Is WHO Preparing For Nuclear War?

Daily Mail: EXCLUSIVE: Is WHO preparing for nuclear war? Health body publishes list of medicines for nations to stockpile in case of 'radiation or nuclear emergency' as EU warns 'Russia is at war with the West' 

* WHO issued guidance on how to survive a nuclear catastrophe today 

* Threat of nuclear war is heightened amid Russian fury over NATO tank deal 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has updated its list of medicines to stockpile for 'radiological or nuclear emergencies', just hours after the EU warned that Russia 'is at war with the West'. 

The global health body issued guidance on how to survive a nuclear catastrophe in a new report today, warning against 'intentional uses of radioactive materials with malicious intent'.

The report was published as the spectre of nuclear war looms over the world after the West supplied state-of-the-art tanks to Ukraine to the fury of Vladimir Putin.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: WHO updates list of medicines to stockpile for nuclear emergencies (the Hill)  

Update #2: World Health Organization Recommends Stockpiling Meds for Radiological Catastrophe (Popular Mechanics) 

Update #3: The WHO is urging countries to start stockpiling medicines for ‘nuclear emergencies’ after the EU’s latest warning on Putin (Fortune)  

WNU Editor: The EU is already stockpiling an emergency stockpile .... EU To Set Up A Stockpile In Finland To Respond To Chemical And Nuclear Emergencies (January 19, 2023).

Did WHO Skip The Next Greek Letter (Xi) In Naming The Latest COVID-19 Variant Omicron So As To Not Embarrass The Chinese Leader?

He who must not be named. It appears the W.H.O. has skipped the next Greek letter after Nu to name the new variant. The next letter is Xi. The concern is that W.H.O. is again avoiding any discomfort for the Chinese government. So they named it Omicron...

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 26, 2021

...The new variant was expected to be Nu but any additional variant would then be Xi, which happens to be the name of the Chinese leader...

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 26, 2021

WNU Editor: Jonathan Turley is onto something.

WHO Director-General Wants A Pandemic Treaty

World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva  

Reuters: WHO's Tedros says "time has come" for pandemic treaty 

GENEVA (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called on Monday for speedily launching global negotiations to agree on an international treaty on pandemic preparedness and response. 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, also told a closing session of its annual week-long ministerial assembly that the U.N. agency required sustainable and flexible funding.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Talks on this treaty are to begin in November .... WHA to hold pandemic treaty talks in November (CIDRAP). The leadership of WHO may want this treaty, but there is major opposition to it .... US and Russia seek to squash talks for pandemic treaty (Politico.eu). 

As to what is my take. 

WHO completely failed in the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Delaying in calling this a pandemic when other major countries were doing so last year still irks me. And now they want more power and authority?!?!?! 

The first thing that should happen is the leadership of the World Health Organization being held accountable for their mishandling of this pandemic. 

But here is an easy prediction. 

That is the last thing that the WHO Director-General Tedros wants.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Says Globe Is 'At War' With COVID

WHO director-general @DrTedros wants at least 10% of people in every country to be vaccinated by September.

Based on our data, here is the current situation regarding this goal. Countries in blue have crossed the 10% threshold. Countries in red/orange/yellow are below it. https://t.co/qH2AlBdcuk pic.twitter.com/7Zwqb6DxMO

— Edouard Mathieu (@redouad) May 24, 2021

DW: World Health Assembly: UN chief says globe is 'at war' with COVID 

The head of the United Nations says the world needed to pull together as one to more effectively fight the coronavirus pandemic. 

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the application of wartime logic in the international battle against COVID-19. 

At the opening of the World Health Organization's main annual assembly of member states, Guterres lamented a "tsunami of suffering" sparked by the coronavirus crisis.  

Read more .... 

More News On The World Health Assembly  

WHO sets new Covid-19 vaccination targets for world's poorest to end 'scandalous inequity' -- France 24  

WHO head slams ‘scandalous inequity’ in COVID vaccines with 10 countries accounting for 75% of doses administered -- Market Watch  

WHO and global faith leaders call for fair access to Covid vaccines -- The Guardian  

Merkel, Macron back efforts to improve WHO as meeting opens -- AP

WHO To Open A Global Pandemic ‘Intelligence’ Hub In Germany

 

CNBC: WHO to open a global pandemic ‘intelligence’ hub in Germany 

* The World Health Organization is to open a “Global Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence” in Germany. 

