Maria Van Kerkhove How to end the pandemic and prepare for the next TED
Maria Van Kerkhove:
The last two weeks have been intense,
on top of an incredibly
intense couple of years,
on top of an incredibly intense
couple of years before that.
So with the emergence of Omicron,
this new variant of concern,
this was on top of a really serious
situation that we’re in
currently in the pandemic.
I know many people around the world
think this pandemic is over,
but unfortunately it’s far from over.
And in fact, what I wanted to talk
with you about in person
was about the fact that never again
should we be in a situation
where the world is overtaken
and controlled by an invisible virus.
Never again should we be in a situation
where a virus takes so many lives.
And never again
should we be in a situation
where a virus steals so many futures.
But unfortunately, we will.
And I wanted to talk with you a little bit
about why that may be,
but also talk about how
we can get out of this
and how we need to be better prepared.
And I am incredibly hopeful
that number one,
we’ll get out of this pandemic,
because we will.
We will persevere,
we will get out of this pandemic.
But what we have to do
is work so hard to make sure
that we’re better prepared
for the next one,
because unfortunately there will be.
And every single one of us,
every single one of you,
in the role that you have,
wherever you are,
have a role to play in making sure
that we are better prepared
and that we handle the next one better.
Whitney Pennington Rodgers:
Thank you for that, Maria.
I know you have some
great solutions that you can offer
for how we can actually
become better prepared.
And before we dive into that,
I know a lot of us are curious to know
what you know and what you can share
with us about Omicron.
What do we know right now
about about this variant?
MVK: So it’s a variant of concern.
It’s a new variant,
it’s highly divergent from the other
variants that are circulating,
other viruses that are circulating.
And it is quite different
from the other ones that we know about.
It has a large number of mutations.
And the concern that we have
is the number of mutations that are there,
some of the ones that are present
in this variant, Omicron,
are present in some of the other ones:
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta.
And we know that they have some
detrimental properties.
For example, some of these mutations
can confer increased transmissibility.
Some of them can confer
potential immune escape,
which means our vaccines
may not work as well.
Now, right now, as I speak to you today,
the evidence is emerging.
There are scientists around the world
who are generating evidence,
who are sharing it with us in real time,
and with the world,
so that we know more about it.
We understand that this variant has some
properties of increased transmissibility,
but we don’t know exactly how much,
and we don’t know
if it will outcompete Delta.
So you have to remember
that this is all in the context of Delta,
another variant of concern
that is raging worldwide
and killing people worldwide.
We know a little bit about severity,
but not enough to be able
to give you the profile
of whether or not there is more –
those who are infected with Omicron
have more severe disease or less.
So that data is unfolding,
and we hope to have more of that
in the next week or so.
But people infected with Omicron
can have mild disease,
and they can have severe disease and die.
We just don’t know enough yet
because it takes time
for people to be infected,
develop disease and actually
progress to severe disease,
if they in fact will progress
to severe disease.
And the big question is,
will the vaccines work?
And what we understand from some
of the mutations within Omicron,
they do confer some
potential immune escape,
or what we call immune escape,
which means the vaccines
may not be as effective.
But the vaccines that we have right now
are incredibly effective at preventing
severe disease and death.
Incredibly effective.
It’s astounding that so many vaccines
are actually available.
And what we need are people
all over the world to get vaccinated.
But most importantly,
we need people who are at risk
in every single country
to get vaccinated,
rather than giving more
and more and more vaccines
to people who are already protected.
This is a global problem,
and we need a global solution.
We cannot protect one country.
We cannot protect one population
while other people suffer.
So that’s something
WHO is working very hard on
in terms of ensuring vaccine equity
and working with partners
all over the world on this.
WPR: And I don’t know if you can hear,
but you got a lot of applause
on that last statement.
You know, I think it’s interesting
that the variant, at least for me,
it’s definitely caught me off guard,
every time there is a new variant,
you know, Omicron, Delta, Alpha,
all the ones you’ve mentioned.
And I’m curious if you think that this
is something we can expect for the future.
Are we living in a world
where this is just going to be continuous?
MVK: We are.
The emergence of Omicron
is completely expected.
You know, the virus is evolving.
