The United States seems to be losing surveillance on COVID-19 because cases don’t count significantly, in part because of increasing home screenings.
Home testing was finally becoming widely available when Dr. Anthony Fauche announced on Tuesday that the United States was emerging from the “Covid-19 pandemic phase”. Home testing is often an easier option for patients, says John Braunstein, chief change officer at Boston Children’s Hospital.
“But it’s not much better for public health because public health data is based on a detailed report,” Braunstein said. Time magazine.
Currently, there is no centralized system in the United States that allows people to report their test results at home.
However, the challenge of reporting the exact number of positive COVID cases is no longer new.
“We had a recount during the pandemic, right?” “And that’s always been a problem,” Drs. Ashish Jahm, the White House COVID-19 coordinator on NBC’s “Today” program earlier this month.
It is also a problem facing many countries, not just the United States
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhano Gebreius, welcomed the reduction in reported cases and mortality. It said the agency had recorded the lowest weekly total of Covid -related deaths since March 2020, but warned that the emergence of a new dangerous variant was still possible.
“While many countries are reducing testing, WHO is receiving less information on broadcasts and sequences,” Adhano Gebreius said on Tuesday. “It blinds us to models of transmission and evolution. But this virus will not go away just because countries stop finding it.”
Adhano Gebreius added that we are still studying the long-term consequences for people infected with the virus.
“When it comes to the deadly virus, ignorance is not happiness,” he warns.
, # COVID-19 Cases and mortality are still falling, which is good news. However, the reduction in testing in many countries is forcing us not to see transmission and evolutionary models. When it comes to the deadly virus, ignorance is not happiness. @ Call on countries to maintain control. pic.twitter.com/ND6tCEWJon
– Tedros Adhano Gebreius (@DrTedros) April 26, 2022
Meanwhile, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told PBS NewsHour Tuesday that the United States is no longer seeing a record number of cases, deaths and hospitalizations.
The European Union (EU) said on Wednesday it was emerging from the COVID emergency phase, but called on countries to step up testing.
“The transition from an emergency to greater coordination will be crucial in preparing for new epidemics and options,” the European Commission said in a statement.
Moving from an emergency to greater coordination will be important to prepare for new epidemics and options.
Fragmented preparedness approaches threaten the benefits brought about by the coordination of health security measures across the EU today. # Health union pic.twitter.com/HMU0mSNHYh
– European Commission (@EU_Commission) April 27, 2022
Government of England It’s Over A general program that offers people free quick quizzes on 1st April. Quick tests are now available for purchase, but information on results is not available on the government website. According to the BBC.
The UK government has said it is pursuing “living with Covid”. But Dr Stephen Griffin, a virologist at Leeds University School of Medicine, said the government was ignoring the spread of the virus, which he called a “mistake.”
“If you don’t understand how widespread the events are, people won’t react,” Griffin told HuffPost. “And the more we don’t hear about it, the farther it goes in people’s minds.”
Griffin also warned about difficulties in identifying options for future concerns.
“By doing less sequencing, you’re more likely to choose the options that can be entered,” Griffin said. “And, of course, the UK is making a great contribution to global surveillance operations. So again, if we don’t, there’s less awareness of what’s happening around the world.
Source: Huffpost
