World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that he is “hopeful” that the COVID-19 pandemic will no longer be considered a global emergency sometime next year.
His comments at a briefing with the media came at a time when China is ending its draconian “zero-covid” policy and allowing people to live with the virus, leading to a sharp drop in infections in the world’s No. 2 economy. facing growth.
The WHO body meets every few months to decide whether the new coronavirus, which emerged in China’s Wuhan three years ago and has killed more than 6.6 million people, is still a “public health emergency of international concern”. (PHEIC) represents.
The designation is intended to trigger a coordinated international response and could unlock funding to cooperate on sharing vaccines and treatments.