Thread by @WHO

LIVE: media briefing on #COVID19 and other global health issues with @DrTedros twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

@DrTedros "#COVID19, driven by BA.4 and BA.5 in many places, cases are on the rise in 110 countries, causing overall global cases to increase by 20% and deaths have risen in 3 of the 6 WHO regions even as the global figure remains relatively stable"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros "This pandemic is changing but it’s not over. Our ability to track the #COVID19 virus is under threat as reporting and genomic sequences are declining meaning it is becoming harder to track Omicron and analyse future emerging variants"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1542142685993115654?s=20&t=DBeYJPQXH7WzmwHyaZvIPA

@DrTedros "We’re close to the mid-point of 2022, which is the point at which WHO had called on all countries to vaccinate at least 70% of their population.
-In past 18 months, 12+ billion 💉 have been distributed 🌍
-75% of the 🌍’s 👩‍⚕️ & over-60s are now vaccinated"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros "@TheLancet estimates that 20 million lives have been saved because of #COVID19 vaccines"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1542143472127336448?s=20&t=DBeYJPQXH7WzmwHyaZvIPA

@DrTedros @TheLancet "On the flip side, hundreds of millions of people, including tens of millions of #healthworkers and older people in lower-income countries remain unvaccinated, which means they are more vulnerable to future waves of the virus"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @TheLancet "While the hoarding of vaccines by rich & manufacturing countries was the major barrier to access last year, increasingly political commitment to getting 💉 out to people - & challenges of disinformation – have been hurdles as the national level in 2022"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @TheLancet "With only 58 countries hitting the 70% target, some have said it’s not possible for low-income countries to make it. I was just in #Rwanda where 2nd dose vaccination rates are above 65% & rising. Others like #Nepal & #Cambodia have shown it’s possible"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @TheLancet "Yet the average rate in low-income countries is 13%. But if there is enough political will domestically, support to ensure rollouts to communities and disinformation tackled, high vaccination rates are entirely achievable"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @TheLancet "When vaccine rollouts began, WHO called for all countries to start with a layered approach targeting older people and #healthworkers who were most at risk from the virus before moving to cover the rest of the population"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @TheLancet "Going forward, to prevent #COVID19 deaths and severe disease, it’s important to keep the most at-risk groups up to date with vaccination. In all countries, 100% of at-risk groups should be vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @TheLancet "For the general population, it also makes sense to keep strengthening that wall of immunity, which helps lessen the severity of the disease and lowers the risk of long- or post-COVID condition"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @TheLancet "Even relatively ‘mild’ #COVID19 cases are disruptive and damaging, keeping children out of school and adults from work, which causes further economic and supply chain disruption"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1542144907900588032?s=20&t=DBeYJPQXH7WzmwHyaZvIPA

@DrTedros @TheLancet "Do I think countries should continue to vaccinate 70% of the population, starting with the most vulnerable?

Yes, I do. If we don’t share the fruits of science equitably, then we undercut the philosophy that all lives have equal worth"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @TheLancet "If rich countries are vaccinating 👶 from as young as 6 months old & planning to do further rounds of vaccination, it is incomprehensible to suggest that lower-income countries should not 💉 & boost their most at risk & work to strengthen their own walls of immunity"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet "On the R&D front, it is critical that there’s funding for second-generation vaccines as well as tests and treatments. While honing vaccines to the evolving virus variants makes sense, I am concerned that the pace of mutation means the 🌍 is continuing to play catch up"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet "Building on existing vaccines that limit severity and prevent death, developing second generation vaccines that stop – or at least lower infection – would be a major step forward"-@DrTedros #COVID19

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1542145613588058114?s=20&t=DBeYJPQXH7WzmwHyaZvIPA

@DrTedros @TheLancet "The ideal solution would be the development of a pan-coronavirus 💉 that covers all the variants so far & potentially future ones. WHO continues to convene scientists & researchers; there has been a lot of research into this virus & understanding immunology overall"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet "With WHO’s Solidarity Trials we can also offer global trials of vaccines to establish the safety and efficacy of quickly and effectively"-@DrTedros #COVID19

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1542146056967815170?s=20&t=DBeYJPQXH7WzmwHyaZvIPA

@DrTedros @TheLancet "So going forward, the world should target 100% vaccination of older people and #healthworkers, as well as strengthening the wall of immunity against #COVID19 towards and beyond 70%"-@DrTedros #VaccinEquity

@DrTedros @TheLancet "As I said at the turn of the year, tests & new treatments like anti-virals should be available in every country. Now is the time for Ministries of Health to integrate tests & anti-virals into clinical care so that people that are sick can be treated quickly"-@DrTedros #COVID19

@DrTedros @TheLancet "With new variants of concern likely - genomic sequencing remains critical.

