The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday said the COVID-19 could cause suffering and death even after it gets declared as an endemic, reported Livemint.
“When a disease becomes “endemic,” it may still cause suffering and death — as malaria and tuberculosis do, for example,” said Mike Ryan, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme.
When asked if coronavirus has reached its endemic stage, Ryan said endemic means the virus is present and transmitting at lower levels, usually with some form of seasonal transmission or increase that are seasonal or outbreaks on top of an endemic situation.
He said many infectious diseases like endemic HIV and endemic tuberculosis and endemic malaria kill millions of people across the globe every year.
“So, please don’t equate endemic with equals good,” Ryan added.
The WHO official said it takes strong control programs to reduce the spread of endemic diseases and to reduce the suffering. He warned that changing from pandemic to endemic doesn’t change the challenge that people face.
Last week, the WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus said the COVID-19 pandemic is still far from over, two years after he first used the term to inform the world about the Covid-19 threat.
Covid-19 was declared to be in a pandemic stage on March 11, 2020. After two long years, Tedros lamented that the virus was still evolving and surging in some parts of the world.
During a press conference, the WHO chief said more than six million people have lost their lives due to coronavirus, while nearly 444 million cases have been registered so far.
He said that the number of new coronavirus infections and reported deaths has declined globally, and several countries have lifted restrictions, but, the pandemic is far from over. He warned that the pandemic will be over only if it’s over everywhere.
Tedros continues to reiterate that unequal access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments remains rampant and is prolonging the pandemic.
