Five years on

WHO takes stock: Significantly fewer corona deaths

The WHO takes stock - and continues to recommend vaccination.

(Bild: AFP)

Around five years after the coronavirus emerged, the number of coronavirus deaths has recently fallen steadily, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). While in June 2021, one in four people who were hospitalized due to corona died, this figure is now around one in 25.

The UN organization generally drew a five-year balance sheet.

• According to this, almost 777 million cases of the disease have been counted worldwide so far.
• Seven million people in a total of 234 countries have died.
• The pandemic peaked in 2020, 2021 and 2022. In the period from mid-October to mid-November 2024, 77 countries reported cases of coronavirus.

Long Covid remains a major problem
A major problem continues to be the long Covid symptoms that may follow an illness. According to a recent overview, six percent of coronavirus cases resulted in Long Covid. According to the WHO, coronavirus vaccinations appear to provide effective protection to reduce the likelihood of secondary damage.

The virus is circulating without clear seasonality and continues to cause a sometimes severe illness, it said. The WHO can no longer monitor the spread, severity and possible changes in the virus so well, partly due to the sharp reduction in testing.