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Queries will continue to be raised concerning virtually every aspect of the ‘Unprecedented Devastating 21st Century Scourge’ now globally recognized and documented as the ‘COVID-19 Pandemic.’ The recent ‘Communication’[1] is, therefore, exciting. While the World Health Organization (WHO) ‘Ended COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) Declaration’ in May 2023 [2], the index ‘Communication’[1] reports ‘New SARS-CoV-2 Variant/ Sub-Variant’ (BA.2.86 (‘Pirola’)) to be spreading in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA). It is, therefore, pertinent to continue asking for the real reason and basis for the WHO ‘Ending the Declaration of the COVID-19 as a PHEIC.’[2] Was it ‘COVID Science’ or ‘COVID Politics’? The WHO, at the outset of the ‘COVID-19 Pandemic’ ‘Counselled’ or ‘Cautioned’ that the ‘COVID-19 Pandemic’ MUST be ‘Insulated from Politics: ‘Quarantine Politicizing COVID’ and ‘No Need to Use COVID to Score Political Points.’[3] This Author has repeatedly and consistently disposed that the ‘Global COVID-19 Pandemic Control’ MUST be situate with ‘SCIENCE’ and ‘Strict Research Governance Principles’ and shielded from politics.[4-9]
Further to the ‘WHO Counsel/ Caution’3 to ‘Quarantine Politics from COVID-19 Pandemic’, this Author has also repeatedly and consistently questioned the ‘SCIENCE’ undergirding the WHO, in May 2023, ‘Ending the Declaration of COVID-19 as a PHEIC.’[10-13]
In spite of the ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’, the recent index ‘Communication’[1] reportedly indicates emergence of the ‘New SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.2.86’ currently spreading in the UK and US according to ‘Government Statements.’ These countries reportedly possibly responded to the ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’ by ‘Downing/ Lowering their Guards.’[14] The ‘New Variant BA.2.86’ was reportedly first documented in Denmark in July 2023 [15] after the ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’ in May 2023. The ‘New Variant ‘Pirola’’ has reportedly, in fact, spread to other countries: Canada, Israel, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, UK and USA. So, once again, ‘How Justified is the WHO to have Ended COVID-19 PHEIC Declaration’[10-13] in the face of the extant ‘Continuously Emerging and Globally Spreading SARS-CoV-2 Variants and Sub-Variants’?
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reportedly confirmed 34 Cases of BA.2.86 of which 28 Cases were from a Norfolk Care Home,[1] while the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA reportedly claimed the recent increase in ‘COVID-19 Cases’ were not due to the ‘SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.2.86’ but by ‘Other Variants/ Sub-Variants.’[16] These ‘Other Variants’ were unnamed BUT ‘COVID-19’ is certainly still ‘Spreading and Increasing’ in the face of ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’: How justified? Is this ‘COVID Science’ or ‘COVID Politics’? The UKHSA reportedly advised the ‘Autumn COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out’ to be rescheduled for commencement from 11th September 2023 as a ‘Precautionary Measure’ considering the ‘Bothersome Extant Realities’ with the ‘SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.2.86.’ [14]
This brief ‘Communication’ is a modest ‘Contribution’ to further excite ‘Conversational Discourse’ on the ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’ given the extant and still evolving ‘COVID-19 Pandemic Realities; Is this ‘COVID Science’ or ‘COVID Politics’?
REFERENCES
1. Mahase E. Covid-19: New ‘Pirola’ variant BA.2.86 continues to spread in UK and US. BMJ 2023; 382:p2097
2. WHO. Statement on the fifteenth meeting of the IHR (2005) Emergency Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meet...(2005)-emergency-committee-on-the-covid-19-pandemic-(who.int)
3. Chappell B. 'Please Don't Politicize This Virus,' WHO Head Says After Trump Threatens Funding. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/08/8299447...
4. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, ‘COVID Phenomenon’ and the politics of the science, facts, research evidence and ‘evidence-based medicine (EBM): the imperative for rekindling the ‘multiparameter-based medicine (MBM)’ in the 21st Century. https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1336/rr-20 of 17th April 2020
5. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic and vulnerability of science to assault: Imperatives to uphold research governance principles. https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n12/rr-4 of 22nd January 2021
6. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic: A persisting pervading devastating unprecedented 21st century scourge; the imperative to protect, project and promote the immutability of the factuality of science to the rescue. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1896/rr-0 of 23rd August 2021
7. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, COVID-19 Vaccines and successful vaccination programmes: a further clarion call to observe research governance-related best practices and a critical look at preprints. https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o321/rr of 23rd February 2022
8. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, preprints and ‘COVID-19 Research Wastes’: Reaffirming the imperative to uphold robust research governance principles. https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p911 of 16th May 2023
9. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, avoiding ‘COVID-19 research wastes’ and amplifying ‘Multiparameter-based Medicine (MBM)’: A further imperative to uphold strict ‘research governance principles’. https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p1721/rr-0 of 9th August 2023.
10. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, pharmaceutical interventions and persisting uncertainties: WHO ends COVID-19 Pandemic PHEIC Declarations; How justified? https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p872/rr-1 of 19th May 2023
11. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, WHO ends ‘COVID-19 PHEIC Declaration’ and unending uncertainties’: Further unending imperative to remain compliant with ‘Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs)’. https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p949/rr-0 of 19th May 2023
12. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, WHO ends ‘COVID-19 PHEIC Declaration’ with ‘remaining uncertainties’: The imperative to continue upholding ‘non-pharmaceutical interventions’ (NPIs) and guard against ‘programmatic communicative inexactitudes’. Https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p949/rr-1 of 22nd May 2023
13. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, still unresolved uncertainties and unsettled ‘COVID-19 Origins’: Reaffirming the imperative for a ‘Triple-A Process Approach’ to addressing the pandemic in spite of recent WHO pronouncements. https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p1556/rr-1 of 27th July 2023
14. Salisbury H. Covid booster chaos. BMJ 2023. 382:p2027
15. Looi MK. Covid-19: Scientists sound alarm over new BA.2.86 “Pirola” variant. BMJ 2023; 382:p1964.
16. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Update on SARS CoV-2 variant BA.2.86. 8 Sep 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/covid-19-variant-updat...
Professor Charles Osayande Eregie,
MBBS, FWACP, FMCPaed, FRCPCH (UK), Cert. ORT (Oxford), MSc (Religious Education), FAMedS, FIPMD, FIMC, CMC, CMS
Professor of Child Health and Neonatology, Institute of Child Health, University of Benin, PMB 1154, Benin City, 300001, Nigeria.
Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, PMB 1111, Benin City, 300001, Nigeria.
UNICEF-Trained BFHI Master Trainer,
ICDC-Trained in Code Implementation,
*No competing interests
Competing interests:
No competing interests
30 September 2023
Charles O. EREGIE
MEDICAL DOCTOR
Professor of Child Health and Neonatology, University of Benin and Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria
Institute of Child Health, College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
Dear Editor,
First thing that is puzzling is the name itself by which BA.2.86 Variant of CoVID-19 is called, namely Pirola.
Though there are people with the surname Pirola, Pirola is otherwise a Slang word from the Galician. Whoever nicknamed the Variant so, may know better why it was so nicknamed.
They say that severity of illness caused by BA.2.86 is not very high.
All the same this Variant has continued to infect people for long time.
Out of curiosity I tried to find present situation in the USA. It seems that over 800 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, and there are about 1 Million active CoVID-19 cases in the USA.
This virus does not seem to be relenting even after 33 months of its visitation.
- Arvind Joshi,
MBBS MD FCGP FAMS FICP.
Covid-19 pandemic, new variant BA.2.86 (‘PIROLA’) still spreading and the WHO has ended ‘covid-19 PHEIC declaration: Is this ‘covid science’ or ‘covid politics’?
Dear Editor
Queries will continue to be raised concerning virtually every aspect of the ‘Unprecedented Devastating 21st Century Scourge’ now globally recognized and documented as the ‘COVID-19 Pandemic.’ The recent ‘Communication’[1] is, therefore, exciting. While the World Health Organization (WHO) ‘Ended COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) Declaration’ in May 2023 [2], the index ‘Communication’[1] reports ‘New SARS-CoV-2 Variant/ Sub-Variant’ (BA.2.86 (‘Pirola’)) to be spreading in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA). It is, therefore, pertinent to continue asking for the real reason and basis for the WHO ‘Ending the Declaration of the COVID-19 as a PHEIC.’[2] Was it ‘COVID Science’ or ‘COVID Politics’? The WHO, at the outset of the ‘COVID-19 Pandemic’ ‘Counselled’ or ‘Cautioned’ that the ‘COVID-19 Pandemic’ MUST be ‘Insulated from Politics: ‘Quarantine Politicizing COVID’ and ‘No Need to Use COVID to Score Political Points.’[3] This Author has repeatedly and consistently disposed that the ‘Global COVID-19 Pandemic Control’ MUST be situate with ‘SCIENCE’ and ‘Strict Research Governance Principles’ and shielded from politics.[4-9]
Further to the ‘WHO Counsel/ Caution’3 to ‘Quarantine Politics from COVID-19 Pandemic’, this Author has also repeatedly and consistently questioned the ‘SCIENCE’ undergirding the WHO, in May 2023, ‘Ending the Declaration of COVID-19 as a PHEIC.’[10-13]
In spite of the ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’, the recent index ‘Communication’[1] reportedly indicates emergence of the ‘New SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.2.86’ currently spreading in the UK and US according to ‘Government Statements.’ These countries reportedly possibly responded to the ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’ by ‘Downing/ Lowering their Guards.’[14] The ‘New Variant BA.2.86’ was reportedly first documented in Denmark in July 2023 [15] after the ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’ in May 2023. The ‘New Variant ‘Pirola’’ has reportedly, in fact, spread to other countries: Canada, Israel, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, UK and USA. So, once again, ‘How Justified is the WHO to have Ended COVID-19 PHEIC Declaration’[10-13] in the face of the extant ‘Continuously Emerging and Globally Spreading SARS-CoV-2 Variants and Sub-Variants’?
