On 5 May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement, declaring that COVID-19 was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Discussions at the fifteenth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) pandemic, held on 4 May 2023, led to this recommendation being made to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who concurred with the advice offered by the Emergency Committee and determined that COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a PHEIC. The WHO and WHO/Europe stressed in their communications about this statement that, while COVID-19 may no longer be defined as a global health emergency, the removal of the highest level of alert "does not mean the danger is over" and that the emergency status could be reinstated if the situation changes.
A number of Temporary Recommendations were issued by the WHO Director-General to all States Parties, to help ensure this does not happen:
• Sustain the national capacity gains and prepare for future events
• Integrate COVID-19 vaccination into life course vaccination programmes
• Bring together information from diverse respiratory pathogen surveillance data sources to allow for a comprehensive situational awareness
• Prepare for medical countermeasures to be authorized within national regulatory frameworks to ensure long-term availability and supply.
• Continue to work with communities and their leaders to achieve strong, resilient, and inclusive risk communications and community engagement (RCCE) and infodemic management programmes.
• Continue to lift COVID-19 international travel related health measures
• Continue to support research.
Read the full WHO statement and recommendations, here: https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-pandemic
As a result of this statement, Alzheimer Europe has decided discontinue its website page with national and European COVID-19 resources.