UNGA78Preview+GlobalHealthIssues

VirtualPressConference

14September2023

Speakerkey:

TJTarikJasarevic

TAGDrTedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus

BA

DrBruceAylward

JS

DrJér?meSalomon

TK

DrTerezaKasaeva

JH

DrJoachimHombach

MK

DrMariaVanKerkhove

SB

DrSylvieBriand

BG

BelisaGodinho

EF

ElaineFletcher

HC

HelenCollis

00:01:32

TJHellotoeveryonefromWHOheadquartersinGeneva,Switzerland.MynameisTarikandwelcometoourregularWHOpressbriefingonglobalhealthissueswithaspecificnotetodayabouttheupcomingUNGeneralAssembly

meetinginNewYork,wherewewillhavesomehealth-relatedactivities,andwewillhearmoreaboutthatduringthispressbriefing.

Asalways,wewillstartbyintroducingourspeakerstoday.WehaveDrTedros,

WHODirector-General.AlsowithustodayisDrBruceAylward,Assistant

Director-GeneralforUniversalHealthCoverage,LifeCourse.WithusisalsoDrJér?meSalomon,AssistantDirector-GeneralforUniversalHealthCoverage,

CommunicableandNoncommunicableDiseases.

DrMariaVanKerkhoveisTechnicalLeadonCOVID-19andisalsowithusin

theroom.WithusisalsoDrTerezaKasaeva,she'sWHODirectorofourGlobal

TuberculosisProgramme,andalsoDrSylvieBriand,DirectorforEpidemicandPandemicPreparednessandPrevention.

00:02:50

Wemayhaveacoupleofothercolleaguesjoininghere,intheroom,andwehaveanumberofWHOexpertsonlinewhomaybeaskedtoansweryour

questions.Reportersonlinecanalreadypressthebutton,RaiseHand,andinthatwaygetintothequeuetoaskquestions.Withthis,I'llgivethefloortoDrTedrosforopeningremarks.

TAGThankyou.Thankyou,Tarik.Goodmorning,goodafternoonandgoodevening.LateonSunday,tropicalstormDanielhittheeasterncoastofLibya,bringingstrongwinds,heavyrain,thecollapseoftwodamsanddevastatingfloods.Theareaaffectedishometoover1.5millionpeople.

Thetruetollofthisdisasterisstillemergingbutlocalofficialshavereportedover5,000deathsandthousandsmorearestillmissing.Over35,000aredisplacedandhomeless.Thisisacalamityofepicproportions.

Evenwhilethedeathtollisincreasing,thehealthneedsofthesurvivorsarebecomingmoreurgent.WHOisworkingwiththeMinistryofHealthand

partnerstorushemergencyrelieftotheaffectedareas.

WHOisreleasingUS$2.0millionfromourContingencyFundforEmergencies

tosupportourresponse.We'redeployingcontingencysuppliesthatwerealreadyinthecountry,and28metrictonnesoftrauma,surgicaland

emergencysuppliesareduetoarrivetomorrowfromourlogisticshubinDubai.

WHOhasalsoactivateditsnetworkofemergencymedicalteams.Eight

countriesandorganisationshaveofferedtheirassistanceandateamfromFrancehasalreadydeployeditsfieldhospitalintheaffectedarea.

00:05:00

ThefloodsinLibyaaretheseconddevastatingdisasterinaweektoaffect

NorthAfrica.TheearthquakeinMoroccohaskilledalmost3,000peopleandinjuredmanythousands.Thesenumberswillcontinuetoriseinthecomingdays.Entirefamiliesareburiedundertherubble,othersarehomeless,andsomechildrenlostboththeirparents.

Ourinformationisthatmostroadshavenowbeencleared,andsearchandrescueteamshavebeenabletoaccessthemajorityofaffectedareas.TheMoroccangovernmentisleadingtheresponse.WHOandourUNpartnersstandreadytoscaleupourresponsetoprovidesuppliesandtechnical

assistanceasneeded.

Lastweekend,IhadthehonourofattendingtheG20Leaders’SummitinNewDelhi,India.Representingtheworld’slargesteconomies,theG20playsa

criticalroleinglobaldevelopmentandglobalhealth.

