The WHO reminds that COVID-19 continues to cause deaths

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that The SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to cause hospitalizations and deaths in Europe, despite the fact that updated vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe disease, and remember the importance of revaccination in older adults and risk groups.

This is what the WHO has shown six years after the first cases of pneumonia in Wuhan (China). At this point, he emphasizes that COVID-19 is no longer an international health emergency, but remains a significant risk to public health.

On December 31, 2019, the first official reports were published that marked the beginning of the pandemic. More than three years later, in May 2023, the WHO declared the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern, after an estimated balance of more than 6.9 million deaths in the world. However, recent data shows that COVID-19 has not gone away.

The WHO recalls that a study analyzed almost 4,000 hospitalizations for acute respiratory infections registered between May 2023 and April 2024, that is, during the first year after the official end of the pandemic. The results indicate that about 10 percent of hospitalized patients had COVID-19. More than two thirds were over 60 years old and a similar proportion had at least one chronic disease, groups for which the WHO recommends updated annual vaccination.

Despite this, only 3 percent of hospitalized patients had received a COVID-19 vaccine in the previous twelve months. Furthermore, the impact of the disease remained severe: 13 percent of COVID-19 patients required admission to intensive care units and 11 percent died.

“While COVID-19 no longer causes massive spread that we saw during the pandemic, continues to cause a considerable number of hospitalizations and deaths. The impact of the virus appears to be as serious as that of influenza, and in some cases even greater,” said Mark Katz, an epidemiologist at WHO/Europe.

Updated vaccines

Regarding the effectiveness of updated vaccines, a study conducted in Kosovo over three years revealed that one dose received in the previous six months was 72 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations and 67 percent effective in avoiding more serious conditionsincluding admission to intensive care and death. Another analysis, which included data from six countries and territories, found that recent vaccination reduced the risk of hospitalization by 60 percent.

Despite these results, the data show a low vaccination coverage among high-risk groups, and even the lack of availability of vaccines in some countries. “The majority of hospitalized patients were older adults or people with chronic diseases, precisely who should receive annual boosters,” explained Silvia Bino, epidemiologist at the Albanian Institute of Public Health.

Given this scenario, the WHO reiterates the importance of revaccination for older adults, people with comorbidities, immunocompromised individuals, pregnant women and health personnel.