The WHO Director-General concurs with the advice offered by the Committee regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and determines that the event continues to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern PHE IC
Proceedings of the meeting
On behalf of the WHO Director-General, the Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies program, Dr Michael J. Ryan, welcomed Members and Advisors of the Emergency Committee, all of whom were convened by videoconference.
Dr Ryan expressed concern regarding the global COVID-19 epidemiological situation. Cases of COVID-19 reported to WHO had increased by 30% in the last two weeks, largely driven by Omicron BA.4, BA.5 and other descendant lineages and the lifting of public health and social measures (PHSM). This increase in cases was translating into pressure on health systems in a number of WHO regions. Dr Ryan highlighted additional challenges to the ongoing COVID-19 response: recent changes in testing policies that hinder the detection of cases and the monitoring of virus evolution; inequities in access to testing, sequencing, vaccines and therapeutics, including new antivirals; waning of natural and vaccine-derived protection; and the global burden of Post COVID-19 condition.
The WHO Secretariat presented a global overview of the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighted a number of challenges to the ongoing response. The presentation focused on: the global COVID-19 epidemiological situation; the evolution of the virus and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern; an update on international travel-related measures; the current status of COVID-19 vaccination and progress towards WHO vaccination targets; and the 2022 WHO Strategic preparedness, readiness and response plan.
Deliberative session
The Committee discussed the following issues: the impact of SARS-CoV-2 virus evolution on the public health response and capacities of health services; progress towards increasing COVID-19 vaccination coverage; changes in testing and surveillance strategies; societal and political risk perception and community engagement; equity and access to countermeasures, vaccines and therapeutics; and maintaining political engagement while balancing the need to respond to other public health priorities and emergencies. The Committee discussed that SARS-CoV-2 virus had not yet established its ecological niche and that the implications of a pandemic caused by a novel respiratory virus may not be fully understood. Consequently, given the current shape and unpredictable dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee emphasized the need to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus. This requires the responsible, consistent, and continued use of individual-level protective measures, to the benefit of communities as a whole; as well as the continued adjustments of community-wide PHSM, to overcome the “all or nothing” binary approaches.
Temporary Recommendations issued by the WHO Director-General to all States Parties
MODIFIED: Strengthen 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. States Parties should regularly conduct assessments (including e.g. intra action and after action reviews) to inform current and future response, readiness and preparedness efforts, so that future challenges are rapidly identified and managed, including with tools and approaches different from those adopted in the context of the current shape of the pandemic.
MODIFIED: Address risk communications and community engagement challenges and the need to address divergent perceptions in risk between scientific communities, political leaders and the general public. Proactively counter misinformation and disinformation, and include communities in decision making. To re-build trust and to address pandemic fatigue and risk perceptions, States Parties should explain clearly and transparently changes in the implementation of PHSM, as well as the uncertainties related to the evolution of the virus and related potential scenarios. Risk communication and community engagement efforts can only be effective in altering the course of current individual behaviours if underpinned by consistent strategies, policies and the political will to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, and concurrent public health risks, within and among States Parties. (WHO risk communications resources.
MODIFIED: Achieve national COVID-19 vaccination targets in accordance with global WHO vaccination targets and the updated WHO SAGE Roadmap for prioritizing uses of COVID-19 vaccines. States Parties should determine and close the vaccination gap among high-risk populations to achieve the highest possible vaccination coverage among persons at highest risk of severe disease outcomes and among persons at highest risk of exposure, health workers, the elderly and other priority groups. This includes a primary series and booster dose as per WHO SAGE recommendations. In addition, States Parties must continue to support global equitable access to vaccines to achieve national coverage targets on the way to the WHO global COVID-19 vaccination targets, which includes 70% population coverage in every State Party for further disease reduction and protection against future risks. States Parties with less than 20% vaccination coverage should develop strategies and/or receive assistance to improve their status. States Parties need to ensure that routine immunization activities continue and may consider integrating COVID-19 vaccination into routine immunization services, such as the co-administration of COVID-19 vaccine and an inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine, as warranted.
MODIFIED:. Continue to promote the use of effective, individual-level protective measures to reduce transmission (e.g. wearing of well-fitted masks, distancing, staying home when sick, frequent hand washing, avoiding closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places, improving and investing in ventilation of indoor spaces) in order to reduce transmission and slow down viral evolution. States Parties should be prepared to scale up PHSM rapidly in response to changes in the virus and the population immunity, as COVID-19 continues to have the potential to stretch the capacity of public health and health services, with hospitalizations, intensive care admissions, fatalities, management of the Post COVID-19 condition, and thus compromise the health system’s capacity not only to deliver COVID-19 related care, but also the care for other acute and chronic conditions (Considerations for implementing and adjusting PHSM in the context of COVID-19)
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