On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
Two years after WHO’s declaration, there have been more than 6 million global COVID deaths and more than 453 million global COVID infections, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.Public health officials have warned that the infection and death tolls in some countries are likely severely undercounted and thus, they say, it is hard to know the true devastation of the virus. "The pandemic is far from over," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier in the week.
"Although reported cases and deaths are declining globally, and several countries have lifted restrictions," Tedros said, the pandemic "will not be over anywhere until it’s over everywhere."
The WHO chief said, "Testing remains a vital tool in our fight against the pandemic, as part of a comprehensive strategy." He recommended self-testing, along with professionally administered COVID tests.
While Johns Hopkins reports 10.7 billion COVID vaccines have been administered globally, vaccine inequality remains an issue.
"Access to and allocation of vaccines," WHO said in a statement, "should be based on principles grounded in the right of every human to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic, or any other social condition."
