Camille Naredo

A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site under Barangay Culiat's health center offers booster shots in Quezon City on September 5, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File

A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site under Barangay Culiat's health center offers booster shots in Quezon City on September 5, 2022.  The Department of Health observed an increasing number of severe COVID-19 cases in the last four weeks, prompting health officials to encourage the public to get vaccinated or avail of booster shots against COVID-19, especially among the elderly. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

COVID19-VACCINE

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173560209444420220905-covid19-vaccination-popup-2MD_9630-MD.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site under Barangay Culiat&#x27;s health center offers booster shots in Quezon City on September 5, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site under Barangay Culiat&#x27;s health center offers booster shots in Quezon City on September 5, 2022. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>GENEVA, Switzerland -- The World Health Organization on Monday implored China to share data and access to help understand how Covid-19 began, five years on from the start of the pandemic that upended the planet.</p><p>Covid-19 killed millions of people, shredded economies and crippled health systems.</p><p>&quot;We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of Covid-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative,&quot; the WHO said in a statement.</p><p>&quot;Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.&quot;</p><p>The WHO recounted how on December 31, 2019, its country office in China picked up a media statement from the health authorities in Wuhan concerning cases of &quot;viral pneumonia&quot; in the city.</p><p>&quot;In the weeks, months and years that unfolded after that, Covid-19 came to shape our lives and our world,&quot; the UN health agency said.</p><p>&quot;As we mark this milestone, let&#x27;s take a moment to honor the lives changed and lost, recognize those who are suffering from Covid-19 and Long Covid, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from Covid-19 to build a healthier tomorrow.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/7/healthcare-workers-demand-higher-wage-job-security-1524">READ: Healthcare workers seek higher wages, job security</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/8/doh-chief-not-worried-amid-astrazeneca-s-withdrawal-of-covid-vaccines-1602">READ: DOH chief not worried amid AstraZeneca&#x27;s &#x27;withdrawal&#x27; of COVID vaccines</a></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Same weaknesses&#x27; -</strong></div><p>Earlier this month, the WHO&#x27;s Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the issue of whether the world was better prepared for the next pandemic than it was for Covid-19.</p><p>&quot;The answer is yes, and no,&quot; he told a press conference.</p><p>&quot;If the next pandemic arrived today, the world would still face some of the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities that gave Covid-19 a foothold five years ago.</p><p>&quot;But the world has also learnt many of the painful lessons the pandemic taught us, and has taken significant steps to strengthen its defenses against future epidemics and pandemics.&quot;</p><p>In December 2021, spooked by the devastation caused by Covid, countries decided to start drafting an accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.</p><p>The WHO&#x27;s 194 member states negotiating the treaty have agreed on most of what it should include, but are stuck on the practicalities.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/22/doh-covid-surge-in-singapore-not-cause-for-alarm-but-stay-vigilant-1445">READ: COVID surge in Singapore not cause for alarm but stay vigilant -- DOH</a></div><p>A key fault-line lies between Western nations with major pharmaceutical industry sectors and poorer countries wary of being sidelined when the next pandemic strikes.</p><p>While the outstanding issues are few, they include the heart of the agreement: the obligation to quickly share emerging pathogens, and then the pandemic-fighting benefits derived from them such as vaccines.</p><p>The deadline for the negotiations is May 2025.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>The World Health Organization on Monday implored China to share data and access to help understand how Covid-19 began, five years on from the start of the pandemic that upended the planet.</p>

The World Health Organization on Monday implored China to share data and access to help understand how Covid-19 began, five years on from the start of the pandemic that upended the planet.

Five years on, WHO urges China to share Covid origins data

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Five years on, WHO urges China to share Covid origins data

Agence France-Presse

Published December 31, 2024 07:42 AM PHT

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