(Geneva) The WHO again criticized China’s reluctance to share reliable data on the wave of COVID-19 sweeping the country, but conversely praised the “radical transparency” of the United States in its fight against the XBB.1.5 subvariant.
The World Health Organization remains convinced “that the number of deaths in China is still very underestimated”, said Dr Michael Ryan, WHO emergency manager, at a press briefing. in Geneva.
It’s related to the Chinese authorities’ very narrow definition of what a COVID-19 death is, but also to the fact that doctors “must be encouraged to report cases and not discouraged”, he said. Explain.
Conversely, he welcomed the collaboration of the American authorities, who are confronted with a sub-variant of Omicron very present in the country: the XBB.1.5.
“There has been radical transparency from the United States in terms of engagement with the WHO regarding the data and the impact of this data,” said the Irishman.
For the time being, if this sub-variant “is more transmissible than the previous sub-variants, there is no data indicating whether it is more or less severe”, underlined Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, who oversees the fight against COVID-19 at WHO.
The WHO very cautiously believes that this subvariant could “lead to an increase in the incidence of cases”, but stresses that it is obliged to base itself almost solely on the situation in the United States.
This is where more than 82% of the 5,288 sequences that detected XBB.1.5 in 38 countries were performed.
Insufficient information
In China, despite increasingly close collaboration, “we still do not have sufficient information to carry out a complete risk assessment”, added Mike Ryan.
According to him, this partly explains the tests imposed by many countries on Chinese travelers rather than those who come from the United States.
“The lack of data makes them take precautionary measures and that’s understandable,” added Dr. Ryan.
On the Chinese side, the authorities have no intention of changing their method.
“At the moment, I don’t think it’s necessary to investigate the cause (of death) for each individual case,” epidemiologist Liang Wannian said on Wednesday.
According to official figures, only 37 deaths related to COVID-19 have been recorded in China since last month, out of a population of 1.4 billion inhabitants.
Beyond the case of deaths, the WHO also regrets the lack of sequencing which alone makes it possible to detect new sub-variants quickly.
China not alone
But China is far from the only bad student in the class. A lot of countries have reduced the tests to the bare minimum.
“The proportion of sequencing has dropped by 90% since the top of the Omicron wave” last year, denounced the boss of the organization, Tedros Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
COVID-19 causes between 10,000 and 14,000 deaths per week despite the vaccines and treatments available, recalled Dr. Tedros, stressing that these figures were undoubtedly very much below reality.
With the pandemic having just entered its fourth year, the head of the WHO again called on countries “to focus on the complete vaccination of the groups most at risk, in particular the elderly.
And we continue to call on everyone to take appropriate precautions to protect themselves and others. »