The World Health Organisation (WHO) has claimed that the end of the coronavirus pandemic is now “in sight”.
Since news of the first variant of COVID-19 began emerging at the end of 2019, and the UK was subsequently placed into a nationwide on 23 March 2020, with a turbulent two years to follow and life as we once knew it flipped on its head, the WHO has now revealed that weekly deaths from the virus around the world are at their lowest since the pandemic began
UK infections have also dropped to their lowest level for nearly 11 months.
This had led medical experts at the organisation to claim that “we have never been in a better position to end the pandemic.”
Speaking on the latest figures and what they mean for the future, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – Director General at the WHO – explained: “We are not there yet, but the end is in sight. A marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view, she runs harder, with all the energy she has left, so must we.
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“We can see the finish line, we’re in a winning position – but now is the worst time to stop running.”
World Health Organisation says end of COVID-19 pandemic is ‘in sight’ / Credit: Claudio Schwarz (via Unsplash) | Flickr
Continuing with the metaphor, Dr Ghebreyesus said now is the time to “run harder”.
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He added: “If we don’t take this opportunity now, we run the risk of more variants, more deaths, more disruption and more uncertainty, so let’s seize this opportunity.”
With 12 billion does of COVID-19 vaccines having now been administered, the WHO said in its latest figures that an estimated 19.8 million deaths were prevented in 2021 as a whole thanks to vaccine rollouts nationwide – but it warned that the virus still poses an “acute global emergency”.
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The WHO pointed to the fact that more than a million people died from COVID-19 during the first eight months of 2022.
WHO created policy briefs on 🔑 elements needed to end the #COVID19 emergency, incl.: 🔸vaccinating highest risk groups 🔸maintaining surveillance 🔸testing & sequencing 🔸clinical care 🔸public health measures 🔸engaging communities 🔸tackling infodemic 📌https://t.co/JCf1bY51yzpic.twitter.com/yLE1K0PD36
Dr Ghebreyesus has called on the world to “end this pandemic together”.
The WHO has announced it is releasing six policy briefs to outline the actions that governments across the world must now take to achieve this.
The policy briefs include guidance on testing, vaccination, best practice for the managing of the disease, maintaining infection control measures in health facilities, preventing the spread of misinformation, and community engagement.
Hundreds of GP practices will begin combing patient records to offer urgent tests to those most at risk of one of the deadliest cancers.
It’s all in a bid to catch pancreatic cancer sooner rather than later.
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most-common cause of cancer deaths in the UK each year, with only 7% of people living for five years or more after diagnosis.
Most people with pancreatic cancer only recognise symptoms when their disease is at a late stage, so this is why the NHS wants to reach out to people as early as possible through its new screening initiative so they can get the best treatment available to them.
GP teams are set to start scouring online patients records to identify people over 60 who have the key early warning signs of pancreatic cancer – including being recently diagnosed with diabetes and sudden weight loss, as it’s said that around half of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have been diagnosed with diabetes recently.
The symptoms of pancreatic cancer are usually not noticed until it’s at an advanced stage, so we need to find new ways to pick it up.
We’re working to seek people out who might be unwell without any symptoms, so we can provide people with the most effective treatment. https://t.co/6rlFVGN6UW
Even if a patient’s weight is not recorded, GP teams will reach out to patients to check they have not ‘unexpectedly slimmed down’ and offer them tests if they have new onset diabetes.
More than 300 GP practices across England will begin using the initiative – with dozens rolling it out now, and the rest due to be up and running in the autumn.
While GP teams already know the signs to look for, this new screening scheme provides almost £2 million in targeted funding to help practices reach out to those most at-risk and give patients the best chance of being diagnosed earlier.
NHS is starting to screen patient health records in a bid to catch one of the most ‘lethal’ cancers / Credit: RawPixel
When the practices taking part in the three-year pilot find the signs and symptoms they’re looking for, they will then contact patients and send them for urgent blood tests and CT scans to rule out cancer.
“Pancreatic cancer is responsible for so many deaths, because patients don’t usually notice symptoms until the cancer is at an advanced stage, which is why we need to find new ways to pick it up,” commented Professor Peter Johnson, who is the NHS’s National Clinical Director for Cancer.
Health Minister, Karin Smyth, added: “As someone who has faced cancer personally, I know all too well the fear that comes with a diagnosis and the precious value of catching it early.
“This targeted approach to identify people at risk of one of the most lethal cancers could give more people a fighting chance and spare the heartbreak of countless families.”
Featured Image – RDNE (via Pexels)
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Chester Zoo named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors
Congratulations are in order, yet again, for Chester Zoo… as this time it’s been named one of England’s most popular attractions.
Merely months after being named the UK’s best zoo for the second year running, thanks to receiving more than 11,000 ‘excellent’ reviews from TripAdvisor, Chester Zoo has now got itself another prestigious title, as a major VisitEngland (VE) report has ranked it the third most-visited ‘paid for’ attraction in England – and the most visited outside of London.
The national tourist board for England gathered information from a total of 1,373 attractions across the country, and ranked the UK’s biggest charity zoo as the third overall in terms of popularity, with a whopping 1.9 million visitors in 2024 alone.
The Tower of London took top spot with 2.9 million visitors, while the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew was second place with 2.3 million visitors.
When it comes to free attractions, on the other hand, it wad the British Museum that claimed the top spot with 6.5 million visitors, while the Natural History Museum (5.9 million visitors) took second place, and the Tate Modern (4.6 million visitors) got third.
So as you can see, the south and London in particular is a pretty dominating force in England’s tourism industry – which is why it’s even more impressive to see Chester Zoo ranked so highly.
The new VE title also comes after the zoo was recently given £4 million of lottery funding to help ‘transform’ the local environment and restore wildlife habitats across the Cheshire and wider North West region.
Not only that, but if course follows Chester Zoo’s unveiling of its new immersive experience named Heart of Africa, which is the the largest zoo habitat ever created in the UK and is home to 57 iconic African species.
Chester Zoo has been named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors / Credit: Chester Zoo
“As a major international wildlife charity, everything we do is focused on supporting global conservation,” commented Chester Zoo’s Commercial Director, Dom Strange.
“Whether it’s caring for highly-threatened animals and plants, making scientific discoveries, influencing Government environmental policies, impacting the National Curriculum to better connect young people with nature, or our conservation efforts in around 20 countries, we’re fully committed to protecting endangered species for the future.
“But none of this would be possible without our visitors.
“Every person who comes to the zoo for a fun and inspiring day out is helping to fund our vital work, so we want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped us to rank so highly in VisitEngland’s latest report.”
Emily Sergeant -
15th September 2022 
