WHO; CoViD no longer a pandemic

Oh it's over DJ and has been for awhile. Time for Albert to change the pandemic alert level and last one out shut off the lights.

[url]https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/05/who-statement-on-15th-ihr-2005.html[/url] or https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/05/who-statement-on-15th-ihr-2005.html ;

More than 3 years after COVID's initial declaration as a PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern), the IHR Emergency Committee this week has recommended downgrading the SARS-CoV-2 virus to an established and ongoing health issue. 

Globally, reports of COVID infections, hospitalizations, and deaths have plummeted in recent months, although all three metrics continue to be under-reported (see WHO: Countries Reporting COVID Data Continues To Decline).

Given the nearly unanimous decision by countries around the globe to deescalate their COVID response, the decision by the WHO to follow suit is not terribly surprising.

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Prior to this COVID emergency, `conventional wisdom' was that a pandemic emergency might last 18 months, nobody seriously considered 3+ years.  But then, a lot of pre-conceived notions were challenged during this unique pandemic. 

While COVID has thankfully settled down into a series of lower amplitude waves, SARS-CoV-2  continues to evolve, making the future course and impact of the virus unknowable.

As a practical matter, most nations around the globe had already ended their emergency response prior to today's announcement, so its impact will be limited. 

DJ..in fact WHO "ending" pandemic status because member states "want to live with the virus" to "save the economy"....

-Long CoViD is a very major problem

-New cases/deaths are -de facto- STILL on a pandemic level 

[url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/#weekly_table[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/#weekly_table over half a million new cases last 7 days with most testing gone...Over 3,000 deaths reported last week...excess deaths often not back to normal

-Spread outside humans increasing high speed-as far as tested...

My-DJ-conclusion; like with climate collapse, wars, we "do not want to know"....

link [url]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/07/is-covid-really-over-whos-announcement-sounds-more-like-surrender-than-victory[/url] or https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/07/is-covid-really-over-whos-announcement-sounds-more-like-surrender-than-victory ;

The global public emergency caused by Covid-19 may be officially over but the pandemic will still be with us for many years. Nor is it clear that governments have learned sufficiently from the outbreak to be ready to fight off new emerging microbes that could trigger worse calamities.

These are the stark conclusions of scientists reacting to last week’s news that the World Health Organization (WHO) no longer considers Covid-19 – which has killed more than 7 million people over the past three years – to be a public health emergency of international concern.

Most researchers welcomed the decision because it reflects the fact that the acute phase of the Covid-19 outbreak is now over. At its peak, in January 2021, the global death rate reached more than 100,000 people a week. Last week it had dropped to about 3,500.

However, health officials and scientists also pointed out that immunity to the disease remains short-lived, while there has been considerable slackening in restrictions previously imposed to prevent people from infecting each other. Future waves of infections are therefore inevitable, they warned.

DJ [url]https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/#weekly_table[/url] or https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/#weekly_table has just under 2,500 CoViD deaths worldwide last week...however excess deaths in many countries above the norm and hardly any testing is left....

The WHO is fooling the public...just like the IPCC is fooling the public on climate...both to "save the economy/profits" short term however destroying public interests longer term...

[url]https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/05/viruses-detection-of-sars-cov-2-in.html[/url] or https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/05/viruses-detection-of-sars-cov-2-in.html ;

5. Conclusions

This study demonstrated evidence of natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 in a wide range of animal species existing in close contact with humans with the use of molecular and serological analyses. The degree of SARS-CoV-2 detection in animals was greater in 2021 than in 2022, correlating with a decrease in human infection rates over the same period. The proximity between humans and animals in this setting as well as the temporal correlation of positivity rates strongly suggest a human–animal transmission. However, there is a need for further research into the role of SARS-CoV-2-positive animals in the maintenance of the virus and transmission to humans and among animals. Continuous monitoring of the virus in animals and humans is recommended for preparedness in case of mutations that may increase the virulence and transmissibility of the virus as its moves from species to species.

          (Continue . . . )
 

While governments and health agencies have declared the COVID emergency to be over, SARS-CoV-2 will continue to do what viruses have done successfully for millions of years; evolve, adapt, and expand their host range.

Which means the possibility exists that a radically different variant could emerge from a non-human host for which we have little or no immunity.

All of which makes the continued surveillance of companion animals, farmed animals, and wildlife for new COVID variants a wise investment. 

DJ, CoViD and H5N1 spreading in non-human hosts will see those virusses showing up in a new shape within a certain time in humans...Ignoring that emergency is "unwise"...

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/the-invisible-armor-against-covid-19-in-schools-swiss-study-reveals-the-impact-of-masks-and-air-cleaners[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/the-invisible-armor-against-covid-19-in-schools-swiss-study-reveals-the-impact-of-masks-and-air-cleaners 

Lots of Non Pharma Interventions do limit risks...However "politics" should do more to limit risks...