The World Health Organization has finally confirmed what we (and many experts and studies) have been saying for months – the coronavirus is no more deadly or dangerous than seasonal flu.
The WHO’s top brass made this announcement during a special session of the WHO’s 34-member executive board on Monday October 5th, it’s just nobody seemed to really understand it.
In fact, they didn’t seem to completely understand it themselves.
At the session, Dr Michael Ryan, the WHO’s Head of Emergencies revealed that they believe roughly 10% of the world has been infected with Sars-Cov-2.
This is their “best estimate”, and a huge increase over the number of officially recognised cases (around 35 million).
Dr. Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman, later confirmed the figure, stating it was based on the average results of all the broad seroprevalence studies done around the world.
As much as the WHO were attempting to spin this as a bad thing – Dr Ryan even said it means “the vast majority of the world remains at risk.” – it’s actually good news. And confirms, once more, that the virus is nothing like as deadly as everyone predicted. --->READ MORE HEREWhat can we expect from a winter COVID-19 second wave? No one knows for sure, but there is reason for hope and concern:
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts have warned about the horrors of the 1918 flu. After the first dangerous wave of infections that spring, cities and people relaxed their efforts to contain the virus and it came roaring back in the fall and winter, killing far more people.
So far, COVID-19 hasn't behaved the same way. There was no summer break, and we're not seeing the ebb and flow that characterized the 1918 outbreak. It's been more like a forest fire spiking in one area while dying down in another.
But for months, public health officials have predicted one comparison would stand: We'd have a terrible winter.
The fear is that cases will rise as more people spend more time indoors, get ever more tired of public health measures, travel for the holidays, and struggle with conflicting messages from national and local leaders.
No one really knows what the next few months will bring. But as COVID-19 cases rise in 39 of 50 states, there are a few clues about what's likely to happen, both good and bad. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to related stories and resources:
Trump's coronavirus vaccine czar envisions '3 waves' of coronavirus vaccine data and approvals. Here's how he sees the next 6 months playing out
USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
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