The tenth meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic took place on Thursday 13 January 2022 from 12:00 to 17:00 Geneva time (CEST).
Proceedings of the meeting
Members and Advisors of the Emergency Committee were convened by videoconference.
The Director-General welcomed the Committee members and advisers. He highlighted the challenges posed by the high transmission levels of the SARS CoV-2 Omicron variant of concern (VOC) and the corresponding burden on public health systems and health service delivery. The Director-General emphasized the importance of vulnerable populations in all countries getting timely and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccination. The Director-General encourages all efforts to expand access to and uptake of vaccination, with the expectation that those who have access to vaccines get vaccinated and continued adherence to PHSM. The DG expressed hope that, by working together, the world can bring an end to the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Representatives of the Office of Legal Counsel (LEG) and the Department of Compliance, Risk Management, and Ethics (CRE) briefed the members on their roles and responsibilities. The Ethics Officer from CRE provided the members and advisers with an overview of the WHO Declaration of Interests process. The members and advisers were made aware of their individual responsibility to disclose to WHO, in a timely manner, any interests of a personal, professional, financial, intellectual or commercial nature that may give rise to a perceived or direct conflict of interest. They were additionally reminded of their duty to maintain the confidentiality of the meeting discussions and the work of the Committee. Each member who was present was surveyed. No conflicts of interest were identified.
The Secretariat turned the meeting over to the Chair, Professor Didier Houssin. Professor Houssin noted the continuing challenges caused by SARS-CoV-2 nearly two years after the first meeting of this Committee. He reviewed the objectives and agenda of the meeting.
The Secretariat presented on the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic and a vision for how to optimize the 2022 response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The presentation focused on:
- the global epidemiological context including an overview of the Omicron VOC;
- factors that continue to drive transmission, potential future scenarios which may involve variants that are more or less severe, and challenges posed by the continued evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in animal and human reservoirs;
- the status of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination targets for 2022; and
- updates on international traffic and progress on the Temporary Recommendations issued following the 9th meeting of the Emergency Committee.
The Committee discussed key issues including:
- national and global response efforts within the context of the synchronous outbreaks of Omicron VOC, including in relation to international travel;
- drivers for emergence of new VOCs as well as differences in the characteristics of Delta and Omicron VOCs and their respective lineages;MODIFIED: Address community engagement and communications gaps and challenges posed by infodemics at national and local levels to reduce COVID-19 transmission, counter misinformation MODIFIED: Lift or ease international traffic bans as they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to the economic and social stress experienced by States Parties. The failure of travel restrictions introduced after the detection and reporting of Omicron variant to limit international spread of Omicron demonstrates the ineffectiveness of such measures over time. Travel measures (e.g. masking, testing, isolation/quarantine, and vaccination) should be based on risk assessments and avoid placing the financial burden on international travellers in accordance with Article 40 of the IHR.
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