WHO / HEALTH EMERGENCIES

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21-Dec-2022 00:07:15
WHO’s Director-General said that 2022 has been another very challenging year, “the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic; a global outbreak of mpox; an Ebola outbreak in Uganda; wars in Ethiopia and Ukraine; cholera outbreaks in multiple countries; drought and flooding in the greater Horn of Africa and the Sahel; flooding in Pakistan; and numerous other health emergencies.” WHO

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STORY: WHO / HEALTH EMERGENCIES
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SOURCE: WHO
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DATELINE: 21 DECEMBER 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

1. Wide shot, exterior WHO Headquarters
2. Close up, WHO sign

21 DECEMBER 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

3. Wide shot, meeting room
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“2022 has been another very challenging year for the health of the world’s people: the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic; a global outbreak of mpox; an Ebola outbreak in Uganda; wars in Ethiopia and Ukraine; cholera outbreaks in multiple countries; drought and flooding in the greater Horn of Africa and the Sahel; flooding in Pakistan; and numerous other health emergencies.
That’s not to mention the multiple other threats to health that people face year in, year out, in the air they breathe, the products they consume, the conditions in which they live and work, and in their lack of access to essential health services.”
5. Wide shot, meeting room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“As 2022 draws to a close, we still have many reasons for hope. The COVID-19 pandemic has declined significantly this year, the global monkeypox outbreak is waning, and there have been no cases of Ebola in Uganda for more than three weeks.
We are hopeful that each of these emergencies will be declared over at different points next year.
Certainly, we are in a much better place with the pandemic than we were a year ago, when we were in the early stages of the Omicron wave, with rapidly increasing cases and deaths.
But since the peak at the end of January, the number of weekly reported COVID-19 deaths has dropped almost 90 percent.”
7. Wide shot, meeting room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Gaps in our understanding of how this pandemic began compromise our ability to prevent future pandemics. We continue to hold out hope that China will share the data and conduct the studies we have requested, and which we continue to request. As I have said many times before, all hypotheses about the origins of this pandemic remain on the table.”
9. Wide shot, meeting room
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“WHO is very concerned over the evolving situation in China, with increasing reports of severe disease. In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support. WHO is supporting China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, and we continue to offer our support for clinical care and protecting its health system.”
11. Wide shot, meeting room
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, Health Emergencies Program, WHO:
“The rates of vaccination in China while on the face of it are high, they still lag behind in terms of overall coverage, particularly when you look at people over 60. Particularly when you look at full vaccination, which I think in the case of the available Chinese vaccines would likely be three doses of vaccine as a primary course, not two, plus a booster and I think we are talking protective efficacies of hovering at 50 percent or less with those two-dose regimes in someone over 60. That’s just not adequate protection in a population as large as the population of China. In such a large population, with so many people in a vulnerable setting, with that coverage, we really have to focus on vaccination. Having said that, China made massive progress over the last number of weeks in actually rolling vaccines out. I mean I think there have been a 600 percent increase or more in vaccination rates over the last week or two weeks.”
13. Wide shot, meeting room
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, Health Emergencies Program, WHO:
“I don't think there was a switch off and that switch off has caused this rise in transmission. This is one of the most, the single most transmissible variant we have ever seen is Omicron. We have a vulnerable population and the virus was going to spread in this way around the country, and it is not fair to say that China has lifted all restrictions. I think there are many public health measures still being applied. What they’ve lifted I believe were the more stringent of those requirements that were really putting pressure on people and their normal lives, in their normal pursuit of life and livelihood.”
15. Wide shot, meeting room
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, Health Emergencies Program, WHO:
“One in seven people on the planet live in China. And the acceleration of vaccination, the protection of the health system during this period is in the interest of seven out of seven people on this planet.”
17. Wide shot, meeting room
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Lead COVID-19, Health Emergencies Programme, World Health Organization (WHO):
“There's a lot of reasons for this surge that we are seeing in China but also elsewhere. So, as you know, some of the restrictions around the world, a lot of the restrictions around the world have been eased and Omicron, the latest variant of concern is the most transmissible variant we have seen so far, including all the sub variants that are in circulation, more than 500 of them. And so we will continue to see surges of infection around the world. The question is the impact. And we have seen a decline in the impact of COVID-19 over the last year, for sure, because we have population level immunity that is increasing. Now, clearly what we need to do in all countries including China to increase vaccination coverage in those who are most at risk, people who are over the age of 60, people who are immuno-compromised with underlying conditions and our frontline workers and that includes receiving the full number of doses thar are required for them. And until we see that, we will still see significant numbers of hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths.”
19. Wide shot, meeting room
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“In July, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of monkeypox, known as mpox. Over 83,000 cases have been reported from 110 countries, although the mortality rate has remained low, with 66 deaths. As with COVID-19 the number of weekly reported cases of mpox has declined more than 90 percent from the peak. If the current trend continues, we are hopeful that next year we will also be able to declare an end to this emergency.”
21. Wide shot, meeting room
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“With no new cases since the 27th of November, and no patients being treated at the moment, the countdown to the end of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda has begun. If no new cases are detected, the outbreak will be declared over on the 11th of January. With support from WHO, the Government of Uganda is now focusing its efforts on maintaining surveillance and being prepared should there be any further cases.”
23. Wide shot, meeting room

STORYLINE:

Among the main challenges of 2022, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO) mentioned “a global outbreak of mpox; an Ebola outbreak in Uganda; wars in Ethiopia and Ukraine; cholera outbreaks in multiple countries; drought and flooding in the greater Horn of Africa and the Sahel; flooding in Pakistan; and numerous other health emergencies”.

