WHO not designating Covid as public health emergency of int’l concern anymore – Head

Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) no longer considers COVID-19 a global health emergency, the director-general of the organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Friday.
“Yesterday, 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. It is therefore with great hope that I declare #COVID19 over as a global health emergency,” the WHO head told a briefing.
The official emphasized that COVID-19 still poses a threat to the health of the human population.
At least 20 million people have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, the WHO head said.
“Almost 7 million deaths have been reported to WHO, but we know the toll is several times higher – at least 20 million,” Ghebreyesus said.
On the same day, the WHO said that over 13 billion doses of vaccines against COVID-19 had been administered worldwide since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
“The Committee was informed that, globally, 13.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered. Currently, 89% of health workers and 82% of adults over 60 years have completed the primary series (the initial one or two doses recommended as per the vaccine schedule), although coverage in these priority groups varies in different regions,” the organization said in a statement on the 15th meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus disease pandemic.
In addition, committee members acknowledged that although coronavirus has been circulating widely and will continue to evolve, this is “no longer an unusual or unexpected event.”
UNI/SPUTNIK