by The highest health body maintains that the reduction in severe cases, as well as hospitalizations, forced to declare the end of the highest level of health alert. These are some of keys the end of the measurement.
What is an international health emergency?
The WHO defines a international health emergency as “an extraordinary event constituting a public health risk other states through the international spread of disease and potentially requiring a coordinated international response. » The highest priority is to contain the epidemic as quickly as possible so that it does not spread to more regions of this country and to others which, until then, are safe from the pandemic. An international emergency declaration allows the WHO to issue a series of recommendations (no restrictions) binding “more or less”, as epidemiologists explain. With the covid there was blockages, obligation to use masks, the use of covid passport… Measure all those who have finally been skills of each country, who decided whether or not to continue more or less strictly guidelines from the WHO.
Will the mask continue in hospitals, pharmacies and nursing homes?
The WHO statement don’t change this rule (the only one left from the pandemic) because, as explained in the previous point, it is a extent of state jurisdiction. Portugal repealed a month ago on OBLIGATORY mask in hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies, but in Spain this rule is still in force. It’s the government’s responsibility, so neither can the communities decide. However, some like Catalonia They have already called for it to no longer be mandatory to use masks in these spaces. Since February he is no longer in the public transport. the epidemiologist Ferdinand Simon He said a few days ago that the mask could be discontinued in hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies “very soon”. It is possible that after the WHO announcement, the Ministry of Health will announce it soon.
Should I continue to get vaccinated?
In countries like Spain, vaccination covid-19 it is not mandatory, just as it is not mandatory for any other disease. Despite everything, Spain has one of the the highest vaccination rates in the world, which makes it possible to create herd immunity And protect citizens of viruses. The Ministry of Health has not advanced no vaccination campaign for the fifth dose of covid. The third and fourth had already covers less than the previous ones. Epidemiologists, and it is possible that this is ultimately what Spain will do, advocate continue to vaccinate against covid-19 once a year at over 60 Already risk groups (chronic, immunocompromised patients), as for influenza. Experts estimate that, in these groups, vaccination against the coronavirus will be annual and he came to stay.
What is the most immediate effect of this measure?
The end of the declaration of the international health emergency by covid won’t change ordinary lives people. “People’s lives won’t change much.” highlights the head of the infectious diseases section of Hospital del Mar, Robert Gueri. But it will have an impact on the collective imagination of the population, What, by mistake, you can assume that the virus is a thing of the past. Throughout these three years, the coronavirus has caused 6.9 million official deaths (although WHO estimates there are at least 20 million) and 765 million reported infections In the whole world. In Spain, some died 121,000 people and another 14 million have been infected since 2020, according to the Ministry of Health.
Is the pandemic over?
No. The pandemic continues. “Pandemic” is a specific definition that uses the United Nations (UN) and what depends on In how many countries is the virus circulating?. This will continue longer because the virus is still present on all continents and causing some 200,000 deaths per year worldwide. “The worst thing countries can do now is use this news as excuse to let your guard down dismantle the systems they have built or send the message to the population that there is no longer any reason to worry”, The Director General of the WHO warned this Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
What are the risks that covid continues to cause?
Epidemiologists point out that the risk of declaring the end of the health emergency is precisely this: sending the message that covid-19 no longer exists. In Spain, is the reportable disease with the most infections, before HIV vague tuberculosis. In addition, there are other risks, such as patients with persistent covid (they continue to be infected to this day and there is still no cure for this disease) and the appearance of new variants. At the same time, experts are also warning that covid (and this is the “main problem”) never came to “catch the flu”, because there are rebounds all year, not just in winter as happens with the flu. “It’s a virus that changes more than the flu. This, added to the fact that antibodies are short-lived always causes us to get infections with less predictable gatherings than those of the flu”, points out the professor of molecular medicine at the University of Leicester Salvador Macip.
