By Tony O’Reilly-
The World Health Organisation has announced that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is “in sight”, the World Health Organisation today announced.
Infections around the world are at their lowest since March 2020 , the month Britain first went into lockdown.
The organisation said weekly deaths from the virus around the UK and infections have dropped to their lowest level for nearly 11 months.
“We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic – we are not there yet, but the end is in sight,” the agency’s director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“A marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view, she runs harder, with all the energy she has left. So must we.
“We can see the finish line, we’re in a winning position. But now is the worst time to stop running.”
He said it was the time to “run harder”, adding: “If we don’t take this opportunity now, we run the risk of more variants, more deaths, more disruption and more uncertainty. So let’s seize this opportunity.”
He called on the world to “end this pandemic together”, announcing that the WHO is releasing six policy briefs that outline the actions governments must take now.
The virus, which emerged in China in late 2019, has killed nearly 6.5 million people and infected 606 million, roiling global economies and overwhelming healthcare systems.
The documents include guidance on testing, vaccination, best practice of managing the disease, maintaining infection control measures in health facilities, preventing the spread of misinformation and community engagement.
Thousands of people died of the virus in the Uk, but an unspecified percentage were believed to have had other ‘comorbidities’- pre-existing illnesses that also contributed heavily to their death. It was never determined what measure of comorbidities relative to Covid-19 contributed to deaths.
Since lockdown times, a majority of the British public has moved on from COVID-19, ever since lockdown was lifted in 2021. Revelations about partygate in which several government officials threw parties and broke lockdown rules contributed to the view amongst many that the government did not believe the pandemic was as serious as presented.
Averted Deaths
WHO has estimated that 19.8 million deaths were averted in 2021 thanks to Covid-19 vaccines, and 12 billion doses have been administered around the world.
Vaccines are believed to have played a significant role in combating the virus and preventing a lot of deaths. Controversy arose when it emerged that some people who were double vaccinated were still being hospitalised, raising questions about its efficacy, and the grounds for some countries making it a requirement for entering their country.
The Department of Health at the time pointed out that the vaccines were not hundred percent effective but provide a higher level for those vaccinated than those who are not.
The British public has been divided about vaccines, as has the U.S public.
Who warned that the virus still poses an “acute global emergency” and highlighted that during the first eight months of 2022 more than a million people died from Covid-19.