WHO assures that Covid-19 is still a global threat

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that in the last month only 25 percent of the nations and territories reported deaths from the disease, and only 11 percent reported hospitalizations and admissions in intensive care units.

He pointed out that three months ago, he declared the end of Covid-19 as a global health emergency, although it is still a threat to world health.

The UN official acknowledged that there is no doubt that the risk of serious disease and deaths from Covid-19 is much lower than a year ago, due to the increase in immunity of the population through vaccination and early diagnosis with improved clinical care.

However, he recalled that the WHO continues to assess as high the risk posed by the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that generates it, since it circulates in all countries, continues to kill and mutates.

In fact, he reported that the UN health agency is tracking different variants of the virus, including the EG.5, with the threat of the emergence of a more dangerous one that could cause a sudden increase in cases and deaths. The WHO chief advised updating national Covid-19 programs based on the organization’s Strategic Plan for Preparedness and Response to move towards longer-term sustained management.

He also urged all countries to maintain collaborative disease surveillance to detect significant changes in the virus, as well as trends in disease severity and human immunity.

The director general also called for data on Covid-19 to be reported to WHO itself or in open sources, especially on mortality and severe disease, genetic sequences, and data on vaccine efficacy.

Finally, countries should work to ensure equitable access to safe, effective and quality vaccines, tests and treatments for this disease.