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WHO / COVID-19 UPDATE
STORY: WHO / COVID-19 UPDATE
TRT: 4:30
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 15 MARCH 2021, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1.Wide shot, press briefing room
2.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“I would like to start by acknowledging that today marks 10 years since the start of the crisis in Syria. WHO continues to work on the ground with our partners to deliver services and supplies, protect public health and to support a network of more than 1700 health facilities. The conflict in Syria has brought a once highly-effective health system to its knees. But tragically, it’s not an isolated example. Syria is one of many crises around the world, from Myanmar to Yemen and Tigray in Ethiopia, where millions of people have been denied access to essential health services, and where health facilities have been destroyed and health workers have been attacked and intimidated. This must stop. "
3.Wide shot, press briefing room
4.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Several more countries have suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccines as a precautionary measure, after reports of blood clots in people who had received the vaccine from two batches produced in Europe. This does not necessarily mean these events are linked to vaccination, but it’s routine practice to investigate them, and it shows that the surveillance system works and that effective controls are in place.”
5.Wide shot, press briefing room
6.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
“Today marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, an unprecedented collaboration between WHO, the United Nations Foundation, the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation and many other partners to generate funds for the pandemic response, including WHO’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan. Thanks to the generosity of individuals and corporations, over the past year we have raised US$242 million. "
7.SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Cousens, President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation:
“242 million dollars has since been raised from more than 662,000 individuals, corporations and organizations from 190 countries, making the covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund possibly the most diverse pooled fund in history. The hundreds of thousands of individual donors who answered the call gave whatever they could, whether three dollars or three hundred. Companies rallied to give millions private donors from Italy, India, Germany, Kenya, Japan, Brazil virtually every country, many who didn't have much to give, found in the fund a way to do their part against this unprecedented global threat."
8.Wide shot, press briefing room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist:
“At least 2.6 million people have died of COVID-19 disease. And so far, of the 300 million doses that have been given to people across the world, of course, using different vaccines, there is no documented death that's been linked to a COVID vaccine.”
10. Wide shot, press briefing room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Kate O'Brien, Director, WHO Department of Immunizations, Vaccines and Biologicals:
“There is really no product right now where we would say, this simply does not work at all against a variant. It's not the way the immune system works. It's not an all or none phenomenon. And it's really much more about the magnitude of the effectiveness of these products. And that does vary according to age and other factors. And the most important thing here is that as these vaccines are rolling out, this is the time when transmission really needs to be driven down. The lower the transmission is, the less likely it is that there will be emergence of variants. And that's just a common sense, but a very important thing that we need to keep doing. It's not the time to take our foot off the pedal on any of the other interventions that are in place right now while we're getting as much vaccine out as possible and protecting people. "
12. Wide shot, press briefing room
Commenting on several countries suspending the use of AstraZeneca vaccines after reports of blood clots in people who had received the vaccine from two batches produced in Europe, WHO chief said, “This does not necessarily mean these events are linked to vaccination, but it’s routine practice to investigate them, and it shows that the surveillance system works and that effective controls are in place."
Speaking to reporters today (15 Mar) in Geneva, WHO’s chife Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “today marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, an unprecedented collaboration between WHO, the United Nations Foundation, the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation and many other partners to generate funds for the pandemic response, including WHO’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan. Thanks to the generosity of individuals and corporations, over the past year we have raised US$242 million. "
He also acknowledged that today marks 10 years since the start of the crisis in Syria. He said, “WHO continues to work on the ground with our partners to deliver services and supplies, protect public health and to support a network of more than 1700 health facilities, adding that “the conflict in Syria has brought a once highly-effective health system to its knees. But tragically, it’s not an isolated example. Syria is one of many crises around the world, from Myanmar to Yemen and Tigray in Ethiopia, where millions of people have been denied access to essential health services, and where health facilities have been destroyed and health workers have been attacked and intimidated. This must stop.”
Elizabeth Cousens, President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation also spoke to reporters. She said, “242 million dollars has since been raised from more than 662,000 individuals, corporations and organizations from 190 countries, making the covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund possibly the most diverse pooled fund in history.”
Cousens continued, “the hundreds of thousands of individual donors who answered the call gave whatever they could, whether three dollars or three hundred. Companies rallied to give millions private donors from Italy, India, Germany, Kenya, Japan, Brazil virtually every country, many who didn't have much to give, found in the fund a way to do their part against this unprecedented global threat."
WHO’s chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan told reporters, “at least 2.6 million people have died of COVID-19 disease. And so far, of the 300 million doses that have been given to people across the world, of course, using different vaccines, there is no documented death that's been linked to a COVID vaccine.”
WHO’s Dr Kate O'Brien said, “there is really no product right now where we would say, this simply does not work at all against a variant. It's not the way the immune system works. It's not an all or none phenomenon. And it's really much more about the magnitude of the effectiveness of these products. And that does vary according to age and other factors.”
She continued, “the most important thing here is that as these vaccines are rolling out, this is the time when transmission really needs to be driven down. The lower the transmission is, the less likely it is that there will be emergence of variants. And that's just a common sense, but a very important thing that we need to keep doing. It's not the time to take our foot off the pedal on any of the other interventions that are in place right now while we're getting as much vaccine out as possible and protecting people. "
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