COVID 19: Situation in WHO European Region

COVID-19: Situation in WHOEuropean RegionBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference22 February 2021www.euro.who.intCurrent global situationCases reported to WHO as of 20 February 2021, 10:00AM CEST> 110 million cases > 2.4 million deaths2Epidemic curve by region(as of 19 February 10h CET)SubnationalOverviewRegions reporting more than 350new cases per 100 000 populationin the last 7 daysSubnational ExplorerEuropean all-cause mortality bulletin Week 6EPI Week 6 vs EPI Week 1, 2021In Week 6 –The latest weekly pooled estimates show a substantial increased excess all-cause mortality overall for the participatingEuropean countries. This excess mortality is driven by a very substantial excess mortality in a few countries with high excess (Portugal),moderate excess (England) and low excess (Spain, the Netherlands, Scotland, Estonia), while other countries see normal mortality levels.The increased excess all-cause mortality is primarily seen among persons aged 45 years and older.20/02/2021 5All viruses change over timeIt is normal for viruses to evolve over time throughmutations, as a consequence the emergence of newvariants is to be expectedSpikes, used by the virusto attach to human cells➢ Mutation refers to the actual change in the virusgenetic sequence Changes to thespike protein can➢ A changed virus is called a variant of the original virus. result in changes invirus transmissibilityVariants can differ by one mutation or manyor disease severity➢ Mutations may result in the virus being moretransmissible, increase disease severity or influenceefficacy of diagnostics, therapeutics or vaccines➢ When these variants increase the risk to humanhealth they are considered to be variants of concernWhen there are many infections in a population thelikelihood of the virus mutating increases6Global access to COVID-19 vaccines• A year after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 vaccine campaignshave started in more than 50 countries• As of 7 February 2020, more than 120 million vaccine doses have alreadybeen administered1• However, only one low income country has started vaccinating some of itspopulation“• Our interconnected world means that SARS-CoV-2 transmission will continueJust 25 doses have been given in one low-between countries and regions until we are all protected income country. Not 25 million; not 25thousand; just 25.• Equitable global access will not only mitigate the public health impact but also...the world is on the brink of a catastrophicthe economic impact of the pandemic as shown by a study of themoral failure–and the price of this failure willInternational Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’spoorest countries.”• The study shows that if some countries vaccinate all their citizens, while inTedrosAdhanomGhebreyesusother countries infection continues to spread, the global economy could loseDirector-General, World Health Organization18 January 2021as much as $9.2 trillion21https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/7THANK YOU