COVID-19 Is Spreading Again — How Serious Is It and What Are the Symptoms?
Researchers warn that a lack of comprehensive COVID-19 monitoring is obstructing effective vaccination and public health strategies. Over the past month, SARS-CoV-2 infections have been climbing globally, with more than 19,000 new cases recorded compared to the previous month, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 dashboard. However, experts believe the actual number of infections is much higher.
Maria Van Kerkhove, interim director of the WHO’s department of epidemic and pandemic management in Geneva, noted that surveillance is continuing, but at a significantly reduced scale.
“Surveillance is happening but it’s at a much lower level than it used to be. We don’t have a complete picture of virus circulation of the variants that are out there,” said Van Kerkhove.
She also emphasized a fading public and institutional memory of the pandemic.
“I think there’s a collective amnesia right now about COVID-19.”
Antonia Ho, a clinical epidemiologist at the University of Glasgow, pointed out that home antibody tests offer limited community insight.
“Even if people do test positive after using a home antibody test, there is no way to report a positive result in the community,” she said.
Ho warned that without robust surveillance data, health authorities cannot properly adjust vaccine formulations or plan their rollout schedules.
“Surveillance is critical to really understand what’s circulating,” she added.
Author’s Summary
The decline in global COVID-19 monitoring limits understanding of current variants and hinders timely vaccine adjustments, experts caution.