IwelcometheLeaders’Declaration,whichhighlightedarangeofcritical

healthissues.G20leadersreinforcedtheircommitmenttoachievinguniversalhealthcoverageandtoadoptingaOneHealthapproach,recognisingthatthehealthofpeopleandplanetareinseparable.

Theyalsorecognisedtheroleoftraditionalmedicineandwelcomedthe

establishmentoftheWHOGlobalInitiativeforDigitalHealth.Critically,G20

leadersreiteratedtheircommitmenttostrengtheningtheglobalarchitecture

forhealthemergencypreparednessandresponse,withacentralroleforWHO.

00:06:55

Now,tonextweek’sUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly,whenleadersfromall

countrieswillcometogethertodiscussthemostpressingchallengeswefaceasaworld.Forthefirsttime,theGeneralAssemblywillfeaturethreeHigh-

LevelMeetingsonhealthissues,demonstratinghowimportanthealthistoourworld,todayandforthefuture.

ThefirstHigh-levelmeeting,nextWednesday,isonpandemicprevention,

preparednessandresponse.Theoutcomewillbeapoliticaldeclarationthat

aimsatmobilisingpoliticalwillandforstrengtheningthegovernance,

financingandsystemsforglobalhealthsecurity.

ThedeclarationwillsupporttheongoingMemberStatenegotiationsonthepandemicagreementandtheamendmentoftheIHR2005.IfCOVID-19

taughtusnothingelse,it’sthatwhenhealthisatrisk,everythingisatrisk.

Thepandemicshowedthathealthisessentialtodevelopment,socialand

economicprosperityandnationalsecurity.Itdemonstratestheimportanceofstrongleadershipandcollaborationbasedonthebestscience.Andit

demonstratedtheimportanceofequity.Theworldmustlearntheselessons,andlearnthemfast.COVID-19isstillwithusandthenextpandemicisnotaquestionofifbutwhen.

ThesecondHigh-LevelMeeting,onThursdaynextweek,willbeonuniversalhealthcoverage,whichallcountrieshavecommittedtoachievingby2030intheSustainableDevelopmentGoals.ThepreviousHigh-LevelMeetingon

universalhealthcoverage,orUHC,washeldin2019,justafewmonthsbeforetheCOVID-19pandemicerupted.

00:09:04

EvenbeforeCOVID-19,progresstowardsUHCwasstagnating.ThepandemicsetcountriesevenfurtherbackintheirjourneytowardsUHC,butitalso

showedwhyitissoimportant.Universalhealthcoveragemeansthatall

peopleinapopulationhaveequitableaccesstotheessentialhealthservicestheyneedwithoutfacingfinancialhardship.

Thelatestdata,tobepublishednextweek,showthattheworldisalarminglyofftrack.Hugenumbersofpeoplestillcannotaccessessentialhealth

services,areimpoverishedbydoingso,orboth.WHOiscallingonallcountriestodothreethings.

First,toprotectandexpandinvestmentsinhealth,toreorienttheirhealth

systemstowardsaprimaryhealthcareapproach,topromotehealth,preventdisease,providetheservicespeopleneed,andempowerthemtotakechargeoftheirownhealth.Weunderstandthatbudgetsaresqueezedbut

investmentsinprimaryhealthcarearethemostcosteffectivebecausetheycanhelptopreventordelaytheneedformorecostlysecondaryandtertiarycare.

Second,wearecallingoncountriestotakeambitiousactiontoprotectthepoorestandmostvulnerablefromcatastrophichealthcosts.Andthird,to

urgentlyworktowardsdoublingthehealthandcareworkforce,especiallyatthecommunitylevel,whichisthebackboneofeveryhealthsystem.

00:10:58

ThethirdHigh-LevelMeeting,onFridaynextweek,isontuberculosis.In2021,TBkilled1.6millionpeopleorabout4,000aday,andyetthisisadisease

thatispreventableandcurable.Sincetheyear2000,globaleffortstocombatTBhavesavedmorethan74millionlives.However,theCOVID-19pandemic,coupledwithconflictsandinequitiesaroundtheworld,havereversedyearsofprogress.

