Although Covid-19 may no longer be a global public health emergency, countries must still strengthen response to the disease and prepare for future pandemics and other threats. The new COVID variant BA.2.86 has been detected in the United States, Denmark and Israel, says the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday says they are monitoring a new variant of COVID-19 carrying a large number of mutations.
The UN health agency said the variant, BA.2.86, has been detected in a handful of countries and more data are required to understand the strain and the extent of its spread, according to media news. The WHO, however, stressed that the number of mutations “warrants attention”.
WHO will update countries and the public as we learn more,” the UN agency said, calling for better surveillance, sequencing, and reporting of COVID-19 as the virus continues to circulate and evolve. The BA.2.86 strain was first reported on July 24 and was classified as a ‘variant under monitoring’ on August 17.
The CDC also confirmed it is also closely monitoring the variant, in a message on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. CDC is tracking a new lineage of the virus that causes COVID-19. This lineage is named BA.2.86, and has been detected in the United States, Denmark and Israel.
Many developed countries have
suffered greatly even having
highly efficient healthcare
systems during the third
wave of COVID-19 pandemic
CDC is gathering more information and will share more about this lineage as we learn it. Therefore, all countries across the globe will have to carry out reforms needed to prepare for the next pandemic.
It is time to advance negotiations on preventing the next pandemic as it is bound to “come knocking”. The end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency is not the end of COVID-19 as a global health threat.
COVID-19 had significant implications for health-related targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have a deadline of 2030. COVID-19 also showed that eight billion people – basically everyone on the planet – need to be better protected in emergencies.
The pandemic has blown us off course, but it has shown us why the SDGs must remain our north star, and why we must pursue them with the same urgency and determination with which we countered the pandemic. Keeping this in mind, Bangladesh’s health sector will have to be more active and dynamic to tackle any sorts of fatal disease like the COVID-19 pandemic in the days to come.
Although we have achieved tremendous success in healthcare sector, COVID pandemic has also exposed some loopholes in the system.
Many developed countries have suffered greatly even having highly efficient healthcare systems during the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, but Bangladesh managed the crisis more efficiently. Therefore, we think Bangladesh will be able to deal with the next pandemic situation successfully and efficiently as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has the capacity to take the bold and timely steps.