When will the COVID-19 pandemic officially be over? It’s complicated, experts say
Global News
While the COVID-19 health emergency is not over, as the World Health Organization says, determining how to measure the end of a pandemic is not a simple equation, experts say.
The COVID-19 global health emergency is not yet over, the World Health Organization says, but determining how to measure the end of a pandemic is not a simple equation, according to experts.
During a briefing on Thursday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made it clear he believes COVID-19 remains a global health emergency and that fighting it requires ongoing attention and diligence.
“I have said that the pandemic is not over, but the end is in sight. Both are true,” Tedros said. “Being able to see the end does not mean we’re at the end.”
The number of weekly deaths is now just 10 per cent of what it was at the global peak in January 2021 and two-thirds of the world’s population is now vaccinated, including three-quarters of health workers and older people, which are all positive signs, Tedros said.
But 10,000 people are still dying of this disease every week, and that’s 10,000 too many when these fatalities are preventable, he added.
“We are still in the tunnel, and we will only get to the end by focusing on the path ahead and by moving forward with purpose and care.”
Debate over whether the pandemic is still active was sparked late last week when when U.S. President Joe Biden declared in a Sunday interview “the pandemic is over.”
Biden’s comments came after WHO said last week the end of the coronavirus pandemic is in sight, pointing to a global decrease in the number of weekly fatalities in recent weeks.