This is what viruses do.
And the more the virus circulates,
the more opportunities it has to change.
Delta is also evolving.
We’re tracking at least 30 sublineages
right now of Delta,
one of which has increased
transmissibility properties.
The question is not just their emergence
but if they actually take off.
So there’s a lot of concern of Omicron,
and there should be,
because of the sheer number
of mutations that we’ve seen.
But whether or not this variant
outcompetes Delta,
we don’t know yet.
But we just want to put this into context
of what’s happening worldwide.
I mean, the big story a week ago
was what was happening in Europe.
You know, where almost 70 percent
of the cases worldwide were in Europe,
where, you know, people are dying
where they have access to vaccine.
So the big question is: Why is that?
Why are we not actually
getting the vaccines
to those who are most at risk?
At the same time,
why are we not actually driving
transmission down where we can?
And I don’t mean lockdown.
This idea that we have to either be
completely open or completely closed
is frankly rubbish.
We have masks, we have distancing,
we have efforts to improve ventilation
where we live, where we work,
where we study.
We know we can avoid crowds.
Why aren’t we doing that
right now, not forever?
We’re not going to be
in this pandemic forever.
It will end.
That is something
that I can say for certain,
that this pandemic will end.
The question is when.
And the question is: Are we all
going to actually come together?
Are leaders actually going to come
together to bring us closer to the end
or push us further from that end point?
WPR: I think that that’s an interesting
question to think about
when we think about your role
with the World Health Organization.
And even just taking a step back
to the beginning of the pandemic,
I’d be so interested to hear
what your experience has been
over these past two years
and what your involvement has been
in thinking about preparedness
for COVID-19.
MVK: Well, it’s been intense.
I mean, part of me feels
like this has been happening for years.
Well, it has been two years,
we’re entering the third year.
Part of me, you know, it’s an instant.
This was something, you know,
that was not necessarily
a matter of if, but when.
But I think the issue
that I struggle with the most
is that it didn’t need to be this bad.
There will always be emerging pathogens.
There will always be the threat
of a new virus that will infect us.
And in a susceptible world,
people will get infected.
To be able to prevent all pandemics,
I don’t actually think is possible,
but we can be in a better situation
where we mitigate the chance of it
spilling over from an animal to a human
and then spreading.
And, you know, the last two years
have been of focus.
They’ve been … concerned.
I have to say,
I would love to just thank
all of my colleagues here at WHO.
I mean, I work with incredible people
all over the world,
not just here in HQ,
but here in Geneva,
in our six regional offices,
in our 152 country offices.
People who are on the ground
every single day,
they have a much harder job than I do.
But we all have a role to play,
and I have felt overwhelmed at times.
I’ve felt distraught at times.
But I get up every single day, and
I’m inspired by the people I work with.
And I feel that I have a platform,
and I feel privileged to be part of this.
When this began, my husband said to me –
well, we have two little boys,
11 and almost three –
and he said to me,
in the beginning of this, he’s like,
“I got this, I got the boys,
I got the house.
You go, deal with that.”
And to have that level
of support in my family,
to be able to do this job, is special,
because none of this is normal.
The hours that we work –
and I’m not complaining,
but I have support in my family,
and I know my family will watch this
and send me wonderful text messages,
but it inspires me.
And I think all of us,
I think what you guys were saying before
about helping each other
and inspiring each other,
I think we need to do
a hell of a lot more of,
because the negative out there is awful.
And something as a scientist
I’ve never experienced before
or am completely unprepared
to deal with is the negative.
What I am personally accused of,
what WHO as an organization is accused of,
it’s hard for me to wrap my head around
because my entire job is to help people
and to save people’s lives.
The entire job of the director-general
is to keep people safe.
That’s all we’re here for.
There is no other agenda.
So it’s been tough, and I’m struggling,
but I think that’s normal.
I think if I weren’t struggling,
you may wonder what’s wrong with me,
but it’s hard.
WPR: Well, thank you for all
that you’re doing and have been doing.
And, you know, I think part of what,
to this point of the things
you’ve been struggling with
and the things that you’re
hearing from people
is that I think from a public perspective,
there is this sense of confusion
about the information we’re receiving
and where we’re receiving it from.
