If the coronavirus becomes endemic, that does not mean that the virus is no longer dangerous, warned the head of emergency situations at the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday.
“People oppose pandemic and endemic but endemic malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people, HIV is endemic, violence is endemic in our cities,” said Dr. Michael Ryan during a virtual panel of the World Economic Forum ( WEF). “Endemic in itself doesn’t mean it’s good, endemic just means it’s there forever,” he said.
“We will not get rid of the virus this year”
The arrival of Omicron, which is much more contagious than all other variants of Covid-19 but appears to cause less severe symptoms for those vaccinated, has launched the debate on the passage of the pandemic, declared at the beginning of 2020, to an endemic form. A debate that generally implies that it will be less dangerous. “We will not get rid of the virus this year,” the official further warned. “We may never eradicate the virus. Viruses that cause pandemics tend to be part of the ecosystem”.
“What we can end is the public health emergency of international concern (WHO’s highest level of alert)”, he explained, adding that it was necessary “to arrive at the lowest possible incidence rate with a maximum of vaccinations so that no one has to die”. “It will be the end of the emergency and it will be the end of the pandemic,” insisted Michael Ryan.
Three or four doses needed
The head of the organization also raised the possibility that in the future three or four injections will be considered the normal number of doses to escape the most severe forms of Covid. With the exception of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, all vaccines are recommended with two doses first, but the third booster dose or ‘booster’ is strongly advised since Omicron took the world by storm.
“We will no longer call (these injections) boosters. It will just be considered that three or four doses are necessary to bring about this durable and robust immunity which protects you from hospitalization and death over a long period of time,” he stressed.