Public health experts from the World Health Organization have begun to discuss how and when to end the global pandemic of Covid-19. Exploring what would be an important milestone more than two years after the appearance of the virus.
The WHO said it is not currently considering such a declaration.
The WHO said it is not currently considering such a declaration; end the global pandemic Covid-19. Denying this news that lately is already viral.
Although the cases have dropped in many places, deaths have skyrocketed in Hong Kong. And this week China reported more than 1,000 daily new cases for the first time in two years.
Instead, discussions at the Geneva-based agency focus on what conditions would eventually signal that the public health emergency declared on January 30, 2020 has ended. Such a declaration would not only be a significant symbolic step, and would add momentum to the pushback of many public health policies of the pandemic era.
“The Emergency Committee of the International Health Regulations on Covid-19 is analyzing the necessary criteria to declare the public health emergency of international concern over.” The agency said in an email. “As of now, we are not there yet.”
Many nations around the world have already taken steps to return to more normal social behaviors, relaxing mask wearing and quarantine guidelines, and opening the borders to travel. Still, many countries in Asia are reporting record levels of transmission, and in Germany the cases recently recovered to near record levels. There have been more than 10 million covid cases and 52,000 deaths in the last week, the WHO said.
The disease is likely to continue to cause thousands of deaths a year.
The researchers also cautioned that even if covid-19 cases fall to lower levels, there is NO way to end the global pandemic of Covid-19. In fact, the disease is likely to still cause thousands of deaths a year, unlike other endemic diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. And the potential for new and dangerous variants is unpredictable.
The WHO discussions could have implications for drugmakers like Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co., which have agreed to allow generic competition in their covid treatments until the pandemic ends. Vaccine manufacturers, including AstraZeneca Plc. They have said that they will keep the prices of their products low until the end of the pandemicwithout specifying what the reference point for that would be.
cautious call
The WHO has been cautious in the past to end health emergencies world and the disease outbreaks. Like the emergency declaration, the decision would ultimately be made by Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus after consultation with experts.
Many countries no longer rely solely on WHO guidancesaid David Heymann, a former WHO epidemiologist. As well as from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which advises the WHO on outbreaks.
“They don’t ignore the WHO, but they rely more on national and regional scientific advisory groups,” Heymann said in an interview. The role of these groups has evolved since the days of the SARS outbreak, when WHO pronouncements on travel and trade were strictly heeded. Today, countries have more up-to-date information and surveillance.
A key metric for countries considering emerging from a state of emergency is population immunity, Heymann said. That is, the proportion of people who have some antibodies against the virus, either by immunization, infection or both. Researchers estimate that around 98% of the UK population has some coronavirus immunity that can prevent serious illnesses, he said.
However, concerns are growing regarding the BA.2 variant
It is not the same level of antibody protection needed to achieve immunity collective, which avoids the virus spread, said. Herd immunity seems extremely unlikely with the coronavirus because current vaccines don’t prevent infections and infections don’t prevent repeated bouts of the virus, she said.
In the US, about 98% of the population lives in counties that do not have immigration requirements. masks for indoor public spaces, according to the CDC. However, concerns are growing regarding the variant BA.2, a Omicron’s version which has already spread widely in some other countries in Europe.
Related Notes:
WHO shares the three most prevalent post-COVID symptoms
The relationship between this blood group and severe COVID-19 is confirmed
The 5 main diagnostic imaging tests (and what they are for)