[World Report] released after 3 years and 4 months... After COVID-19

Last July, when I was a Washington correspondent, Korea was still in the midst of COVID. Whether you entered a building or got on the subway, everyone was wearing a mask, and it was hard to see anyone on the street unmasked. Even on the plane to the United States, I wore a mask for more than 7 hours. However, it was an exception during meal times, and when I took off my mask and ate in a close seat, I remember being able to breathe comfortably and thinking, "Can I do this?"

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WHO lifts COVID-19 state of emergency... The risk has also decreased.

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As we exited the airport, America was almost back to normal. Inside, people wearing masks were often seen, but outside, such people were rarely seen. Now, South Korea has returned to normal, if not as usual, with the lifting of indoor mask mandates, and in the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic officially marked the end of the pandemic last month when President Biden signed a bill declaring the end of the COVID-19-related public health emergency.

And on the 5th, the World Health Organization (WHO) finally lifted the COVID-19 state of emergency. It's been 3 years and 4 months. WHO Director-General Tewodros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that he agreed with the International Committee on Emergency Health Protocols to lift the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on COVID-19. PHEIC is the highest level of public health alert that WHO can issue, and lifting PHEIC means that the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented health crisis, has effectively become a common pandemic.

Tewodros said the decision was in response to the committee's recommendation to take into account the continued decline in COVID-19-related deaths and ICU admissions and the high level of the immunized population. While acknowledging that there are uncertainties due to the potential for COVID-19 to mutate and evolve, the committee advises and agrees that it is time to shift COVID-19 to a long-term management regime.

Experts convened to make the decision determined that the risk of COVID-19 to humans had decreased, and the WHO said it had evidence that the risk of COVID-19 was decreasing, including a large number of people with COVID-19 immunity, the nature of the current Omicron subvariant that was previously circulating, and improving clinical management. He explained that while the COVID-19 virus continues to evolve, the current variant does not appear to be related to the increase in the severity of infections.

COVID-19 is the 4th leading cause of death in the United States... Risks remain

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While the WHO's decision to lift the COVID-19 state of emergency is welcome, it doesn't mean that the COVID-19 risk has disappeared. Even in the United States, which previously passed a bill to lift the COVID-19 state of emergency, COVID-19 remains one of the most dangerous diseases. The Washington Post, citing preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said COVID-19 was the fourth most common cause of death recorded in the U.S. last year. According to the data, heart disease deaths were the highest at 4,69, followed by cancer deaths at 9,659 and deaths from "unintentional injuries," including drug overdoses, at 60,7. This was followed by 790,21 COVID-8 deaths, a 64% drop from the previous year, but still an average of more than 19 people a day are dying from COVID-18, indicating that the risk of COVID-6 remains.

It is true that the United States, which is said to be the most in the situation, is in this situation, so it is difficult to be reassured by countries with weak medical and quarantine systems. Those who were negative about the WHO's lifting of the COVID-702 state of emergency weighed in on the opinion that given the discrepancy in the medical capacity of countries around the world, it is time to check whether each country's medical preparedness system is in place rather than lifting the PHEIC yet. The fact that sub-Omicron variants such as XBB.47.500, which is highly transmissible and has large immune evasion characteristics, is on the rise in several countries.

But as with all decisions, the reality is that there is no one-size-fits-all choice. Once decided, we need to go in the direction of minimizing side effects and the role of WHO is more important than ever to do so. As experts fear, areas with weak medical capacity must be managed to ensure that they do not become new sources of COVID-19 variants, and the necessary support must be drawn from Member States. The WHO's controversial response to COVID-19 in the early days should not be repeated.