“COVID is here to stay,” emphasized World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, MD, at a press briefing on January 16, 2024. He stressed the need for continuing vigilance and efforts to keep the disease at the top of the political and healthcare agendas, while attention may be drifting to other major global events.
The WHO estimates that COVID-19 vaccines have saved at least 1. 4 million lives in the WHO European Region, which includes 53 countries spread across a giant geographical domain that includes the European Union (EU) and countries such as Russia and Israel. Kluge said COVID-19 rates are currently “still high but decreasing. “However, he noted that the region is experiencing a widespread flow of other respiratory viruses, including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and measles. The WHO was concerned that fitness was bracing for an increase in all hospitalizations for breathing viruses in the coming weeks.
Kluge said the unpredictable nature of the SARS-CoV-2 virus means that the emergence of new variants can lead to an immediate worsening of the existing situation.
Edoardo Colzani, MD, a senior respiratory virus expert at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), told Medscape Medical News that in the EU and the European Economic Area, “countries are reporting aggregate trends up and down in SARS. CoV-2 activity, COVID-19 hospitalizations, intensive care admissions, and deaths, with severe consequences primarily in seniors aged 65 and over. “
ECDC monitored the effects of COVID-19 testing at sentinel sites selected to form a representative sample. The percentage of positive tests at the number one care sites increased from week 44 to week 49 of 2023, but has decreased since week 50.
Colzani said many countries are also testing at non-sentinel sites, such as hospitals, schools, primary care facilities, laboratories and nursing homes. “At the EU and EEA level, SARS-CoV-2 detections and testing in non-sentinel knowledge were similar to those reported for sentinel data, with most countries reporting downward trends. However, in some countries, SARS-CoV-2 positivity and detections in non-sentinel data are increasing significantly, especially among seniors aged 65 and over,” he explained.
Despite a downward trend of COVID-19 across Europe, WHO data reported an increasing trend in SARS-CoV-2 positivity in four EU countries. the second week of January: Poland, Portugal, Switzerland and Slovakia.
In terms of the severity of the disease, Colzani said: “We wouldn’t go so far as to say there’s a reduction in severity, but it’s not increasing. . . But if [vaccination] doesn’t keep up, then we may simply see an increase in severity due to waning immunity, especially among at-risk groups.
The data available collectively from the ECDC and WHO revealed a complex picture of increasing and decreasing trends, covering rates of positive testing, hospital admissions, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and COVID-19–associated deaths. The values were changing significantly from week to week.
In terms of death rates, the WHO said levels remained relatively low in the second week of January, Malta reported a marked increase in COVID-19 death rates among people aged 65 and over, while 10 out of 14 countries reported COVID-19. 19 mortality rates among seniors aged 65 and older. Specific data on deaths documented a marked decline.
“Member States will need to be prepared to address the conceivable need to increase the capacity of emergency departments and intensive care units, in terms of staffing and bed capacity, for adult and paediatric hospitals,” Colzani said. “Directors and managers deserve to make sure resources are also available, such as medical and nursing staff and equipment. “
As the virus continues to evolve, the view of the ECDC, sometimes shared through the WHO, is that there are no new variants of concern lately, but that some variants of concern are being closely monitored. ” JN. 1, which is a sublineage of the BA. 2. 86 variant, has recently increased in proportion, but so far has not caused any visual effect on the epidemiological signs,” Colzani stated.
The prevalence of a wide variety of situations classified as long COVID is the main aspect of the disease. The WHO estimates that another 36 million people in the WHO European Region would likely have developed long COVID in the first three years of the pandemic.
Several speakers at the WHO briefing highlighted lessons learned from the pandemic to help prepare for future pandemics, adding the importance of regional resilience, the need for countries and regions to be self-sufficient in the production of medical and other materials, and the conduct of clinical trials.
Looking ahead, Catherine Smallwood, MD, head of COVID-19 incidents at WHO/Europe, said at the press conference, “We are working. . . across the European region and beyond to review and update pandemic plans [to ensure] that what we experienced last pandemic can be documented and included in the pandemic plan for the next. »
Hans Kluge concluded, “…It’s so important [to get] an international agreement, a pandemic accord…to tackle some issues like much quicker exchange of information, of data on clinical trials, and of sharing also the different medical countermeasures.”
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