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https://theconversation.com/who-gets-to-decide-when-the-pandemic-is-over-177971>
"It’s been two years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the
COVID outbreak a pandemic, and since then, people around the world have been
asking the same thing: when will it end? This seems like a simple question, but
historical analysis shows that “the end” of a disease is rarely experienced in
unison by everyone affected.
For some, the threat is over quickly and a return to normality is eagerly
anticipated. But for others, the continued threat from infection – as well as
the long-term health, economic and social impacts of the disease – render
official announcements of the end premature. This could, for example, include
immunocompromised people, some of whom remain vulnerable to COVID despite being
vaccinated.
Determining when a disease outbreak has ended is even difficult for global
health agencies. The Ebola outbreak that began in 2018 in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo was declared over by the WHO in 2020, but subsequently
flared up again. This revival was then re-declared over in December 2021.
In England, the government recently decided to lift all remaining COVID legal
restrictions. But does this push towards “living with” the virus mean that
England’s pandemic is over? And if not, who should decide when it is?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
