Two years into the pandemic, weary governments are hoping the fast-spreading but less severe Omicron variant marks a turning point, a shift toward a more predictable and manageable phase.
Determined to escape the crisis and avoid more restrictions, officials in some countries suggest it is approaching time to treat COVID-19 as an endemic disease, like seasonal flu. World Health Organization (WHO) experts say that is premature.
With Omicron ripping through populations and vast parts of the planet still unvaccinated, the pandemic is not over. The bottom line: The path to reaching that endemic stage is full of uncertainties, posing tough questions for policymakers everywhere.
WHAT DOES ENDEMIC MEAN?
In an epidemic, a disease spreads rapidly and unexpectedly in a given location; it becomes a pandemic when it spreads globally, or over a very wide area.
A disease that is endemic is continuously present in a given population at a lower and more stable level, even if cases spike under certain conditions.
Scientists expect that when enough people gain at least some protection from the coronavirus through vaccines or prior infections, it will blunt the spread of the virus and reduce hospitalisations and deaths, so that over time COVID-19 will pose less of a threat.
The virus will not go away entirely, however, and endemic diseases can still take a serious toll. Tuberculosis and malaria, which are endemic in some parts of the world, claimed an estimated 1.5 million and 627,000 lives, respectively, in 2020.
“Endemic in itself does not mean good. Endemic just means it’s here forever,” said Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiT2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvY292aWQtMTktcGFuZGVtaWMtZW5kZW1pYy1vbWljcm9uLTI0NDc5MjHSAQA?oc=5
2022-01-20 09:41:32Z
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