Is the covid pandemic over? The World Properly being Group (WHO) will sort out the question this week, its 14th as a result of the UN firm first acknowledged the coronavirus outbreak in January 2020.
On Friday (January 27), the WHO Worldwide Properly being Legal guidelines (2005) Emergency Committee will speak about whether or not or not the covid outbreak nonetheless meets the definition of a public properly being emergency of worldwide concern (PHEIC), the perfect diploma of risk of the service. Whereas the choice is lastly one for WHO Director-Regular Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, he has continually adopted the committee’s advice so far all through the pandemic.
“Although I do not want to prejudge the advice of the emergency committee, I keep very concerned in regards to the state of affairs in numerous nations and the rising number of deaths.” Tedros talked about at a pre-meeting press conference, the first since China lifted its zero-covid protection. The WHO chief notably referred to the newest surge in covid cases in China, which has seen in any case 170,000 deaths reported before now eight weeks.
The committee is considering the specific parameters of a PHEIC, particularly whether or not or not the outbreak continues to be “excessive, sudden, unusual or stunning”. Whereas the pandemic clearly stays excessive, there was necessary enchancment over the earlier three years in defending people in opposition to the virus through speedy antigen exams, treatments such as a result of the Paxlovid antiviral pill, and vaccines. Larger than two-thirds of the world’s inhabitants have acquired in any case one dose of a covid vaccine so far. The price is predicted to announce its willpower on January 30.
A timeline of the WHO’s response to the coronavirus
December 31, 2019: The Chinese language language office of the WHO hears about cases of “viral pneumonia” in a metropolis in Wuhan the central Hubei province.
January 4, 2020: The WHO tweets a few cluster of “pneumonia” cases reported in Hubei province and says investigations are underway to seek out out the explanation for the illness.
January 22, 2020: The WHO convenes a major emergency committee meeting to debate the outbreak of the novel coronavirus acknowledged by Chinese language language researchers. The two-day summit concludes that it is not however time to announce the outbreak CHOOSEnevertheless the committee ought to satisfy as soon as extra in a few days to look at the state of affairs.
January 30, 2020: The WHO declares the model new coronavirus outbreak PHEIC.
March 7, 2020: The number of covid-19 cases worldwide exceeds 100,000.
March 11, 2020: The WHO declares the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
April 4, 2020: The number of covid-19 cases reaches 1 million worldwide and reported deaths attain 50,000.
December 31, 2020: As a result of the UK and South Africa report new variants of the coronavirus, the WHO approves the first covid vaccine for emergency use, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
May 31, 2021: The WHO makes use of the Greek alphabet to hunt recommendation from variants of the coronavirus of concern.
September 14, 2022: WHO Director-Regular Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the tip of the pandemic is “in sight”.
October 13, 2022: The WHO’s emergency committee meeting, the thirteenth as a result of the corporate first acknowledged the novel coronavirus, decides to keep up the PHEIC classification.
The model new coronavirus outbreak, in numbers
665 million: Covid cases registered worldwide since January 2020
6.8 million: Covid deaths recorded worldwide since January 2020
11: Emergency Use Notifications issued for covid vaccines
13 billion: Vaccine doses administered worldwide as of January 24, 2023
Larger than 5 billion: People who’ve acquired a full covid vaccination from January 15, 2023 (roughly 66% of the world’s inhabitants)
19.8 million: Estimated lives saved because of the covid vaccines, primarily based on a July 2022 WHO report
70%: Share of the world’s inhabitants that should have been vaccinated by mid-2022 primarily based on the WHO aim. Missed the aim, the WHO plans to launch a model new covid vaccination method in 2023.
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