Criticism of WHO's 'Delayed' Response to Late Pandemic Declaration (Comprehensive)

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The World Health Organization (WHO) faced criticism for its delayed response after declaring the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic on the 11th (local time). Although international experts had pointed out early on that the spread of COVID-19 had reached pandemic levels, the WHO had hesitated to make an official declaration, stating that the situation did not yet warrant a pandemic announcement.

So far, confirmed COVID-19 cases have rapidly increased to 118,000 across 114 countries, with deaths surpassing 4,300. The WHO emphasized that its declaration was not a delayed response, explaining that many experts had spent a long time analyzing the characteristics of COVID-19 before declaring a pandemic. Michael Ryan, head of the WHO Emergency Response Team, said during a press briefing on the 11th (local time), "During the discussions, we carefully considered the implications and impact of the word 'pandemic,' as well as the risk of misuse as a reason to abandon the response measures that countries have been implementing."

Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO Emerging Diseases Team, also stated, "We evaluated the characteristics and risks of COVID-19 based on the daily evolving outbreak situation and data from member countries." She added that the conclusion that COVID-19 has the characteristics of a pandemic was reached by considering factors such as transmissibility, transmission routes, high-risk groups, the process leading to patient deaths, preventive measures, and social impact.

International media had already considered the situation to be a pandemic before the WHO's official declaration. The U.S. CNN network announced on the 9th that it would independently refer to the current situation as a pandemic. CNN cited the fact that confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide had exceeded 100,000 and deaths had surpassed 3,000 as the basis for this decision.

International infectious disease experts also warned that COVID-19 had already entered a pandemic phase. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), previously stated, "The fact that COVID-19 causes illness and death and that sustained person-to-person transmission is occurring is concerning," adding, "These factors meet the two criteria for a pandemic." Mark Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at Harvard University, said, "I believe all the criteria have been met," and Professor Gabriel Leung, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, also argued, "Technically, this is a pandemic because COVID-19 has entered the stage of community transmission in many countries."

The WHO has been criticized for its delayed response not only in declaring a pandemic but also for holding two emergency committee meetings before finally declaring an 'International Public Health Emergency (PHEIC)' at the end of January. The WHO was also internationally criticized for dispatching an expert investigation team to China, the outbreak's origin, only ten days after declaring the international emergency.

Some argue that despite such criticism, the reason for the WHO's delayed response lies in the backlash it faced after declaring a pandemic during the 2009 novel influenza outbreak. At that time, the WHO quickly declared a pandemic after confirmed cases worldwide exceeded 30,000, and governments invested budgets to purchase vaccines. However, as the spread suddenly subsided, the vaccines stockpiled by countries went unused and accumulated. Due to the significant discrepancy between demand and forecasts, countries that purchased vaccines criticized the WHO's pandemic declaration as premature. Since then, the WHO has refrained from declaring pandemics, and its website includes a statement saying, "The term pandemic should not be used lightly or carelessly. Misuse can cause inappropriate fear."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.