WHO says Covid-19 remains a global health emergency, but pandemic is at a “transition point”

WHO says Covid-19 remains a global health emergency, but pandemic is at a “transition point”   Covid-19 remains a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said Monday, but it acknowledged that the pandemic is at a “transition point.”   The organization declared the coronavirus outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in January 2020, about six weeks before characterizing it as a pandemic.   A PHEIC creates an agreement between countries to abide by WHO’s recommendations for managing the emergency. Each country, in turn, declares its own public health emergency – declarations that carry legal weight. Countries use them to marshal resources and waive rules in order to ease a crisis.   Here in the United States, President Joe Biden intends to end the Covid-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11, the White House said Monday. That means that many Americans could have to start paying for Covid-19 testing and treatment after the declarations cease.   While global Covid-19 deaths are trending upward, the seven-day average remains significantly lower than previous points of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.   More on the coronavirus: Updated boosters are cutting the risk of getting sick from Covid-19 by about half FDA vaccine advisers vote to harmonize Covid-19 vaccines in the United States Children lost about 35% of a normal school year’s worth of learning during the pandemic, study suggests Covid-19 is a leading cause of death for children in the US, despite relatively low mortality rate CDC figuring out “logistical and legal” aspects of testing airplane wastewater for coronavirus variants, source says