Covid emergency has ended; threat remains

The World Health Organisation’s announcement that Covid-19 is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern may be taken as a formal declaration of the end of a scourge that has taken a terrible physical, mental, economic and social toll on humankind in the last three years. It was the most disastrous medical affliction in living memory and no country or continent or people of any class or kind were spared. The formal end to the emergency was expected in the last few months when cases started dwindling, though there were occasional spurts in some parts of the world. Though the virus is still active in many places, the global death rate has come down considerably, from 100,000 a week at the peak of the pandemic in January 2021 to less than 4,000 this month. Infections have also come down everywhere. WHO’s declaration is based on the data on Covid available worldwide and its analysis of the impact and trends. 

The WHO has at the same time made it clear that the end of the global health emergency does not mean the end of the global health threat posed by Covid-19. Though it is not active and spreading, it is found in many pockets and does cause fatalities. It is endemic and may act like a seasonal influenza. But there is the need to be on guard because the virus is still not fully understood. It is capable of mutating into variants and subvariants which may have entirely new properties and may be immune to vaccines and drugs. They may lead to the breakout of a new epidemic. Therefore, there should not be any complacency and celebration of the idea that Covid is dead. It is still present and would evolve, like organisms do, and might one day, like a rough beast, its hour come, come to be reborn. 

The experience of fighting Covid will stand governments, health authorities and the society as such in good stead. Most countries have realised the weaknesses and problems of their medical infrastructure and practices. Whole new facilities and systems were developed and put in place and they will be of use in the coming years. Medical science and research also advanced and found itself capable of coping with the attack of an alien species about which there was no knowledge at all. The knowledge gained from handling the emergency and the popular awareness that it created about public health needs and responsibilities are important. It is estimated that about seven million people perished in the pandemic, probably much more, and that was a terrible price for the seeming and perhaps uncertain victory that has now been declared.