WHO: "Concerning" Trends for COVID-19 Before Winter

The World Health Organization has warned of "concerning trends" for COVID-19 before the onset of winter in the northern hemisphere, calling for increased vaccination and monitoring efforts. The United Nations agency estimated that hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are currently hospitalized due to the virus. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mentioned in an online press conference that "we are still seeing concerning trends for COVID-19 before the winter season in the northern hemisphere... deaths are increasing in some parts of the Middle East and Asia, while ICU admissions are rising in Europe, and hospital admissions are increasing in several regions." He explained that only 43 countries, less than a quarter of the 194 member states of the WHO, are reporting COVID-19-related deaths to the organization, and only 20 countries are providing information on cases requiring hospitalization. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, estimated that "there are hundreds of thousands of people in the hospital right now due to COVID... This is concerning considering that as we reach the colder months, in some countries, people tend to spend more time indoors together, which presents an opportunity for airborne viruses like COVID to thrive." With the circulation of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus as well, Van Kerkhove emphasized the importance of testing and vaccination. Tedros also noted that although there is currently no single dominant variant of the coronavirus worldwide, the Omicron subvariant EG.5 is increasingly spreading.