I also call for accelerated efforts and incentives to be developed around the moonshot of developing a pan-coronavirus vaccine"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet "While the Emergency Committee didn't advise that the #monkeypox outbreak represents a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, they acknowledged the emergency nature of the event requiring intense response efforts"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1540791694236344321?s=20&t=XFPlTG2BiL27oRAq1P3Svg

@DrTedros @TheLancet "They advised that I should reconvene them quickly based on the evolving situation, which I will do"-@DrTedros #monkeypox

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1542147684479471619?s=20&t=DBeYJPQXH7WzmwHyaZvIPA

@DrTedros @TheLancet "#Nigeria, which has been battling a #monkeypox outbreak since 2017, has reported more cases this year, which could mean it matches or exceeds previous peaks. Furthermore, the virus has now been identified in 50+ new countries and that trend is likely to continue"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet "I am concerned about sustained transmission because it would suggest that the virus is establishing itself and it could move into high-risk groups including children, the immunocompromised and pregnant women"-@DrTedros #monkeypox

@DrTedros @TheLancet "Right now the action WHO would like to see:
1️⃣countries should increase surveillance by boost testing
2️⃣countries should take a best practice approach to managing the response. WHO has published clinical guidance to assist public health agencies & 👩‍⚕️ on the frontlines"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet "3️⃣ actively engage communities. With large gatherings happening around the world there are opportunities to both squash the stigma around the virus and spread good information so people can protect themselves"-@DrTedros #monkeypox

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1542150416061939715?s=20&t=DBeYJPQXH7WzmwHyaZvIPA

@DrTedros @TheLancet "WHO is actively working with LGBTQI+ communities to do just that and we encourage groups to get in touch with us if we can support"-@DrTedros #monkeypox

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1542150537017180160?s=20&t=DBeYJPQXH7WzmwHyaZvIPA

@DrTedros @TheLancet "4️⃣ ensure that we provide equitable access to counter measures like vaccines and anti virals and also ensure the systematic collection of clinical data and efficacy to inform future recommendations"-@DrTedros #monkeypox

@DrTedros @TheLancet "WHO has been convening scientists via the R&D blueprint for epidemics to speed up research and development into tests, treatments and vaccines for monkeypox and develop a protocol for therapeutic development and rollout"-@DrTedros #monkeypox

@DrTedros @TheLancet "The food crisis. Across the globe, spiking prices of not only food but fuel and other commodities are leading to millions of people missing meals and going hungry. This is having major physical and mental health repercussions"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet "People need access to affordable and nutritious food, as well as support through these difficult times. Some regions like the Horn of Africa are facing extremely serious food insecurity issues that could lead to famine"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet "Over 80 million people, 1 in 4, in the Eastern Africa region are food insecure and resorting to desperate measures in order to feed themselves and their families"-@DrTedros

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1542151303874449417?s=20&t=DBeYJPQXH7WzmwHyaZvIPA

@DrTedros @TheLancet "Lack of food and nutrition weakens people’s immune system and puts them more at risk of disease. Children that are undernourished are at higher risk of death from pneumonia, diarrheal disease and measles"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet "As I said at the @G7, WHO is working with partners on the ground to respond to this health & nutrition crisis:
-getting essential health services to those in need
-treating sick children with severe malnutrition
-preventing, detecting, responding to disease outbreaks"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet @G7 "WHO is setting up a hub in Nairobi from where it will coordinate the response & organize the delivery of live-saving medical supplies to where they are needed most. These supplies include 💊, 💉, the products & equipment to treat children who are severely malnourished"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @TheLancet @G7 "WHO is working with Ministries of Health in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda to set up robust disease surveillance system to be able to quickly detect and respond to disease outbreaks"-@DrTedros

"In light of the decision by the 🇺🇸 Supreme Court overturning ‘ #RoeVsWade ’, I want to reaffirm WHO’s position. All women should have the right to choose when it comes to their bodies and health. Full stop"-
@DrTedros [Corrected the account tag]