even in the context of high vaccination coverage—this shouldn’t be a surprise as vaccines are incredibly effective at reducing severe disease and death, but not infections

Note the significant regional differences in trends👇
Read 10 tweets
Maria Van Kerkhove Profile picture
Feb 27
(Unsurprisingly) I welcome further studies on the origins of #SARSCoV2

Short thread with initial thoughts on two preprints released yesterday. Bottom line: Keep following the science because many more studies are needed.

1/11
2/ Critical to any understanding of the emergence of a new pathogen are studies of the earliest known and suspected cases. Identifying the first human case of a new disease is EXTREMELY difficult, if not impossible.
3/ There could be multiple spillover events from an animal reservoir or intermediate host(s) before the virus spread efficiently. These early cases would be extremely difficult to be identify…sequencing is critical.
Read 11 tweets
Maria Van Kerkhove Profile picture
Feb 8
Short 🧵 on #omicron (filmed yesterday)

The global situation with #COVID19 is dynamic. @WHO Global COVID-19 epi situation available here who.int/publications/m…

1/5
2/5 What is #Omicron? And what about BA.2?
3/5 What is the risk of severe disease with #Omicron?
Read 5 tweets
Maria Van Kerkhove Profile picture
Jan 19
Latest @WHO Weekly #COVID19 Epidemiological Update published last night (18.01.22)

Case reporting ⬆️ 20% globally in last week, w significant variation around the world.Deaths slightly increased w 45,543 people reported dead. Far far too many when tools can prevent #VaccinEquity
In last 7 days, almost 19 million cases were reported to @WHO. True number of cases is higher & this spike is causing significant burden on health systems around the world bc hospitalisations are also increasing due to #Omicron.

NB variation in % case & death change by region
With thanks to increased #COVID19 surveillance by professionals all over the world and expanded sequencing globally, sequences shared with @gisaid allow for detailed analyses of #Omicron (and all @WHO characterised VOI and VOCs) by @WHO and partners around the world.
Read 4 tweets
Maria Van Kerkhove Profile picture
Dec 1, 2021
🧵Almost 3.8 million new #COVID19 cases & 47,524 deaths were reported last week

The◼️ line is reporting deaths. This should be a much steeper decline bc of available COVID-19 vaccines. But its not bc the world is not prioritising vaccination in people at risk in ALL countries
Important: Delta is dominant worldwide and needs to be controlled. What we do for Delta will benefit Omicron - no matter what we learn about this variant.

Right now, we need to continue to drive down transmission, drive up vaccination coverage in at risk populations.
A plea: Countries that have driven down transmission need to remain vigilant & keep transmission low (& no, I don’t mean with lockdowns). We mean tailored and targeted measures in all countries based on epi and capacities.

covid19.who.int
Read 4 tweets
Maria Van Kerkhove Profile picture
Sep 26, 2021
A couple of misrepresentations in the @WSJ article that I’d like to address… short thread⬇️
The @WHO SAGO is NOT the next mission team to China. It is an advisory group set up to establish a framework to study the origins of emerging and re-emerging pathogens of pandemic potential when they emerge.
For decades, we have seen the repeated threat of emergence of known & new threats: SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, avian flu, pandemic flu H1N1pdm09, Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, Nipah, Zika… SARS-CoV-2. #COVID19 was disease X and the next disease X is out there.
Read 10 tweets

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