WHO warns not to treat Covid-19 as endemic: Should Singapore be concerned?
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SINGAPORE - Many countries around the world, including Singapore, are taking steps towards living with Covid-19. But as recently as Jan 11, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned against treating the virus as endemic, especially since the Omicron situaWHO warns not to treat Covid-19 as endemic: Should Singapore be concerned?
SINGAPORE - Many countries around the world, including Singapore, are taking steps towards living with Covid-19. But as recently as Jan 11, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned against treating the virus as endemic, especially since the Omicron situation has not yet stabilised. What explains this apparent difference in views? The main reason is that the world as a whole is not yet ready to live with the virus, said Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Only a handful of developed countries have the ability to protect their people against the virus, he said. Even among these, vaccination and booster take-up rates may not be high enough to confer sufficient protection. «The WHO fears countries deciding to emulate this posture and lift most of the social and community measures before the vaccination uptake and hospital resources can be readied for it,» Prof Teo said. «This will lead to a lot more infections and a lot more deaths.» Read more