The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern, and with that, declared it is no longer a global health emergency. However, that does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat, stated WHO.
WHO stated that for more than a year, the pandemic has been on a downward trend, with population immunity increasing from vaccination and infection, mortality decreasing and the pressure on health systems easing.
This trend has allowed most countries to return to normal life, and for the past year, the Emergency Committee and WHO have been analysing the data carefully to see when the time would be right to lower the level of alarm.
More than three years after its original declaration, countries should now manage the virus that killed more than 6.9 million people along with other infectious diseases, stated the WHO Director-General.
According to the WHO data, the COVID-19 death rate has slowed from a peak of more than 100,000 people per week in January 2021 to just over 3,500 in the week to 24 April 2023, reflecting widespread vaccination, availability of better treatments and a level of population immunity from prior infections.
With this decision to end the global health emergency, WHO advisers also believe that a new more dangerous coronavirus variant is unlikely to emerge in the coming months, although the virus remains unpredictable.
Globally, testing has slowed down and people have stopped wearing masks.
According to experts, COVID-19 will continue to challenge health systems worldwide long term, including long COVID, and infectious diseases, and no one should take COVID-19 as no longer being a problem. It is still a significant public health problem.
According to WHO data, almost 7 million deaths have been reported, but the toll is several times higher and at least 20 million.
Dr Sonam Wangchuk, Head of the Royal Centre for Disease Control (RCDC) said that the countries are taking their own decisions, and some countries have declared that they can live with the virus. Similarly, in Bhutan’s transit to phase 2 last year towards the middle of the year the positive cases and hospitalization declined. MoH switched to passive surveillance.
The health ministry is collecting samples randomly at the point of entry for any emerging new COVID-19 variants. However, as such there is no COVID-19 testing, and if any individual has flu-like symptoms, they are asked to seek advice. Also, sample tests have been integrated, so whatever samples were collected from influenza, RCDC test for both flu and COVID-19.
In the last year, there have been no cases of COVID-19. However, they are tracking if there are any changes in the variants.
Regarding the COVID-19 variant, Dr Sonam said since Bhutan has opened up and people are travelling in and out regularly, assuming that globally what is circulating, the same variant might be in the country as well.
The main variant is Omicron and virologically they are seeing changes in the virus, but these are nothing significant and nothing to worry about.
Globally, the current variant is the XBB.1.5 omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 and international experts are monitoring this variant. XBB.1.5 is yet another omicron subvariant and follows on from XBB and XBB.1.
Scientists have nicknamed it “Kraken” to distinguish it from the “variant soup” we are all navigating three years into the pandemic. The X signifies that these subvariants came about through the recombination of two or more sub-lineages, in this case, BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75.
So, viruses will keep on changing but the concern is if that virus turns into totally a new variant. However, WHO technical team has already looked into this variant, and so far, there are no cases of severity. In addition, there is good vaccine coverage. Taking all this into account, globally, it has been declared to be an end-of-health emergency.
This COVID-19 virus will remain on the priority list and will be monitored through a routine surveillance system, said Dr Sonam.
Meanwhile, in Bhutan, there have been 62,668 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 21 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 29 October 2022, a total of 2,011,426 vaccine doses have been administered.