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reportedly confirmed 34 Cases of BA.2.86 of which 28 Cases were from a Norfolk Care Home,[1] while the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA reportedly claimed the recent increase in ‘COVID-19 Cases’ were not due to the ‘SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.2.86’ but by ‘Other Variants/ Sub-Variants.’[16] These ‘Other Variants’ were unnamed BUT ‘COVID-19’ is certainly still ‘Spreading and Increasing’ in the face of ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’: How justified? Is this ‘COVID Science’ or ‘COVID Politics’? The UKHSA reportedly advised the ‘Autumn COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out’ to be rescheduled for commencement from 11th September 2023 as a ‘Precautionary Measure’ considering the ‘Bothersome Extant Realities’ with the ‘SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.2.86.’ [14]
This brief ‘Communication’ is a modest ‘Contribution’ to further excite ‘Conversational Discourse’ on the ‘WHO PHEIC Stance’ given the extant and still evolving ‘COVID-19 Pandemic Realities; Is this ‘COVID Science’ or ‘COVID Politics’?
REFERENCES
1. Mahase E. Covid-19: New ‘Pirola’ variant BA.2.86 continues to spread in UK and US. BMJ 2023; 382:p2097
2. WHO. Statement on the fifteenth meeting of the IHR (2005) Emergency Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meet...(2005)-emergency-committee-on-the-covid-19-pandemic-(who.int)
3. Chappell B. 'Please Don't Politicize This Virus,' WHO Head Says After Trump Threatens Funding. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/08/8299447...
4. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, ‘COVID Phenomenon’ and the politics of the science, facts, research evidence and ‘evidence-based medicine (EBM): the imperative for rekindling the ‘multiparameter-based medicine (MBM)’ in the 21st Century. https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1336/rr-20 of 17th April 2020
5. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic and vulnerability of science to assault: Imperatives to uphold research governance principles. https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n12/rr-4 of 22nd January 2021
6. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic: A persisting pervading devastating unprecedented 21st century scourge; the imperative to protect, project and promote the immutability of the factuality of science to the rescue. https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1896/rr-0 of 23rd August 2021
7. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, COVID-19 Vaccines and successful vaccination programmes: a further clarion call to observe research governance-related best practices and a critical look at preprints. https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o321/rr of 23rd February 2022
8. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, preprints and ‘COVID-19 Research Wastes’: Reaffirming the imperative to uphold robust research governance principles. https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p911 of 16th May 2023
9. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, avoiding ‘COVID-19 research wastes’ and amplifying ‘Multiparameter-based Medicine (MBM)’: A further imperative to uphold strict ‘research governance principles’. https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p1721/rr-0 of 9th August 2023.
10. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, pharmaceutical interventions and persisting uncertainties: WHO ends COVID-19 Pandemic PHEIC Declarations; How justified? https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p872/rr-1 of 19th May 2023
11. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, WHO ends ‘COVID-19 PHEIC Declaration’ and unending uncertainties’: Further unending imperative to remain compliant with ‘Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs)’. https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p949/rr-0 of 19th May 2023
12. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, WHO ends ‘COVID-19 PHEIC Declaration’ with ‘remaining uncertainties’: The imperative to continue upholding ‘non-pharmaceutical interventions’ (NPIs) and guard against ‘programmatic communicative inexactitudes’. Https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p949/rr-1 of 22nd May 2023
13. Eregie C.O. COVID-19 Pandemic, still unresolved uncertainties and unsettled ‘COVID-19 Origins’: Reaffirming the imperative for a ‘Triple-A Process Approach’ to addressing the pandemic in spite of recent WHO pronouncements. https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p1556/rr-1 of 27th July 2023
14. Salisbury H. Covid booster chaos. BMJ 2023. 382:p2027
15. Looi MK. Covid-19: Scientists sound alarm over new BA.2.86 “Pirola” variant. BMJ 2023; 382:p1964.
16. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Update on SARS CoV-2 variant BA.2.86. 8 Sep 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/covid-19-variant-updat...
Professor Charles Osayande Eregie,
MBBS, FWACP, FMCPaed, FRCPCH (UK), Cert. ORT (Oxford), MSc (Religious Education), FAMedS, FIPMD, FIMC, CMC, CMS
Professor of Child Health and Neonatology, Institute of Child Health, University of Benin, PMB 1154, Benin City, 300001, Nigeria.
Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, PMB 1111, Benin City, 300001, Nigeria.
UNICEF-Trained BFHI Master Trainer,
ICDC-Trained in Code Implementation,
*No competing interests
Competing interests: No competing interests