WHOiscallingonworldleaderstocommittoconcretetargetsforthenextfiveyears.First,toreach90%ofpeoplewithTBpreventionandcare.Second,to

usetheWHO-recommendedrapidtestasthefirstmethodofdiagnosis.Third,toprovidesocialbenefitspackagestoallpeoplewithTBsotheydon'tendurefinancialhardship.Andfourth,tolicenseatleastonenewTBvaccine.

Toaccomplishthesegoals,weneedtoclosethefundinggapsforTBcareandinvestinresearchandinnovation.Atthesametime,weneedtoaddressthedriversofTB,poverty,malnutrition,diabetes,HIV,tobaccoandalcoholuse,

poorlivingandworkingconditions,stigmaanddiscrimination,andmore.

Thesethreeissues,tuberculosis,universalhealthcoverageandpandemic

prevention,preparednessandresponse,areallcloselylinked.InWHO’s75thyear,wearecallingonallcountriestofulfilthecommitmenttheymadewhentheyfoundedusin1948tohealthasafundamentalhumanrightandthe

foundationofpeaceandsecurity.Tarik,backtoyou.

00:13:15

TJThankyou,DrTedros,foryouropeningremarks.Wehavejustbeen

joinedbytheWHOEnvoyforMultilateralAffairs,StéphanieSeydoux.Welcome.Now,wewillopenthefloortoquestions.Pleaseclicktheicon,RaiseHand,

and,oncewecallonyou,justunmuteyourself.WewillstartwithBelisaGodinho,fromWMagazineinPortugal.Belisa.

BGHello.I'mBelisaGodinho,fromWMagazineinPortugal.MyquestionisregardingtheUNGeneralAssemblyandtheWHOplantoreinvigorateSDGs,SustainableDevelopmentGoals,inglobalhealth.Whattypeofagreementisbeingdevelopedtobeimplementedbytheworldleaders?Thankyou.

TJThankyouverymuch,Belisa.WehaveDrAylwardandDrSalomon.MaybeDrAylwardcanstart.

BAThankyouverymuch,Tarik.Belisa,thankyouverymuchforthe

questionbecauseitreallyputsanemphasisontheimportanceofnextweek

whentheleadersoftheentireworldwillcometogetherforthefirsttimeinthepost-COVIDera--well,we'renotpost-COVID,asyouwellknow,we'restillin

COVIDbutlet'ssaypost-pandemicperiod--andlookatwhatwentwrong,whatneedstogorightgoingforward.

Andwhatthey'rereallyputtingtheemphasisonisthefundamentalneedforuniversalhealthcoveragetomakeusmoreresilientascommunities,as

societies,ascountries,tothreatssuchaspandemicsgoingforward,butaswellasothers.

00:15:02

So,whattheleadershavebeenworkingtowardisadeclarationthatlooks

backandtakesstockofwhereweareintermsofuniversalhealthcoverage,anditstatesveryclearlyweareatriskofbeingnocloserin2030thanwearetodaytothisgoal,whichmeansnosaferasaworldinmanywaysunlesswe

canaccelerateprogress.

Andthey'vereallybeenfocusingonthreekeythingstoachievethat.Thefirst,astheDirector-Generallaidout,isadaptingtheapproachandreallyfocusingonwhat'scalled,insomecaseswetalkaboutradicallyreorientingtheirhealthsystemstowardaprimaryhealthcareapproachwhichreallyfocuseson

equity,gettingtoeveryone,costeffectivenesswiththerightinterventionsintherightorderandinanefficientmannerthatincludesthecommunities

themselves.So,thefirstbigthingthey'relookingatistheapproach.

Thesecondthingthey'rerecognisingisthemoneyjustisn'ttheretodothat.

Wehavegottoinvestatawholedifferentlevelinhealthtoachieveuniversalhealthcoverage.So,that'sthesecondbigemphasis,tofundthesystemsandalsotoprotectpeoplefromcatastrophicfinancialexpenditures.

