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Is the pandemic over? Don’t bet on it!
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A health worker conducts an initial check before injecting a man with a dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a health center in Jakarta on Feb. 1. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
A
s we enter the fourth year of the COVID-19 pandemic some quarters are of the view that the pandemic is over. In a recent report, the Indonesian government indicated that it would declare the end of the pandemic after consultation with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Such sentiments are understandable as many countries have suffered from “pandemic fatigue” caused by severe lockdowns and draconian restrictions, and are hankering for life and economic activity to return to normal, pre-pandemic levels.
But is the pandemic truly over? While the worst is probably behind us, the pandemic is far from over and we adopt such a view at our peril. We need to continue our vigilance and preparedness and there are five important issues that we need to keep in mind moving forward.
First, we need to ensure continued and robust surveillance and monitoring capabilities. As the “pandemic is over” mindset gains widespread acceptance, complacency has set in and surveillance of both the virus and of infected cases have been relaxed in many parts of the world.
This is dangerous.
Accurate data on virus spread, hospitalizations, deaths, vaccine coverage and circulating virus variants through genomic sequencing are absolutely crucial for preparedness and response efforts should a new wave of severe COVID-19 infections emerge in the future. While there is always a possibility of a more virulent new variant appearing, present indications are that dominant variants, while able to spread rapidly, cause relatively mild illness.
