World Health Org is 'hopeful' Covid won’t be an emergency next year

The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said he is "hopeful" that Covid will not be considered a global emergency by some time next year.

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the remarks during a press briefing as China winds down its "zero-Covid" policy, reported Reuters.


 

"Of course, this virus will not go away," he said. "It’s here to stay, and all countries will need to learn to manage it alongside other respiratory illnesses including influenza and RSV, both of which are now circulating intensely in many countries."

Every few months, a WHO body comes together to decide whether or not the virus still represents a "public health emergency of international concern" (PHEIC); a designation used to trigger a widespread coordinated response to combat the issue.

According to Fortune, the criteria for ending the emergency status will be discussed in January during the WHO’s Covid-19 emergency committee meeting.

"The virus is evolving, changing its behavior," said Dr. Ghebreyesus to press last month. "With that... changing your measures will be very important."

When asked about steps that need to be taken to end the PHEIC, WHO senior epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said "There's more work to be done."

"If there are huge chunks of population that have not had vaccinations, the world still has a lot of work to do," said Mike Ryan, the executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme and leader of the team responsible for the international containment and treatment of Covid.