And you know, how possible
do you think it is for us
to have some sort of coordinated response
or coordinated source of information
from people that we look to,
organizations that we look to
as authorities on this subject?
MVK: It’s entirely possible.
It’s entirely possible.
There is a global plan for COVID-19.
In this world that we live in,
where there are so many challenges
that all of us face,
COVID-19 has solutions.
We, as WHO, issued a plan
four days after we declared this
as a public health emergency
of international concern.
Before we reached the state of a pandemic,
which is important,
because you want to raise the alarm
before you’re actually in a pandemic.
The plan exists in that sense.
What I think many countries
didn’t take into account
was how important leadership is.
And in particular, political leadership.
What we saw in many countries
in the beginning of this pandemic
is those countries that had experience
with SARS, with MERS,
with avian influenza, with Ebola,
they knew the threat firsthand.
They didn’t need all of the data
in front of them to understand
what a risk this posed.
And they acted aggressively.
And those countries
that had that experience
really tackled this with the aggression
that was necessary.
Far too many countries thought,
“Not a problem for us.
It’s a problem over there.
We’ve got a health system
that’s very strong.
We can handle it.”
But when you have an emerging new virus
where the entire world is susceptible,
you know very little about it –
it can spread very easily between people,
it can cause everything from asymptomatic
to severe disease and death
and can overwhelm
your systems so quickly –
that experience with those past
epidemics really was lifesaving.
And what was key
in those countries is that
from the experience that they had
with those past epidemics,
they took steps following the ends
of those outbreaks to make change.
They invested in surveillance.
They invested in a workforce
with their clinicians and their nurses
and their community health workers.
They invested in testing
and contact tracers.
And they invested
in changing of some laws,
some public health laws,
that allowed the governments
to act where necessary
while keeping in mind
the rights of people.
And so what we’ve seen
in so many countries,
mainly in the East,
mainly in Asia, in the Pacific,
across Africa,
they may not have had
the perfect systems in place.
Quite frankly, nobody does,
but they used the capacities
that they had strategically
and in such a smart way,
and they fared much, much better
in the beginning of this pandemic.
And I think all of us need to ask
what could have been.
I think that’s the part
that I struggle with the most,
is like: What could have been?
I don’t let it hold me back
because otherwise it would be
very hard to get out of bed.
But I think what can I do today
with the platform that I have today?
What can I do with the teams that I have,
with the role that I have,
to make today a hell of a lot better
than it was yesterday?
And that’s why I feel so privileged
in the job that I have.
WPR: Well, that’s great –
(Applause)
I don’t know if you can hear
this applause, Maria,
but you’re getting a lot of applause
through this conversation.
People are really appreciating
what you’re sharing with us.
I think that’s a good place
for us to dive into next.
And you alluded to this
at the very top of the conversation,
that you have some ideas
for how we can change
the trajectory of this,
how we can do better as individuals,
as organizations, as governments.
And I’d love to hear what you think
we could actually do
to move forward and chart a better path.
MVK: Well, there’s so many,
so many things we can do,
and I know we’re not going to talk
for the next three hours.
But a lot of this is about the investment
that we make now
and the changes that we make right now,
while we’re going through
this traumatic experience.
In the example that I just gave
with countries that did better,
they made changes following that trauma
and in the middle of that trauma.
And in the middle of this pandemic
around the world,
what we need are governments
to make change and make those investments.
Pandemic preparedness is a constant.
It doesn’t start and stop.
And unfortunately,
we are currently living through
cycles of panic and neglect
in the middle of the worst pandemic
we’ve had in a century.
And this boggles my mind
because if we don’t use this opportunity
to make those changes
in building that infrastructure,
that public health infrastructure
in primary health care,
making sure that people
have access to tools,
to life-saving tools like diagnostics,
therapeutics and vaccines,
when is the right time
to actually do that?
So we’ve been working very hard
through our COVAX and partners
to ensure vaccine equity around the world.
But governments also need
to make changes right now.
Because when this is over,
and again, it will end,
we’re going to move on to the next crisis
because there’s plenty on deck.
