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WHO / COVID-19 MONKEYPOX UPDATE
STORY: WHO / COVID-19 MONKEYPOX UPDATE
TRT: 5:19
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 JUNE 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1.Wide shot, press briefing room
2.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"On COVID-19, 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 three of the six WHO regions even as the global figure remains relatively stable. This pandemic is changing but it’s not over. We have made progress but it's not over. Our ability to track the virus is under threat as reporting and genomic sequences are declining meaning it is becoming harder to track Omicron and analyse future emerging variants."
3.Wide shot, press briefing room
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"Going forward, to prevent deaths and severe disease, it’s important to keep the most at-risk groups up to date with vaccination. In all countries, 100 percent of at-risk groups should be vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible. 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."
5.Wide shot, press briefing room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"On Monkeypox, while the Emergency Committee did not advise that the current outbreak represents a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, they acknowledged the emergency nature of the event and that controlling the further spread requires intense response efforts. They advised that I should reconvene them quickly based on the evolving situation, which I will do."
7. Wide shot, press briefing room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"Furthermore, the virus has now been identified in more than 50 new countries and that trend is likely to continue. 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. We are starting to see this with several children already infected."
9. Wide shot, press briefing room
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"In light of the decision by the US Supreme Court overturning ‘Roe v Wade’, 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. Safe abortion is health care. It saves lives. Restricting it drives women and girls towards unsafe abortions; resulting in complications, even death. The evidence is irrefutable. Limiting access to safe abortion costs lives and has a major impact particularly on women from the poorest and most marginalized communities. Over the last 40 years, the global trend is toward women having greater access to safe abortion and while last week was a set-back, it is more important than ever to come together to protect women’s right to safe abortion - everywhere. "
11. wide shot, press briefing room
12.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Mike Ryan, EXD, WHO Health Emergencies Programme (on monkeypox):
"The countries that have currently stockpiles of that vaccines, including the US and led by the US, have expressed willingness to share those vaccine products with other countries. But again, we must remember that these products have been licensed in the main for the use of smallpox. In one case, they've been licensed for monkeypox. But again, based on animal models and based on, I believe, immuno bridging data, from the smallpox side of things. So it's really important as we encourage the sharing of these products that we also collect the necessary clinical efficacy data."
13.Wide shot, press briefing room
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, Assistant Director-General for Emergency Response:
"Not declaring a PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern) does not mean it's not an emergency. It's already a great multi-country, multi regional emergency and we will continue assessing the risk based on new information. The risk assessment is high in Europe and moderate in other regions. And it's really important to make sure that we continue managing as an emergency. You have an incident management system at global level but in every six regions. So we continue working on managing as an emergency and making sure that we can work to stop further transmission. So it's really important to note, you know, not to link the PHEIC with global emergencies, this is already a global emergency, multi-country emergency and multi region emergency."
WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "on COVID-19, 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 per cent and deaths have risen in three of the six WHO regions even as the global figure remains relatively stable.”
Speaking to reporters today (29 Jun) in Geneva, Tedros said, “this pandemic is changing but it’s not over. We have made progress but it's not over. Our ability to track the virus is under threat as reporting and genomic sequences are declining meaning it is becoming harder to track Omicron and analyse future emerging variants."
He also said, "going forward, to prevent deaths and severe disease, it’s important to keep the most at-risk groups up to date with vaccination.”
Tedros explained, “in all countries, 100 percent of at-risk groups should be vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible. 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."
On Monkeypox, the chief of WHO said, “while the Emergency Committee did not advise that the current outbreak represents a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, they acknowledged the emergency nature of the event and that controlling the further spread requires intense response efforts. They advised that I should reconvene them quickly based on the evolving situation, which I will do."
He added, "the virus has now been identified in more than 50 new countries and that trend is likely to continue.”
Tedros expressed concern 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. We are starting to see this with several children already infected."
"In light of the decision by the US Supreme Court overturning ‘Roe v Wade’, the WHO chief reaffirmed the Organization’s position.
Tedros reiterated, “all women should have the right to choose when it comes to their bodies and health. Full stop. Safe abortion is health care. It saves lives. Restricting it drives women and girls towards unsafe abortions; resulting in complications, even death. The evidence is irrefutable.”
He went on saying, “limiting access to safe abortion costs lives and has a major impact particularly on women from the poorest and most marginalized communities. Over the last 40 years, the global trend is toward women having greater access to safe abortion and while last week was a set-back, it is more important than ever to come together to protect women’s right to safe abortion - everywhere.”
WHO’s Mike Ryan also briefed the reporters. On monkeypox, he said, "the countries that have currently stockpiles of that vaccines, including the US and led by the US, have expressed willingness to share those vaccine products with other countries. But again, we must remember that these products have been licensed in the main for the use of smallpox.”
He continued, “in one case, they've been licensed for monkeypox. But again, based on animal models and based on, I believe, immuno bridging data, from the smallpox side of things. So it's really important as we encourage the sharing of these products that we also collect the necessary clinical efficacy data."
Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, Assistant Director-General for Emergency Response also briefed the reporters.
He said, "not declaring a PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern) does not mean it's not an emergency. It's already a great multi-country, multi regional emergency and we will continue assessing the risk based on new information. The risk assessment is high in Europe and moderate in other regions. And it's really important to make sure that we continue managing as an emergency. You have an incident management system at global level but in every six regions. So we continue working on managing as an emergency and making sure that we can work to stop further transmission. So it's really important to note, you know, not to link the PHEIC with global emergencies, this is already a global emergency, multi-country emergency and multi region emergency."
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