WHO says coronavirus remains a global health emergency

The coronavirus remains a global health emergency, the head of the World Health Organization said Monday, after a key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing an “inflection point” where higher levels of immunity could reduce virus-related deaths.

Speaking at the opening of WHO’s annual executive board meeting, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “there is no doubt that we are now in a better situation” than a year ago – when the transmissible Omicron variant was at its highest.

But Tedros warned that in the past eight weeks, at least 170,000 people have died worldwide from the coronavirus. He asked at-risk groups to be fully vaccinated, increase testing and early use of antivirals, the expansion of the lab network and fight “misinformation” about the pandemic.

“We remain hopeful that in the coming year, the world will move to a new phase that reduces hospitalizations and deaths to the lowest levels,” he said.

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‘Decoupling’ infection, serious illness

Tedros’ comments came moments after the WHO published the findings of its emergency committee on the pandemic, which reported that around 13.1 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered – with almost 90 percent of health workers and more than four out of five people over 60 years old. age has completed the first series of jabs.

“The committee recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic may be approaching an inflection point,” WHO said in a statement. A higher level of immunity worldwide through vaccination or infection “could limit the impact” of the virus that causes COVID-19 in terms of “morbidity and mortality,” the committee said.

“[But] There is no doubt that this virus will remain a permanent pathogen in humans and animals in the future,” he said. While the Omicron version is easy to spread, “there is already a link between infection and severe disease” compared to the previous variant.

Committee members cited “pandemic fatigue” and the growing public perception that COVID-19 is not as risky as it once was, causing people to ignore or disregard health measures like wearing masks and physical distancing.