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Jueves, 26 de diciembre 2024, 12:00
WHO has reported that since the onset of the pandemic until November 10, 2024, over 776 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 7 million deaths have been recorded across 234 different countries.
The WHO announced this in a special edition of the epidemiological update on COVID-19, providing an overview of the situation since the disease was first reported nearly five years ago.
In the latest four-week reporting period, from October 14 to November 10, 2024, 77 countries reported COVID-19 cases and 27 deaths worldwide. The number of reported cases decreased by 39% and deaths by 36% compared to the previous 28 days. However, the WHO cautions that these figures should be interpreted carefully due to reduced testing and sequencing, along with reporting delays in many countries.
In this context, most COVID-19 related deaths occurred in 2020, 2021, and 2022, with increased immunity leading to a significant reduction in deaths. Additionally, the WHO highlights that SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, "circulates largely without clear seasonality and continues to infect, causing severe acute illness and post-COVID-19 condition."
Similarly, the impact varies by country, and the WHO's ability to monitor the virus's circulation, severity, and evolution is hindered by "reduced surveillance, testing, sequencing, and limited integration into long-term prevention programs." At this point, the WHO regrets that member states have not adopted necessary long-term infectious disease measures and reporting.
Overall, ICU admissions per 1,000 hospitalizations have been declining since the peak in July 2021, when the rate was 245 per 1,000 hospitalizations, dropping below 132 per 1,000 hospitalizations in early 2022, and to less than 69 per 1,000 hospitalizations by the end of 2023. In early 2024, there was an increase in ICU admissions per 1,000 hospitalizations, exceeding 191 per 1,000 hospitalizations in March, and decreasing to 108 per 1,000 hospitalizations by early November 2024.
Meanwhile, deaths per 1,000 hospitalizations showed a steady decline from June 2021, when they reached 253 per 1,000 hospitalizations, to a low of 59 per 1,000 hospitalizations in August 2023. Since January 2024, the rate has continued to decrease, reaching 41 deaths per 1,000 hospitalizations by early November 2024.
The post-COVID-19 condition, referred to by some as long COVID, remains a significant burden on healthcare systems, with an estimated 6% of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections resulting in such symptoms.
Although severe COVID-19 is a major risk factor for long COVID, over 90% of long COVID cases arise after mild COVID-19 due to the large volume of infections. "Vaccination appears to offer a protective effect, reducing the likelihood of developing long COVID," the WHO notes.
Regarding the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, it has evolved since 2021, initially with higher vaccination rates in high-income countries. As of January 2024, the WHO shifted from measuring continuous COVID-19 vaccination coverage since the vaccine rollout began to measuring annual uptake.
By the end of 2023, 67% of the global population had completed the primary series and 32% had received at least one booster dose, although only 5% of people in low-income countries received a booster dose.
Using the new tracking approach, by the end of the third quarter of 2024, 39.2 million people from 90 member states (representing 31% of the global population) received a dose this year, with 14.8 million in the third quarter alone.
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