COVID-19 remains a public health emergency, WHO says

The World Health Organization has said COVID-19 remains a public health emergency of international concern, the highest form of alarm.

The WHO also acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely at a transition point.

In a Monday press statement following the 14th meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, held Jan. 27.

The committee agreed that COVID-19 remains a dangerous infectious disease that can cause significant damage to health and health systems.

The PUNCH had reported last week that the Emergency Committee on COVID-19 would meet to discuss whether the current situation still constitutes a global emergency.

The WHO first declared COVID-19 a global health emergency on January 30, 2020, with more than 752 million cases and more than 684 million deaths to date.

Meanwhile, the global health body urged countries to remain vigilant and continue to report surveillance and genomic sequencing data.

The statement read in part: “The committee agreed that COVID-19 remains a dangerous infectious disease that can cause significant harm to health and health systems.

“The committee discussed whether the continuation of a PHEIC is necessary to maintain global attention for COVID-19, the potential negative consequences that could arise if the PHEIC is terminated, and how to transition in a safe manner.

“The committee recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic is approaching a turning point. Achieving higher levels of population immunity globally, either through infection and/or vaccination, may limit the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on morbidity and mortality, but there is little doubt that this virus will remain a permanently established pathogen in people and animals for the foreseeable future.

“As such, long-term public health action is critical. While it is highly unlikely that this virus will be removed from human and animal reservoirs, mitigating its devastating impact on morbidity and mortality is feasible and must remain a priority.”

The committee therefore recommended that WHO, in consultation with partners and stakeholders, develop a proposal for alternative mechanisms to maintain global and national focus on COVID-19 after the PHEIC has ended, including a possible review committee if necessary to advise on issuing permanent recommendations under the IHL.

“The committee also requested the WHO Secretariat to provide an assessment of the regulatory implications for developing and authorizing vaccines, diagnostics and therapies should the PHEIC be terminated in the coming months.

“The committee also encouraged WHO to review and, if necessary, accelerate the integration of COVID-19 surveillance into the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System.” noted the statement.

The WHO has temporarily recommended states parties maintain momentum for COVID-19 vaccination to achieve 100 percent coverage of high-priority groups.

“States parties should plan for the integration of COVID-19 vaccination into part of lifetime immunization programs. Regular data collection and reporting on vaccine coverage should include both primary and booster doses.

“Improve reporting of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance data to WHO. Better data is needed to: detect, assess and monitor emerging variants; identify significant changes in COVID-19 epidemiology; and understand the burden of COVID-19 across all regions.

“States parties are recommended to use an integrated approach to surveillance of respiratory infectious diseases using the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response system.

“Surveillance should include information from representative sentinel populations, event-based surveillance, human wastewater monitoring, serosurveillance and animal-human environment monitoring,” it added.

More than 13 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to date, with 89 percent of healthcare workers and 81 percent of older adults (over 60 years of age) completing the primary series.