End of Covid-19?

WHO Director General said that the end of the Covid-19 pandemic “is in sight”

What at first seemed impossible is now emerging on the horizons. In a recent press conference, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the end of the Covid-19 pandemic “is in sight”. What this actually means is that the world now seems to be in a better position to fight for the end of the deadly pandemic that has altered the world order for nearly two years — 606 million infected and 6.5 million dead with economies and healthcare systems around the world overwhelmed and exhausted. There is now indeed a true possibility of returning to normalcy, even though many things have been changed irrevocably.

This proves that global vaccination efforts, protective SOPs, and restrictive policies have been successful in curbing the spread of the deadly virus in the long run. If we do achieve the end of this horrible tragedy, it will go down in deep history as a great feat and may become a blueprint of handling pandemics for future generations, since this is not the last pandemic that humanity would witness. However, such optimism must not be met with complacency. We must not get ahead of ourselves and reevaluate existing policies to make them even better, as the threat of resurgence still looms large. Moreover, vaccinations must continue and WHO is still urging countries to try and vaccinate 100% of their population — a cumbersome task for an underdeveloped country like Pakistan. Apart from this, the pandemic has reaffirmed the need to arm and equip healthcare systems around the world, especially with the monkeypox looming in our midst.

There will be future waves that emerge sporadically across time since sub-variants of Omicron still lurk and more variants could emerge. Therefore, countries must remain vigilant and continue with basic Covid-19 protocols such as regular testing and isolations. The end is in sight; we must reach it through concerted global efforts.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2022.

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