Andthethirdthingthey'rerecognisingandlookingathowdowetackleisthewholeissueofensuringwehavethepeopleonthegroundthatcandothis,theworkforce.That'sthethirdbigpieceofthepie,sotospeak.

Allofthatthencomestogethertolookathowweaddressbetter,issues,

whetherit'sHIV,TB,maternalmortality,theriskofwomendyinginpregnancyordeliveryobviously,andotherhealth,challengesthroughstrongerhealth

systems.

00:16:50

So,thesearesuperimportantdeliberationscomingup.Themostimportant

thingtoachievinguniversalhealthcoverage,frankly,isthepoliticaldecisiontodoso,andthat'swhythesolutionwillnotbewhathappensnextweekinUNGA

butitwillbeacriticalpieceofgettingstartedonanacceleratedpathto

solvingtheproblemofensuringeveryone,everywherecanhaveaccesstotheservicestheyneedforthephysicalandmentalhealthandsocialwell-being.

TJThankyouverymuch,DrAylward.DrSalomon,wouldyouliketoadd?

JSYes.Thankyou.Thankyouverymuchforthequestion.About

tuberculosis,asalreadysaidbyourDG,DrTedros,tuberculosisremainsamongtheworld'stopinfectiouskillers.Thethemeofthemeetingis

advancingscience,financeandinnovationandtheirbenefitstourgentlyendtheglobaltuberculosisepidemic,inparticularbyensuringequitableaccesstoprevention,testing,treatmentandcare.

TheprioritisationofTBintheagendaofheadsofstateandotherleaders

providesstrongimpetustostepupprogressincountriesagainstthisancientdisease.UniversalaccesstoTBpreventionandcareaspartoftheuniversalhealthcoverageagenda,multisectoralactionstoaddressdriversand

determinantsofTBepidemicaspartofasustainableagenda,strengthening

essentialTBservicesaspartofthepandemicpreparedness,preventionand

responseagenda,andadvancingresearchandinnovationarethekey

prioritiestodrivetheendTBagendaforward.

00:18:41

WHOwillreleaseastatusupdateon22Septemberwithanoverviewof

progressmadebetween2018and2022toreachthetargetsonprevention,careandfinancingcommittedbyworldleadersinthepoliticaldeclarationoftheUNHigh-LevelMeetingonTB.

So,toconcludewe,atWHO,areurgingcountriestoensurehighestlevel

participationofgovernmentsintheupcomingUNHigh-LevelMeetingonTB,alongwithkeycivilsocietypartners,andforcommitmentstoredoubleeffortstoensureallpeoplewithTBaccessqualitypreventionandcareinlinewith

WHO'sdrivetowardsachievinguniversalhealthcoverage.Thankyou.

TJThankyou,DrSalomon.AndaswehaveDrKasaeva,whoisDirectorof

ourWHOGlobalTBProgramme,maybeDrKasaevawouldliketoadd

something.

TKThisisthesecondHigh-LevelMeetingattheUNGeneralAssemblywithafocusonTBandit'sgreattoseeTBasanequallyimportanttopicwithtwo

otherbigtopics,universalhealthcoverageandpandemicprevention,

preparednessandresponse.

It'sasecondchanceandwe'veclearlyseenthatafterthefirstHigh-Level

Meetingthere'sbeenarealfocusandstrongfocusonTBthatgalvanisedalltheprocessesandprogress.Butunfortunately,duetoCOVID-19,asthe

Director-Generalhighlightedandothers,therecentprogresswaspushedback.

00:20:15

Weexpectrealcommitmentsputintoconcreteactionsbecauseitis

absolutelyunacceptableinthe21stcenturythatwehavehugegapsinaccessforthepreventableandcurabledisease.Wehaveclear,strongstrategies.WehaveWHOflagshipinitiativeswithconcretetargets,muchbettertools,shorter,moreeffectivetreatmentoptionsandevenvaccinesinthepipeline.Wehavenoexcuses.Wejustneedpoliticalwillandprioritisation.

TJThankyou,DrKasaeva.DrTedros.

