Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Pandemic's End Is 'In Sight,' WHO Chief Says
AP: WHO: COVID End 'In Sight,' Deaths At Lowest Since March 2020
The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that the number of coronavirus deaths worldwide last week was the lowest reported in the pandemic since March 2020, marking what could be a turning point in the years-long global outbreak. At a press briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world has never been in a better position to stop COVID-19. “We are not there yet, but the end is in sight,” he said, comparing the effort to that made by a marathon runner nearing the finish line. “Now is the worst time to stop running,” he said. (9/14)
Reuters: End Of COVID Pandemic Is 'In Sight' - WHO Chief
That was the most upbeat assessment from the UN agency since it declared an international emergency in January 2020 and started describing COVID-19 as a pandemic three months later. ... Countries need to take a hard look at their policies and strengthen them for COVID-19 and future viruses, Tedros said. He also urged nations to vaccinate 100% of their high-risk groups and keep testing for the virus. (Mishra, 9/14)
Bloomberg: End Of Covid Pandemic In Sight, WHO Head Says
While Covid continues to circulate intensely around the world, future waves of infections don’t have to translate into waves of fatalities, said Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead officer for Covid. The organization declared Covid a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Since then, more than 606 million cases have been recorded, with nearly 6.5 million deaths. (Kresge, 9/14)
Fewer people are dying of covid —
CIDRAP: Global COVID-19 Cases Fall 28%; Deaths Drop 22%
New COVID-19 cases worldwide fell 28% last week—marking a fifth straight week of declining cases—and COVID-related deaths dropped 22% from the previous week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its weekly update today. (Wappes, 9/14)
ABC News: Hundreds Of Americans Still Dying Of COVID-19 Each Day Ahead Of The Fall
The U.S. is currently averaging just under 400 daily COVID-19 related deaths. Although the daily number of fatalities is far lower than it was at the nation's peak, in January 2021, 3,400 Americans died of COVID-19 each day. (Mitropoulos, 9/15)
Also —
CNN: Covid-19 Death Toll Is A Tragedy And 'Massive Global Failure At Multiple Levels,' Lancet Commission Says
The death toll from Covid-19 is "both a profound tragedy and a massive global failure at multiple levels," the Lancet Covid-19 Commission said in a report Wednesday. (Thomas, 9/14)
