Welcoming the WHO’s announcement that the Covid-19 pandemic is no longer a global health emergency, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen insisted, on Friday 5 May, that vigilance was still required.
“Finally, after more than 3 years, Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency. This is good news”, she said in a statement.
European solidarity (sharing medical supplies, treating patients, helping repatriate citizens, and the reconstruction of our economies) “helped us protect our citizens and overcome the most difficult phases of the pandemic”, she added. Moreover, the pandemic has changed the face of the EU into a true European Health Union. The EU has established the Health Emergency and Response Authority (HERA) and strengthened the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
However, Covid-19 “remains a global health threat and that it will be still part of our life for the foreseeable future. Together with the Member States, ECDC, EMA and HERA, we therefore need to continue our monitoring and surveillance, ensure vaccination of the vulnerable, so that we are always prepared for future health crises”, concluded Ms von der Leyen. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)