"The situation is still incredibly dynamic. And it's dynamic because we don't have control over this virus”. This is what Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for WHO's COVID-19 told this Tuesday October 5, 2021 during a live Q&A on WHO’s social networks.
Although the virus spreads less in several countries thanks to vaccination, “we're not out of the woods”, she warned. “We're very much in the middle of this pandemic. But where in the middle... we're not quite sure yet, because frankly we're not using the tools we have right now to get us closer to the end”, she added. “In some cities we see ICUs (intensive care units) and hospitals full and people dying—yet on the streets people are acting like [the pandemic is] completely over”, she added.
This Tuesday October 26, 2021, the WHO's Emergency Committee also intended to warn about the fact the Covid pandemic was "far from finished". Presided by Didier Houssin, the Emergency Committee gathers every three months to assess the world health situation. In their latest report published this Tuesday, the committee states that: "while progress has been made through increased uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, analysis of the present situation and forecasting models indicate that the pandemic is far from finished."
Still according to WHO's Emergency Committee, "the COVID-19 pandemic still constitutes an extraordinary event that continues to adversely affect the health of populations around the world, poses a risk of international spread and interference with international traffic, and requires a coordinated international response".
Therefore, the committee calls the States to "recognize all vaccines that have received WHO Emergency Use Listing", namely vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.
