(Reuters) – The World Health Organization on Friday declared that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency, and the virus that led to more than 6.9 million deaths, disrupted the global economy and ravaged communities, should be managed like other infectious diseases.
Following are responses from some companies and other stakeholders after the WHO revoked COVID’s global health emergency status that had been in place for more than three years:
SETH BERKLEY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF GAVI, THE VACCINE ALLIANCE:
“While today marks a historic milestone, we must also be clear about the need to continue to protect our most vulnerable people, as we do for other deadly but preventable diseases.”
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS AND ASSOCIATION
“It is critical that we carefully reflect on what worked well and what did not, taking the lessons from this extraordinary, collective effort so that the world is better prepared against future pandemics.
“We need to preserve the strength of the innovation ecosystem, which fostered the development and scaling up of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics at record speed and record scale.”
NOVAVAX INC
“While the COVID landscape has shifted to an endemic market, we believe there will be an ongoing need for annual seasonal vaccination against COVID to provide protection against emerging variants.”
PFIZER INC
“While the Public Health Emergency of International Concern will end, WHO emphasized that the virus is here to stay, and all countries will need to continue managing COVID-19 along with other infectious diseases impacting their population.”
“To sustain the gains made during the pandemic, governments must remain vigilant and maintain high levels of readiness for further COVID-19 outbreaks and the emergence of new virus variants.
“COVID-19 vaccination continues to be recommended globally, and several governments around the world have current vaccination campaigns for the Spring and are planning for Autumn campaigns.”
ZAEEM HAQ, GLOBAL MEDICAL DIRECTOR, SAVE THE CHILDREN
“Over the past three years, COVID-19 turned children’s lives upside down – denying them access to education, health and protection – widening global inequality and driving an estimated 100 million additional children into poverty, but while COVID-19 is no longer officially considered a ‘public health emergency of international concern’, the virus is here to stay.”
“Without urgent global action, years of progress for children will be permanently reversed.”
SALIM ABDOOL KARIM, FORMER ADVISER TO SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT ON COVID STRATEGY
“We have to recognise that the declaration is over, but the pandemic is not. We continue to live in the midst of this pandemic and it remains an ever present threat. And more importantly for me, is that this is a good opportunity to take the lessons of what we’ve learned form Covid and to use it for our preparedness activities for the next pandemic.”
(Reporting by Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru, Jennifer Rigby in London and Michael Erman in New York ; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
