On March 11th,2020, the World Health Organization declared that the Covid-19 outbreak was a global pandemic. Since then, the entire world was forced to adapt to these completely new circumstances, and people had to deal with the processes of lockdown, vaccination, and the reintegration of society when the outbreak was finally controlled. Still, there had been no official confirmation of the finalization of this period until very recently, when the WHO (World Health Organization) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, finally transmitted the Report of the fifteenth meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, which was held on May 4th 2023.
At a news conference held on May 5th 2023, the WHO Director-General reminded the population that for the last year, the Covid-19 pandemic had found itself in a “downward trend,” which allowed most countries to return to life as they knew it, prior to the pandemic. After recognizing the decrease in casualties and contaminations caused by the Covid-19 virus, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that “the emergency committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.”
After years of the Covid-19 pandemic being an absolute priority in most peoples’ lives, the disease is finally no longer a global health emergency. Throughout the meeting, the Committee members discussed the reasons for this new statement. The decline in deaths related to Covid-19, hospitalizations and entries in Intensive Care Units due to the virus, and the high levels of worldwide immunity to the disease contributed to the decision. For months the Committee has debated this choice since Covid-19 continues to be a threat, despite the WHO finding it better to transition into the long-term management of the disease from now on. Dr. Mike Ryan, the executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, emphasizes that the virus is still dangerous, even stating that “There’s still a public health threat out there, and we all see that every day in terms of the evolution of this virus, in terms of its global presence, its continued evolution and continued vulnerabilities in our communities.” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead and head of its program on emerging disease, shares the same opinion, claiming that “While we’re not in the crisis mode, we can’t let our guard down.” Dr Van Kerkhove explains that the virus might continue to come in waves, but they are confident that they have the tools to combat them, and ensure that those waves do not result in a more severe disease.
To help remain prepared for and alert to any possible future threats, the WHO Director-General has issued a series of temporary recommendations, which include “Sustain the national capacity gains and prepare for future events, Integrate COVID-19 vaccination into life course vaccination programs, Bring together information from diverse respiratory pathogen surveillance data sources to allow for a comprehensive situational awareness, Prepare for medical countermeasures to be authorized within national regulatory frameworks to ensure long-term availability and supply, Continue to work with communities and their leaders to achieve strong, resilient, and inclusive risk communications and community engagement (RCCE) and infodemic management programs, Continue to lift COVID-19 international travel related health measures, and Continue to support research”.
While the pandemic might be considered officially over, this transition period is still delicate, and States Parties are strongly advised to continue following the WHO recommendations. Aside from that, the Director-General expressed his gratitude to the Chair, the Members, and the Advisors of the Committee for their engagement and advice throughout the pandemic, which would not have been controlled if it weren’t for them.
Gumbrecht, Jamie, et al. “WHO Says Covid-19 Is No Longer a Global Health Emergency.” CNN, 5 May 2023, edition.cnn.com/2023/05/05/health/who-ends-covid-health-emergency/index.html. World Health Organization. “Statement on the Fifteenth Meeting of the IHR (2005) Emergency Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic.” www.who.int, 5 May 2023, www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-pandemic. United Nations. “WHO Chief Declares End to COVID-19 as a Global Health Emergency.” News.un.org, 5 May 2023, news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136367. Hirabayashi, Kunihiko. “The Impact of COVID-19 on Routine Vaccinations.” www.unicef.org, 24 April2020, www.unicef.org/eap/stories/impact-covid-19-routine-vaccinations