TAGThankyou.Ascolleaguessaid,theTBandHIVHigh-LevelMeetingisactuallyforasecondtime,whilepandemicprevention,preparednessandresponseisforthefirsttime.AndthepoliticaldeclarationduringtheUN

GeneralAssemblynextweekwillhelpustomobilisethepoliticalwilltostrengthenfinancing,governanceandsystems.

So,that'swhatweexpectbecausebeforethenextpandemiccomesweneedtoreallyaddressthoseissuesthatcanhelpuseithertopreventthenextoneorearlydetectandmanageanyoutbreak.

Theotherbenefitofthepoliticaldeclarationwillbetogivesomemomentumtothenegotiationsonthepandemicagreementand,ofcourse,theIHR

amendment,andwelookforwardtothedebateduringtheGeneralAssemblybut,asWHO,we'resatisfiedthatduringthisUNGeneralAssemblyhealthhas

beenpositionedatthecentre,andthreehigh-levelmeetingsinoneassemblyisvery,verysignificant.

00:22:27

Andwehopetheworldislearningitslessonsfromthispandemic,aboutthecentralityofhealthandalsohealthasafundamentalhumanright.When

healthisatrisk,aswealwayssay,everythingisatriskandwehaveseenitduringthispandemic,howitaffectedallwalksofourlife.So,thankyouforthatquestion,it'sveryimportantone.Tarik,backtoyou.

TJThankyou,all.NextquestionisHealthPolicyWatch,ElaineFletcher.Elaine.

EFHi.Thankyoufortakingmyquestion.Youmentionedtheconcrete

targetsthatareincorporatedintotheTBdeclaration.IntermsoftheUHC

Declaration,youmentionedsomeverybroad,importantcommitmentsthatyou'dliketoseecountriesmake.Canyoupointtoanylanguageinthe

declaration,thedraft,thatactuallycommitscountriesortargetsthatwecanfocuson,highlightasmeasurableconcretegoalstoworktowards?

TJThankyou.DrAylward.

BAThankyouverymuch,Elaine,becausethepointyouemphasiseisto

crucial.It'sgreattohavelotsofgreatlanguageandwordsofcommitmentbutwhatcanweactuallymeasureaswegoforward?

There'stwoconcretecommitmentsthatreallyanchortheUHCDeclaration

and,frankly,theSustainableDevelopmentGoalsaswell.Thefirstistoensure

allpeople,everywhere,haveaccesstoabasicoressentialpackageofservices.

00:24:21

Numberoneiswhatwecallaservicedeliveryaspectofit,andthatisall

people,everywhere,soit'sanequitygoal.It'sabig,very,veryambitiousgoal.Andthesecondisintermsofprotectingthemfromthefinancial

consequencesoftryingtoaccessthoseservicesbecause,rightnow,we'restill

workingoutthenumbersbutanextraordinaryproportionoftheworld's

populationfacesubstantialfinancialhardshiporareevenimpoverishedintryingtoaccesshealthcoverage.

So,thesecondgoalistoreverseatrendwhichhasbeengoinginthewrongdirectionintermsoftheproportionofpeopleaffectedorsufferingfinancialhardshipinaccessingcare.Thosearethetwocrucialthings,thateveryonehasaccesstothebasicpackageandthattheyhavefinancialprotection,

especiallythemostvulnerableinaccessingthose.

Andachievingthoseistough.AstheDirector-Generalsaid,it'sabigpolitical

decisionbecauseit'sabigfinancialcommitmentandit'sabigcommitmentintermsofhumanresourcesandapproachestobeabletodothat.

So,Elaine,thosewouldthetwoconcreteonesandthen,asyougothroughthedocumentorthedraftdeclaration,youwillseethattherearealotof

reaffirmationsofexistingtargetsonspecificdiseasesand,let'ssay,mortalityratesandthingslikethat,butthosearetwothatreallymatter.

Thelastthinginjusthighlightingthat,Elaine,whatI'dliketohighlightaswell

isthatonMondaywewillhaveaspecificpressconferencetoreleasewhat

we'recallingtheGlobalMonitoringReport,whichisbasicallythatscorecard,tosayhowwellhastheworlddoneagainstthosetwobigindicators,whichwill

baselinethatcommitmentnextweekthatcomesoutofthedeclarationandtheUNGAdeliberationsaswelookforwardto2030.