He continued, “That’s not to mention the multiple other threats to health that people face year in, year out, in the air they breathe, the products they consume, the conditions in which they live and work, and in their lack of access to essential health services.”

“As 2022 draws to a close, we still have many reasons for hope. The COVID-19 pandemic has declined significantly this year, the global monkeypox outbreak is waning, and there have been no cases of Ebola in Uganda for more than three weeks.”

Dr Tedros told reporters that that “We are hopeful that each of these emergencies will be declared over at different points next year.”

He emphasized, “certainly, we are in a much better place with the pandemic than we were a year ago, when we were in the early stages of the Omicron wave, with rapidly increasing cases and deaths.

According to Dr Tedros, since the peak at the end of January, the number of weekly reported COVID-19 deaths has dropped almost 90 percent.

WHO’s Director-General also said, “Gaps in our understanding of how this pandemic began compromise our ability to prevent future pandemics. We continue to hold out hope that China will share the data and conduct the studies we have requested, and which we continue to request.”

He remined, “as I have said many times before, all hypotheses about the origins of this pandemic remain on the table.”

The WHO Chief noted that his organisation “is very concerned over the evolving situation in China, with increasing reports of severe disease.”

He also mentioned, “In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support.”

Dr Tedros confirmed, “WHO is supporting China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, and we continue to offer our support for clinical care and protecting its health system.”

Dr Michael Ryan, who is the Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme said, “The rates of vaccination in China while on the face of it are high, they still lag behind in terms of overall coverage, particularly when you look at people over 60.”

According to Dr Ryan, “I think in the case of the available Chinese vaccines would likely be three doses of vaccine as a primary course, not two, plus a booster and I think we are talking protective efficacies of hovering at 50 percent or less with those two-dose regimes in someone over 60.”
Dr Rayn continued, “That’s just not adequate protection in a population as large as the population of China. In such a large population, with so many people in a vulnerable setting, with that coverage, we really have to focus on vaccination.”

Dr Ryan also stated, “China made massive progress over the last number of weeks in actually rolling vaccines out. I mean I think there have been a 600 percent increase or more in vaccination rates over the last week or two weeks.”

Dr Ryan also told reporters, “I don't think there was a switch off and that switch off has caused this rise in transmission. This is one of the most, the single most transmissible variant we have ever seen is Omicron.”

He also noted, “We have a vulnerable population and the virus was going to spread in this way around the country, and it is not fair to say that China has lifted all restrictions.”

Dr Ryan concluded, “One in seven people on the planet live in China. And the acceleration of vaccination, the protection of the health system during this period is in the interest of seven out of seven people on this planet.”

For her part WHOs COVID-19 Technical Lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, said, “There's a lot of reasons for this surge that we are seeing in China but also elsewhere. So, as you know, some of the restrictions around the world, a lot of the restrictions around the world have been eased and Omicron, the latest variant of concern is the most transmissible variant we have seen so far, including all the sub variants that are in circulation, more than 500 of them.”

She warned that we will continue to see surges of infection around the world.

Dr Van Kerkhove continued, “The question is the impact. And we have seen a decline in the impact of COVID-19 over the last year, for sure, because we have population level immunity that is increasing.”

She also urged, “Now, clearly what we need to do in all countries including China to increase vaccination coverage in those who are most at risk, people who are over the age of 60, people who are immuno-compromised with underlying conditions and our frontline workers and that includes receiving the full number of doses thar are required for them. And until we see that, we will still see significant numbers of hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths.”

The WHO Chief noted that “In July, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of monkeypox, known as mpox.”

According to Dr. Tedros, over 83,000 cases have been reported from 110 countries, although the mortality rate has remained low, with 66 deaths.

He continued, “As with COVID-19 the number of weekly reported cases of mpox has declined more than 90 percent from the peak. If the current trend continues, we are hopeful that next year we will also be able to declare an end to this emergency.”

He also said, “With no new cases since the 27th of November, and no patients being treated at the moment, the countdown to the end of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda has begun. If no new cases are detected, the outbreak will be declared over on the 11th of January.”

According to Tedros, the Government of Uganda is now focusing its efforts on maintaining surveillance and being prepared “should there be any further cases”.
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