WHO Declares End to COVID Global Health Emergency

May 5, 2023 by Dan McCue
WHO Declares End to COVID Global Health Emergency
Globe inside the World Bank building in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Dan McCue)

GENEVA — The World Health Organization ended the COVID-19 global health emergency on Friday, deeming the coronavirus an “established and ongoing health issue” that is essentially here to stay.

The “COVID-19 Public Health Emergency of International Concern” has been in effect since Jan. 30, 2020. 

Since the start of the pandemic, the WHO estimates that at least 20 million people around the world have died from the disease.

But on Friday morning, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference that he is accepting the recommendation from an advisory panel of independent experts that concluded it’s time for countries to transition away from emergency mode when dealing with the virus.

During a meeting of that panel, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, on Thursday, members noted the decreasing trend in COVID-19 deaths, the decline in COVID-19 related hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions, and the high levels of population immunity to SARS-CoV-2. 

The committee’s position has been evolving over the last several months. While acknowledging the remaining uncertainties posted by potential evolution of SARS-CoV-2, they advised that it is time to transition to long-term management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” Ghebreyesus said.

He will now convene a separate advisory panel to draft recommendations for the long-term management of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, taking into account the 2023-2025 COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan. 

During this transition, state health care agencies are advised to continue following the issued temporary recommendations previously announced by the WHO.

While not legally binding, the temporary recommendations include:

  1. Strengthen SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in humans to maintain (or, where needed, enhance) capacity to detect and assess emerging variants and significant changes to COVID-19 epidemiology.
  2. Strengthen (or where needed, implement) surveillance to monitor presence and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in animal populations. 
  3. Achieve national COVID-19 vaccination targets in accordance with the updated WHO Global COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy, and the WHO SAGE Prioritization Roadmap, which both emphasize fully protecting those in high-priority groups. 
  4. Support timely uptake of accurate therapeutics and timely SARS-CoV-2 testing. 
  5. Maintain the strong national response to the COVID-19 pandemic by updating national preparedness and response plans in line with the priorities and potential scenarios outlined in the 2022 WHO Strategic Preparedness, Readiness and Response Plan and the recently published WHO COVID-19 policy briefs.
  6. Address the infodemic, risk communications and community engagement challenges, and the divergent perceptions in risk among scientific communities, political leaders and the general public.
  7. Continue to adapt the use of appropriate effective, individual-level protective measures to reduce transmission.
  8. Maintain essential health, social, and education services, in particular access to essential immunization services.
  9. Continue to adjust any remaining international travel-related measures, based on risk assessments, and to not require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as a prerequisite for international travel.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue

A+
a-
  • COVID-19
  • public health emergency
  • World Health Organization
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Health

    April 18, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Scores of Generic Medications Recalled Over Quality Issues

    WASHINGTON — Nearly 40 different generic medications have been voluntarily recalled by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals after regulators flagged issues related to... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Nearly 40 different generic medications have been voluntarily recalled by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals after regulators flagged issues related to how the drugs were manufactured in India, the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday. To ensure the safety and uniformity of medicines, the FDA has imposed... Read More

    April 18, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Kansas Officials Looking Into Potential Measles Exposures at Hotel

    TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas health officials are investigating a measles outbreak they now believe was caused by exposure to the... Read More

    TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas health officials are investigating a measles outbreak they now believe was caused by exposure to the virus at a Clarion Inn hotel in southwest Kansas. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, a total of 37 cases had been reported... Read More

    April 18, 2025
    by Beth McCue
    Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in California Unveils Renewable Energy Microgrid

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Kaiser Permanente recently unveiled the largest hospital-based, renewable energy microgrid system in the United States. The new... Read More

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Kaiser Permanente recently unveiled the largest hospital-based, renewable energy microgrid system in the United States. The new microgrid system at the Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center in Southern California adds 2 megawatts of on-site solar generation and 9 megawatt-hours of non-lithium battery storage... Read More

    April 16, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Kennedy Vows to Fight Autism and ‘Canard of Epidemic Denial’

    WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed on Wednesday to get at the root causes of a marked... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed on Wednesday to get at the root causes of a marked increase in autism diagnosis across the nation, and to slay the “epidemic denial” that he believes has slowed the response to an urgent health crisis. “Autism... Read More

    Nonprofit Hospitals Are Quiet Quitting Their Charitable Missions

    Hospitals play an essential role in the American health care system: They care for people when they are at their... Read More

    Hospitals play an essential role in the American health care system: They care for people when they are at their most vulnerable. For nonprofit hospitals, this role is doubly important. Organized as charities, their mission is — or at least it should be — to care... Read More

    RFK Jr.'s Mixed Message About Measles Outbreaks Draws Criticism From Health Officials

    WASHINGTON (AP) — As measles outbreaks popped up across the U.S. this winter, pediatricians waited for the nation's public health agency to... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — As measles outbreaks popped up across the U.S. this winter, pediatricians waited for the nation's public health agency to send a routine, but important, letter that outlines how they could help stop the spread of the illness. It wasn't until last week — after the... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top