00:26:22

TJThankyou,DrAylward.I'mjustlookingifthereisanyonewhowouldliketoaddsomething.Ifnot,wehavereceivedaquestionyesterdayfromNPR

RadioonCOVIDboostersandWHOadvice.WehaveonlineDrJoachim

Hombach,whoisfromtheSecretariatofourStrategicAdvisoryGroupof

ExpertsonImmunisation.DrHombach,ifyoucangiveusthelatestonCOVIDvaccinesandtheSAGEwork.

JHThanksverymuch.Wehave,ofcourse,seenthatthefirstmonovalentXBBvaccineshavebeenlicencedintheUnitedStates,intheEuropeanUnion.Wehopeinmorecountries.Wealsohopethatmorevaccines,there'smoreinthepipelineandmorevaccineswillfollow.

Obviously,recommendationsarenowbeingissuedontheuseofthese

vaccines,sotherehavebeenrecommendationsissuedintheUnitedStates.Wewillbringingthistopicalsotoouradvisorygroup,SAGE,thatisactually

meetingintendays.So,willbediscussingtheuseoftheXBBmonovalentvaccine.We'llalsobelookingattheso-calledsimplifiedpathologyorthesimplifiedscheduleofthesevaccinesaswellascoupleofotherthings.

WhatIcansayalreadyatthatpointintimeisthatwhilethereisaclear

rationalefortheseXBBmonovalentvaccinesandouradvisorygroup,TAG-CO-VAC,haselaboratedonthisearlierthisyear,westillnotethatthevaccines

thatarebasedontheancestralstrainofthebivalentvaccinestilldoagood

jobinrelationtoprotectionofseverediseaseanddeath.AndIneedtoremindyouthatyouthatthisistheprincipalobjectiveofvaccinationagainstCOVID-

19.

00:28:38

Idon'twanttopre-emptwhattheadvisorygroupwillbetellingusbutonemessageisclearalreadyatthispointintime.Youshouldnotbedelayingvaccinationifyouarepartofariskgroupthatrequiresvaccinationwhilewaitingforthemonovalentvaccine.So,Ithinkthisisaveryimportant

message.

WewillprovidemoredetailonthisandwearelookingforwardalsotohavemoredataonthisandXBBmonovalentvaccinesbutwewillprovidemore

detailedinformationonthis.Wearealsolookingagainatourprioritygroupsbutwewillcertainlybereinforcingthemessagetovaccinatethose

populationsandtorevaccinate,boostthosepopulationsthatareathighestriskofseverediseaseanddeath.

Thespecificitiesoftheboostersortheterminologythatisnowpreferentially

beingusedinsomecountriesandwhichwearealsolookingat,theconceptoftheadditionaldoseissomethingthatwealsobelookingat.Anannual

vaccinationspacingseemsreasonableatapointintime,howevernottopre-

emptthatwearegoingintoanannualseasonalrevaccinationscheme.Thisistooearlytobesaidbutitisashorttomid-termworkingassumptionwhich,

again,wewilldiscussingfurtherwithSAGE.

00:30:22

So,Ithinkthisisinanutshellwherewearebutthemessageisveryclear.VaccinationwithanyoftheavailableCOVID-19vaccinesifindividualsareatriskofseverediseaseanddeathshouldnotbedelayedwhilethesenew

vaccinesarecomingdowntheroad.Thankyou.

TJManythanks,DrHombach.DrVanKerkhove,wouldyouliketoaddsomething?

MKYes.Thanksverymuch.Thanks,Joachim,forthisoverviewbutIwanted

todowasputincontextwhyJoachim'smessageandDG'srepeatedmessageofvaccinationissocriticallyimportantforCOVIDisbecausethevirusis

circulating.

Andthevirusisstillhere,thethreatisstillhereastheDGhassaid.WedocontinuetoseesomeworryingtrendswithCOVID.Whilesurveillanceis

declining,reportingisdeclining,thereareanumberofcountriesthatarereportingincreasesincasedetection.