The other thing that is really
quite exciting to me
and we don’t know all about this yet,
is this pandemic treaty.
So this week, in WHO and around the world,
governments, ministries
from all of our member states
met at a special session
of the World Health Assembly.
And this is really, really unique
because it’s not common for WHO to bring
member states together for one topic.
And what they decided to do
was to come together
to develop this pandemic treaty,
this agreement, this protocol.
I don’t know what
it will eventually be called,
but to come together to make a promise
and to make a contract to do better
on pandemic preparedness.
And this is really critical
because it goes beyond words.
It goes into a binding agreement
that all countries have to follow
so that we are actually better prepared,
not just say we will, because that’s easy.
What we need to do is actually
take those concrete steps.
So this week was a really important week.
All of us are really quite
excited about this,
and we’re so proud of our director-general
for bringing everybody together on this.
But this has to come –
It will take some time
as the treaty is developed,
and the contents of the treaty
need to be discussed and negotiated,
and this will take some time.
But it was a really,
really important step.
And for us, what we need to see is
you think of the last time some
of these big agreements were made.
Think about the last World War.
Think about after World War II,
when all of the countries came together,
and instead of having isolationism,
they came together for multilateralism.
And you think about the situation
of “never again,”
like, never again being in this situation.
This is actually an opportunity
to take that one step forward.
So this is a good step.
It will take some time
to actually develop,
but all of us are really quite excited
that that step was taken this week.
WPR: I think that to your last point,
there is this question of:
How do you hold people accountable?
You know, there have been
other agreements,
and it seems like the intentions are there
to make things better.
But how do you ensure that this is more
than just, you know, words on paper?
MVK: Well, this is a step
getting us closer to that.
I mean, I think all of us in this whole
pandemic about accountability,
it’s really critical.
I mean, think about it
in your own daily life,
about what you are accountable for
and what you are responsible for.
This is TEDWomen, I mean,
you’ve got amazing people
there in the audience
who have jobs and careers
and passions and families.
We’re accountable for I don’t know
how many things in our daily lives.
But we know that,
we know that we are responsible things,
and we are accountable to our families
and to our jobs and to our staff.
We need governments accountable as well.
We need all governments
to be in a position
where they take steps
to be better prepared.
We need governments in better positions
where they can share information
more regularly with us
and with the world,
because this is how decisions are made.
And we need the mechanisms in place
to be able to do so.
We need sharing of samples.
We need sharing of materials.
We need people to be able
to better collaborate.
Scientific world collaborates.
We don’t need a treaty for that.
We just do that because no matter
who’s in office,
no matter what political cycle is there,
we work together,
but we need that
from a political level as well
and through ministries of health.
So this is quite exciting for us
to hold more governments accountable.
And all of us as citizens have to hold
our own leaders accountable.
And wherever we live,
whatever mechanism
we have by that, we should.
And we should hold our governments
accountable for vaccine equity.
So we should be screaming
from the rooftops.
I cannot believe that more people
are not screaming from the rooftops
about vaccine inequity from this pandemic.
We have safe and effective vaccines
that were developed in record time
based on a lot of existing collaboration,
based on years of work.
But these are safe and effective
against the Delta variant,
which is dominant worldwide.
Why aren’t those in every single country
and in the arms of people
who are most at risk?
People are dying unnecessarily.
Where is the accountability for that?
So I think all of us have a role to play,
whether or not it’s you
asking your government to take some steps,
or whether or not it’s you
making sure you keep yourself safe.
So if you think it’s over,
even where you live,
because I know many people do,
you still have a responsibility
to make sure you keep yourself safe
and keep your family safe.
Please, if you hear anything
from me today, please do that.
Please remain vigilant.
Because everything you do every day
will either get us closer
to ending this pandemic –
or it will prolong it.
So please play your part.
(Applause)
WPR: Thank you so much
for sharing all of this with us,
and we’re sorry we missed you in person
but are so appreciative
that you took the time out
of what we know
is an extremely busy schedule
to share this with us
and be here with us virtually.
And we can’t wait to see you
hopefully at the next TEDWomen
sometime in person.
Thank you, Maria.
MVK: Thank you so much for having me.
WPR: Thank you for your work.
(Applause)