2023 – The Post-Pandemic Year?
2020 and 2021 were the pandemic years when the world was in lockdowns and travel restrictions.
2022 was the year when the world was starting to return to normality, the so-called transition to the endemic phase.
Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom said on 17 Mar 23 COVID-19 global pandemic would end in 2023.
So surely, we can call 2023 the post-pandemic year, right?
We have to remind ourselves that 11 Mar 2023 was the day that marked 3 years of the global pandemic. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on 11 Mar 2020.
More than 60% of the world population has been fully vaccinated
According to WHO Global Vaccination Dashboard, as of 16 Mar 2023, 13,232,904,667 vaccination doses have been administered worldwide with 5,076,279,165 people fully vaccinated. That is more than 62% of the world’s population of 8 billion. Considering that the first COVID-19 vaccine dose was administered in Dec 2020, this is a huge achievement for humanity.
What is more, there are several antiviral drugs available for those more vulnerable to help reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death.
2023 COVID-19 Infections and Deaths
So, with the high vaccination and availability of antiviral drugs to reduce the severity of COVID-19 infection, what are the mortality rates from COVID-19 infections in 2023?
Figure 1 shows that the reported global weekly COVID-19 infections have dropped drastically from around 10,000,000 at the start of 2023 to around 220,000 as of 13 Mar 2023. The drastic drop was across all regions around the world.
Figure 2 shows that the reported deaths from COVID-19 infections have dropped drastically from around 41,000 at the start of 2023 to just 897 as of 13 Mar 2023. Similarly, the drop was across all regions around the world.
Analysis of reported COVID-19 infections and deaths on the WHO website shows mortality rate has dropped drastically to 0.41% as of 13 Mar 2023 as indicated in Figures 3 and 4.
You may recall COVID-19 mortality was so severe at more than 5% at the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020.
Travel Restrictions Were Being Lifted in 2023
By Mar 2023, there were no travel restrictions when visiting Europe, New Zealand, and Australia.
Fully vaccinated travellers could enter most Central or South American countries without any travel restrictions.
The US still had some travel restrictions but the US government would let COVID-19 emergencies expire on 11 May 2023. We might see the US remove most or all of the travel restrictions by May 2023.
Most Asian countries still had some travel restrictions in Mar 2023 but we were seeing the general trend of restrictions being lifted gradually.
Everyone was looking forward to enjoying the days of no travel restrictions across all international borders.
Is the world better prepared for the next pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed a total of more than 6.8 million people in 3 years, devastating many families. The pandemic has also caused trillions of economic damage globally.
Many experts have said that because of the way we interact with our environment, pathogens have more opportunities to spill over from animal reservoirs and spread from person to person.
Humanity needs to be better prepared for the next pandemic. The speed to respond to the next disease outbreak and pandemic is vital in reducing fatality and economic damage. The speed in provisioning of diagnostic test kits, additional personal protective equipment supplies, additional healthcare and treatment capacity, treatment drugs, and vaccines are all important components of the responses to future pandemics.
Many countries have started to review their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic for lessons learned to improve their responses to future pandemics.
However, the pandemic has reminded us that no one is safe until everyone is safe. Disease outbreaks and pandemics can start anywhere. International collaborations and co-ordinations are necessary to share information, data, knowledge, expertise, and resources. All levels including governments, scientists and research institutions, public health authorities, health care providers, private health providers, media, and the general public must be involved.
Bill Gates suggested WHO should lead the forming of a global response team that is well-funded and well-staffed by international experts and professionals from every country and region to be always ready to combat disease outbreaks.
To be always ready requires the international communities to constantly track the emergence and spread of pathogens, practice the coordination of massive early testing, and disseminate accurate and relevant information for taking prompt actions.
WHO is working with its member nations to update the 2005 global guidelines on disease outbreaks and pandemics to incorporate the lessons learned from this COVID-19 pandemic.
WHO is also working with a team of scientists to review evidence to recommend a list of virus families, bacteria, and pathogens, which include an unknown pathogen called “Disease X” that would cause a serious international epidemic, for prioritising research and investment aimed at formulating specifications for developing diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines.
Tackling Climate Change is Tackling Future Pandemics
In the end, global warming has increased the risk of another pandemic. Tackling climate change and protecting environmental sustainability are in many ways reducing the risk of another pandemic.
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