Nearly three years since it was first declared a pandemic, COVID-19 remains a global health emergency, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)..A key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing its "inflection point," means higher levels of global immunity will lower deaths from the virus.."There is no doubt that we're in a far better situation now," said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the opening of the organizations annual executive board meeting.."We remain hopeful that in the coming year, the world will transition to a new phase in which we reduce hospitalizations and deaths to the lowest possible level.".Tedros warned that more than 170,000 COVID-19-related deaths have been reported around the world within the last eight weeks. Additionally, genetic sequencing and virus surveillance have declined globally, making it more difficult to track virus variants. .Health systems are also struggling to deal with COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus and the flu, as well as healthcare workforce shortages, Tedros said..As such, Tedros called for more at-risk groups to be vaccinated, an increase in global testing, and for the early use of approved antivirals. He also decried the global spread of "misinformation.".WHO's findings of its emergency committee on the pandemic, released shortly before Tedros spoke, said 13.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been put in arms. Around 90% of health workers and more than 80% of people over 60 years of age have completed their first series of jabs..The report said that as higher levels of viral immunity are achieved globally, through both vaccination and natural immunity, the impact of COVID-19 on mortality may be reduced. But it said the virus is here to stay and will continue to infect humans and animals for decades to come..The committee claimed the world has made "significant progress" against COVID-19 over the last three years, but said "pandemic fatigue" has led to reduced public perception of risk. The committee cited concerns with a reduction in pandemic measures like social distancing and masking, but made no mention of lockdowns.."Vaccine hesitancy and the continuing spread of misinformation continue to be extra hurdles to the implementation of crucial public health interventions," the committee said. At the same time, the long-term systemic sequelae of post-COVID condition and the elevated risk of post-infection cardiovascular and metabolic disease will likely have serious negative on-going impact on population, and care pathways for such patients are limited or not available in many countries..The WHO is urging countries to continue reporting surveillance and genomic sequencing data, recommend "appropriately targeted, risk-based" public health and social measures when needed, vaccinate the most at-risk populations, and to regularly communicate risks to populations by answering their concerns and improving their "understanding and implementation of countermeasures."
