Since the beginning of the pandemic, the coronavirus has claimed 2.6 million lives, but the situation with vaccinations in Russia gives cause for optimism, says Melita Vuinovich, head of the WHO office in the Russian Federation. In an interview with Izvestia, she also spoke about the premature introduction of “covid passports”, virus mutations and the fact that WHO will still publish a report on the trip to China. Perhaps this will shed light on the causes of the infection.
– A year ago, WHO declared a coronavirus pandemic. Is it still going on?
– On March 11, 2020, the number of countries affected and the number of cases increased so much that the WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. But the highest level of alarm was announced earlier, on January 30, when the WHO Director-General declared a public health emergency of international concern.
Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed 2.6 million lives and caused significant economic and social disruption. At the same time, the pandemic has contributed to the development of the fastest and most widespread response in human history to a global emergency. Through collaborations, including through the Accelerated Access to Funds to Fight COVID-19 Initiative, vaccines, therapies and diagnostics have been developed and deployed in record time.
– At what stage of the pandemic is the world now?
“It will take a long time to get vaccinated against COVID-19, so we all have to stick to proven measures. Such as maintaining physical distance, wearing masks, hand hygiene and cough etiquette, preventing large crowds in enclosed spaces, contact tracing, quarantine, treatment.
At this stage, it is difficult to make any predictions. Positive trends have been observed in Europe for seven weeks, but now the number of cases is on the rise for the second week in a row.
– How do you assess the epidemic situation in Russia? Will it be able to defeat the coronavirus faster than others, taking into account its three registered vaccines?
– At the moment, the situation with vaccinations in Russia looks optimistic, especially given the growing coverage of vaccinated people. It is important to maintain a high pace of this campaign, to protect vulnerable groups of the population. But at the same time it is necessary to understand that the virus is still here and that any of us can transmit or contract it, so it is important to continue to take preventive measures. And of course, we need complete and transparent information about all the problems that worry people, including questions about vaccinations. We are seeing a significant increase in interest and demand for vaccines, and it is very important that experts talk about the current findings and research.
– On March 10, the WHO said that the incidence of coronavirus in the world increased by 2%. Why did this happen? Will there be a third and fourth wave? How many more lives can a pandemic claim, and when will it end?
– WHO is constantly working to better understand trends in the global epidemiological situation and the reasons for the increasing spread of the virus. Some of these may be related to the continued spread of new strains of the virus and the weakening of public health measures in some countries. As previously stated, higher transmissibility is found in many countries – this means that the prevalence rate may be higher than 1, but efforts should be made to lower it below 1 in order to control the pandemic.
– Today, many countries are discussing the possibility of introducing “covid passports”. What is the position of WHO on this score?
– Currently, WHO does not recommend the use of “covid passports” for travelers, as there are many components that need to be taken into account. WHO is working to develop technical guidelines for vaccination certificates to help countries collect reliable information, but specific advice will come from the IHR Emergency Committee, which will consider this issue. Despite encouraging research showing the effect of vaccines on preventing infection, we still need more information and understanding of the complete immune response of those vaccinated against COVID-19. It is likely to be more complex than what can be determined by individually measuring COVID-19 antibodies at a particular point in time. For this reason WHO does not currently recommend the use of so-called “immune passports”.
– EMA (European Medicines Agency. – “Izvestia”) has not yet certified the Russian vaccine Sputnik V“In Europe, although some countries have already started scaling up its production. Should the pandemic accelerate the adoption of such a decision?
– It is better to address this question to EMA. In terms of WHO, we launched the COVAX Global Mechanism, which is the vaccine component of the COVID-19 Acceleration Initiative, which is helping to accelerate the search and development of an effective vaccine for the benefit of all countries. It also helps build manufacturing capacity and proactive procurement to ensure that 2 billion vaccine doses are equitably distributed worldwide by the end of 2021.
The production of sufficient doses of vaccines depends on international cooperation. If countries and manufacturers combine their efforts in research, manufacturing capacity, procurement and delivery investment, an unprecedented rate of mass vaccination can be achieved.… We know that there are more than 200 million doses of various vaccines in use globally (as of the end of February), and over the next period WHO will hold various meetings with key stakeholders to discuss how the world can overcome bottlenecks in vaccine production. to ensure we get the vaccine coverage we need by the end of 2021 and beyond.
– In a previous interview with Izvestia, you said that the pandemic demonstrated the need to make some changes in the structure or organization of the work of WHO. What has changed over the past year?
– The transformation of WHO began even before the pandemic, but it was she who pointed out the priority areas requiring urgent solutions. The Independent Pandemic Preparedness Group will assess the actions taken in the context of COVID-19. An ongoing evaluation of the Organization’s Change Program itself is also underway. WHO must constantly change as science and disease patterns are constantly evolving, and we as a global health organization must evolve with them to make the world a healthier, safer and more equitable world.
– Information about the travel of WHO representatives to China has not yet been published. What is the reason for this decision? Will the world ever learn the truth about the beginning and causes of the pandemic?
– A team of experts who have visited China are currently working on a mission report, which will then be published. The document will summarize what was learned during the mission, fill knowledge gaps and identify next steps for further research. They will be continued on the basis of recommendations for directions from the report of international experts.