COVID-19 policy briefs

Nearly five years since the first SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported, the global COVID-19 situation has changed substantially. With widespread immunity from both vaccination and prior infection, currently circulating variants are now associated with lower severe disease rates and fewer hospitalizations. As a result, most countries have lifted public health and social measures and have moved to end their national COVID-19 emergencies.

COVID-19 continues to circulate widely, however, presenting significant challenges to health systems worldwide. Tens of thousands of people are infected or re-infected with SARS-CoV-2 each week. It is vital that countries sustain the public health response to COVID-19 amid ongoing illness and death and the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, adapting it to the requirements based on the current COVID-19 situation and risk.

In 2022 and 2023, WHO released a package of policy briefs designed to help countries formulate policies to manage SARS-CoV-2 transmission, particularly in high-risk and vulnerable populations, and to reduce morbidity, mortality and long-term sequelae from COVID-19. The policy briefs have been updated to reflect the current COVID-19 situation and risk and the approaches outlined in the September 2023 WHO document Ending the COVID-19 emergency and transitioning from emergency phase to longer-term disease management: Guidance on calibrating the response and the Director-General’s standing recommendations for COVID-19.

The updated briefs outline essential actions that national and sub-national policy-makers can implement to work towards comprehensive COVID-19 prevention and control.