Coronavirus: Independent WHO experts defend that Covid-19 "could have been prevented"

The coronavirus pandemic has caused 3.3 million deaths and adds almost 160 million infected people. It has also had consequences on the world economy, causing a crisis that will drag on for years. On the other hand, the pandemic has severely affected the mental health of society. Illnesses such as anxiety or depression have increased this year, due to fear of the virus, concerns or uncertainty. Now, more than a year after the alert for the coronavirus was declared, a group of independent experts from the World Organization of Health (WHO) assure that the pandemic “could have been avoided.” These specialists, who describe the coronavirus as “the 12th century Chernobyl”, blame the International Health Regulations and “the slowness of bureaucratic procedures” for the rapid spread of the virus throughout the world. Experts also point to world leaders, as they assure that most “waited to see how the coronavirus spread instead of reacting more quickly.” Specialists date back to December 2019, when the first cases appeared in Wuhan. It was in that month that the first errors began to occur, since they consider that the responses to the first outbreak lacked urgency. “The time elapsed from the notification of a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown origin in mid-December to the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of international concern was too long,” says the panel made up of Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of the United States. New Zealand. On the other hand, experts call February “a lost month”, since they believe that countries could have adopted more serious measures in the face of the spread.For future pandemics, which they say “could happen at any time”, experts have called for the WHO to have more financial and political independence. They also urge that he be granted “guaranteed access rights” in the countries to investigate the outbreaks. “This is a direct consequence of the WHO not having sufficient powers and funds from member states,” said Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and member of the expert group. As a conclusion, they ask to create a strong funding fund that enable you to face the pandemics of the future more quickly and efficiently. “It is clear that the combination of poor strategic decisions, an unwillingness to address inequalities, and a poorly coordinated system created a toxic cocktail that has turned the pandemic into a catastrophic human crisis.” Likewise, the group has presented a series of measures for future health problems. Experts have called for the establishment of a Global Council on Health Threats, a new global surveillance system based on full transparency, and investment in national preparedness against pandemics. The panel has once again put the issue of patenting of patents on the table. vaccines. After Joe Biden approved to suspend the patents, the matter has been placed in the focus of debate of the international community. While countries like India or South Africa call for liberation, others like France, Japan or the United Kingdom are against it. Specialists have called for the suspension of patents and the donation of vaccines to stop the pandemic in all countries of the world.Mixing different vaccines increases mild reactions Since the vaccination process began, scientists and laboratories have focused on studying vaccines and their possible side effects to shed confidence in the population. The thrombi associated with AstraZeneca have increased scientific studies to find the main problem of the vaccine, with the aim of not slowing down the vaccination process and transmitting calm among society. One of the most recent studies, conducted by the University of Oxford and published by the British media The Lancet, reports that combining the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines increases mild and moderate reactions, although without safety concerns. “It is important that we communicate this data, especially if these mixtures are being considered in some countries,” said Matthew Snape, principal investigator of the study, called Com-Cov. Spain is one of those countries where the second different dose has been considered. Ángela Domínguez, coordinator of the working group on vaccination of the Spanish Epidemiology Society (SEE) has highlighted that the adverse and serious effects of vaccinating with different doses “remain extremely rare.”