COVID-19 and influenza: sharing knowledge across WHO as Europe heads into winter
Photo by Bryan Goff
WHO brought together countries from the northern and southern hemispheres to understand more about a unique challenge for 2020: how do we respond to seasonal influenza alongside COVID-19?
Member States from the WHO Western Pacific Region, including China, Mongolia, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea, shared experiences with colleagues from the WHO European Region, including Germany, the Russian Federation and Spain.
China and Mongolia offered perspectives on their winter preparedness activities while New Zealand provided examples of measures taken to mitigate the spread of both diseases during the winter season, for the benefit of their counterparts in the European Region, who are refining their own response strategies as they head into winter.
A double challenge
“Even though low levels of influenza were detected in countries of the southern hemisphere this summer, the context in the European Region may be very different. We are working closely with our Member States to prepare,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
He went on to say that WHO appreciated the enormous double challenge facing countries in the northern hemisphere, as well as the contingency planning that was under way in those countries. He also noted that experiences from the southern hemisphere showed encouragingly that, with good preparation, it was possible to mitigate a combined surge of COVID-19 and influenza cases.
One key way to prepare is through vaccination programmes, and WHO/Europe presented a scaled-up Flu Awareness Campaign, designed to help countries promote vaccination and prepare for the advent of a COVID-19 vaccine. WHO guidance on how to help health systems respond when COVID-19, influenza and other acute respiratory infections co-circulate, was also presented, and included a series of measures that countries could apply to their own national contexts. Finally, individual protective measures adopted against COVID-19 in the southern hemisphere, such as hand hygiene, mask wearing and physical distancing, were also highlighted as effective in slowing down both flu and COVID-19 transmission.
Experiences of vaccine deployment
Dr Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, said he hoped that countries’ experiences in identifying and registering older people for seasonal influenza vaccine could provide important insights for preparing for the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. “As long as the virus is circulating anywhere in the world, no country is safe,” he warned, adding that “as winter approaches for the northern hemisphere, there is a challenge for all of us to work together and learn.”
Vice-Minister of the National Health Commission of China, Li Bin, highlighted the scale of the measures needed, saying that the global fight against the pandemic is still at a critical stage. He added, “China is ready to work with other countries and the international community to meet the challenges of the epidemic and to build a community of human health.”
In his closing statement, Dr Kluge spoke about the need to recognize the new territory that we are all in, adding that “the best way to optimize our strategies is to learn from how countries are responding in real life, across a variety of settings.” He thanked all participants from the two regional offices, reinforcing the message that our strength lies in our diversity.
