May 5, 2023 – According to a report from The Hill, The World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency after almost three years.
“For more than a year, the pandemic has been on a downward trend, with population immunity increasing from vaccination and infection, mortality decreasing and the pressure on health systems easing. This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before COVID-19,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press conference.
Higher vaccination rates and widespread immunity have decreased positive COVID rates across the world. On May 11, the U.S. will be ending the public health emergency as well as the vaccine requirement for federal employees, international air travelers, and CMS-certified healthcare facilities.