WHO estimates 20 million deaths from Covid pandemic
- May 5, 2023
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The World Health Organization (WHO) today decided to end more than a three-year (1221 day) international emergency due to covid-19, the same day the organization calculated that the
The World Health Organization (WHO) today decided to end more than a three-year (1221 day) international emergency due to covid-19, the same day the organization calculated that the pandemic is one of the worst in history. , caused about 20 million direct and indirect deaths.
The figure, almost three times higher than officially shown by the WHO itself in its statistics, was calculated taking into account the excess mortality recorded on the planet during the pandemic, and was mentioned by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus himself, who ended the health epidemic. emergency.
“It is with great hope that I declare that covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency,” he said at a press conference organized the day after a committee of experts that has been monitoring the evolution of the pandemic quarterly since 2020 , almost unanimously recommended to make this decision.
Stop the alert, not the threat
“However, this does not mean that covid ceases to be a global health threat,” Tedros stressed, while other WHO experts added at the same press conference that, despite the end of the international alert, the disease has acquired pandemic status.
“Last week, covid-19 caused one death every three minutes, and this is just the number that has been recorded, while thousands continue to fight for their lives in intensive care units and millions continue to live with the debilitating effects of post-Covid infection. ” said the CEO.
“The worst thing countries can do now is use this news as an excuse to lower their guard, dismantle the systems they have built, or send a signal to the public that there is nothing more to worry about,” he warned.
Tedros took advantage of the announcement of the end of the emergency, a moment many have been waiting for, especially after many societies returned to relative normality last year, to take stock of a pandemic that, in terms of death toll, could already be compared to the great disasters in human history. , from the black plague to the 1918 flu.
“Covid was much more than a health crisis: it caused economic chaos, subtracting trillions from GDP, affected travel and trade, hit businesses and plunged millions of people into poverty,” he recalled.
Borders and schools were closed, and during the memorable months of confinement lived in so many countries, “millions of people experienced loneliness, isolation, anxiety and depression,” the CEO said.
In addition, “it has divided nations and undermined the trust of the population in their governments and institutions against the backdrop of large flows of disinformation,” he stressed.
everyone’s work
On the other hand, Tedros recalled the tremendous efforts of all societies during the pandemic: “This is a moment of celebration achieved after the tireless work of millions of healthcare workers, a lot of innovation and research, difficult decisions made by governments, and sacrifice. what We all had to do.”
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He also warned that in the face of a virus that could still change to more deadly and contagious variants, WHO would remain on the alert and announced that for the first time in the history of the organization, despite the absence of an international emergency, a review committee that would continue to periodically review the virus situation.
Thoughtful solution
The one who has been president of the covid emergency committee since 2020, the Frenchman Didier Houssin, explained at a press conference that they have been preparing for a possible transition for more than a year, which will stop considering this an emergency and start treating it. more like an infectious disease.
He stressed that the end of the alert has finally been resolved thanks to an improvement in the global situation, a decrease in mortality and an increase in immunity achieved through extensive immunization campaigns, to which are added the protections that hundreds of millions have developed since recovering from the disease.
WHO Director of Vaccine Access Kate O’Brien added that the end of the health emergency will not mean the end of efforts being made around the world to immunize populations against COVID-19.
All approved vaccines against the disease will remain in place, and vaccine recovery programs will continue for less developed countries such as COVAX, which has distributed about 2,000 million doses since 2021. EFE
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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