Moreworrisomeisthatwe'reseeinganumberofcountriesacrossthe

Americas,acrossEuropethatarereportingincreasesinhospitalisations,

increasesinICUadmissions,andvaccination,inadditiontoearlydiagnosisandearlyclinicalcare,preventsseverediseaseanddeath.So,thatmessageofdon'twait,especiallyifyou'reinanat-riskgroup,remainsvitallyimportanttosavepeople'slivesnow.ThatisjustonethingIwantedtoputincontext.

ThelatestdatathatweactuallyhavefromourMemberStateslookingatcoverageinolderadultgroupsacrossWHOMemberStates,wedon'thavedatafromallcountriesbuttheprimaryseriescoverageatagloballevelisaround82%ofolderagegroupshavecompletedprimaryseriesandthe

boosterdosageisaround58%.

00:32:09

Butit'sonly8%inAfrica,it's27%inourEasternMediterraneanRegion,30%inourSouth-EastAsiaRegion,67%intheAmericas,68%inEurope,75%inourWesternPacificRegion.So,there'salargegapintermsofthatboostercoverageandthat'sthecriticalagegroupsthatneedthosevaccinationstopreventseverediseaseanddeath.

Thevirusisevolving,thevirusischanging.We'recontinuingourmonitoringofthevariantsthatareincirculation,thevariantsofinterest.EG.5isaround

39%oftheglobalsequencesrightnow.BA.2.86,whichisavariantunder

monitoringisstilllownumbers.Wehavearound100casedetectionsfrom15countries.

Andsowe'reconstantlymonitoringthisandthisiswhysurveillanceremainsimportant,theusageofvaccinationtopreventseveredisease,butalsousingourothertools,diagnostics,therapeutics,usingmaskswhenyou'rearound

others,improvingventilation,etc.So,thatcomprehensivepackage,thatapproachremainsimportantforCOVID.

TJThankyou,DrVanKerkhove.IthinkwehaveHelenCollis,fromPoliticoonline.Helen.

00:33:28

HCThankyouverymuchfortakingmyquestion.Itwasjustafollow-upquestion,really,ontheCOVIDvaccines.Weweretoldalotduringthe

pandemicthatitwasimportanttohaveawidevarietyofvaccinesindifferenttechnologies,indifferenttargets.Isthatstillthecasetoday?Ijustwantedtogetyourcomments.IknowthatintheEUtheyhavethePfizer-BioNTech

vaccinethathasbeenprocuredfortheblocandthatseemstotheonethat'sdominantthere.Thankyou.

TJThankyou,Helen.MaybeDrHombachcancomeinhere.

JHIthinkyourobservationthatwehaveparticularlymRNAvaccines

movingforwardiscorrectandthishasobviouslytodowiththefactthatwith

thattechnologystrainadaptationisthefastest.Wewouldverymuchwelcometohavemoreplatformsoutthere.AsIsaidearlier,thereareothervaccines

thatareindevelopment,subunitvaccines.There'salsoinactivatedvaccines.

Wehopetherewillbemoreproductscomingontothemarketfromthe

perspectiveofsupplysecurity,fromtheperspectiveofdifferenthandling,intermsoflogisticsandprogrammaticeaseofusingtheseproducts.So,we

definitelyverymuchencouragethatmoreproductsbasedondifferent

platformscomeforwardandweareconfidentthatthisishappening.

TJThankyou.DrAylward.

BAIjustwanttothankHelenforthatpointbecauseitisanextremely

importantone.OurgoalinCOVIDvaccinationistoensurethateveryone,

everywherehasaccesstoproductsandwhatwasseeninthepandemicandisstillverycleariseveryoneoftheseproductshavedifferentcharacteristics,asJoachimjustmentioned,andacrosstheproductswehaveamixthatworkin

termsofcost,efficacyandprogrammaticeaseofuse.

00:35:45

Whileforindustrialisedcountriesavaccinethatrequiresanultra-coldchain

andhasotherelementstoit,thatmaybethebestfit,thatmaynotbethebest

fitforthevastmajorityoftheunvaccinatedintheworld,whereweneedproductsthatfitwithintheirexistinghealthsystems,withintheirexistingimmu