* WHO says the center will focus on gathering data to predict and prevent future pandemics. 

* The new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, data, surveillance and analytics will be based in Berlin. 

The World Health Organization has announced plans for a “Global Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence” in Germany, which it says will help gather data to predict and prevent future pandemics.

The new center for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, data, surveillance and analytics will be based in Berlin but will involve a global collaboration of countries and partners worldwide. 

The hub, due to officially open later this year, is envisaged as a way to create a large network of global data “to predict, prevent, detect prepare for and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks worldwide,” WHO said in a statement Wednesday.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: WHO, Germany launch new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence (World Health Organization)  

Update #2: WHO to set up pandemic early warning center in Germany (DW)  

WNU Editor: I am skeptical on this new "hub". It is dependent on a global collaboration of countries and partners worldwide. But if countries like China continue to limit access to outside researchers and investigators to investigate outbreaks, I fail to see how this global pandemic "intelligence" hub can be 100% effective.

World Health Organization Wins Dismissal Of New York Lawsuit For Gross Negligence Over Its Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic Response

Reuters: WHO wins dismissal of lawsuit in New York over pandemic response 

NEW YORK, April 5 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit by residents of a suburban New York City county who accused the World Health Organization of gross negligence in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. 

U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel on Monday said the WHO was immune under its own 1948 constitution and the International Organization Immunities Act from the proposed class-action lawsuit by the seven Westchester County plaintiffs. 

The plaintiffs, including a New Rochelle doctor and six Mount Vernon residents who contracted COVID-19, sought damages for Westchester adults over the WHO’s alleged downplaying of the coronavirus early in the outbreak, and failure to quickly declare a pandemic and coordinate a global response. 

Read more .... 

Update: US Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Accusing WHO of Gross Negligence Over Pandemic Response (Sputnik) 

WNU Editor: My blood still boils on how slow and inept the response was from WHO in the first ten weeks of this pandemic. And to this day no one in the organization has been held to account.

WHO Releases Report On Covid-19 Origins

US theory: Washington has touted claims that the virus could have leaked out of the high-security Wuhan Institute of Virology, pictured last month 

Daily Mail: WHO dismiss their own whitewash report into Covid-19 origins: Health chief admits China withheld data – as US leads 14 nations signing statement 'expressing concerns' and demanding Beijing provides 'full access' 

 * Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused China of withholding data from WHO 

 * Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden's top diplomats have rejected report as biased 

 * 120-page report dismisses Washington's lab-leak theory as 'extremely unlikely' 

 * It says Beijing's favoured food-imports theory is 'possible', although unlikely 

 * A statement by the United States, Britain and twelve others jointly voiced their concerns and urged China to provide 'full access' to health experts 

The head of the WHO today dismissed his own agency's expert report into the origins of Covid-19 which the US has rejected as a political whitewash after it described the lab-leak theory touted by Washington as 'extremely unlikely'. 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused China of withholding data from a WHO panel and said the lab-leak theory should be studied further, only moments after the publication of the long-awaited report which rejected the idea altogether.

'Although the team has concluded that a laboratory leak is the least likely hypothesis, this requires further investigation,' said Tedros. 

Read more ....

   

 More News On WHO Releasing Their Report On Covid-19 Origins 

Coronavirus likely came from animal, not a lab, WHO draft report finds -- CNN 

Report from WHO team finds virus likely jumped from animals, not from lab leak -- The Hill 

Following report, WHO chief calls for deeper probe into lab-leak theory on Covid-19 origins -- France 24 

Data withheld from WHO team probing COVID-19 origins in China - Tedros -- Reuters 

WHO chief: Virus investigators had difficulties "accessing raw data" from China -- Axios 

UK and US criticise WHO's Covid report and accuse China of withholding data -- The Guardian 

14 nations express 'concerns' over lack of data in WHO report on Covid-19 origins after agency chief flags access issues in China -- RT 

Five takeaways from the WHO's report on the origins of the pandemic -- USA today 

Factbox: WHO-China report on virus origins says lab leak extremely unlikely -- Reuters

WHO Official Says Don't Rely On U.S. Intelligence On The Suspected Origin Of The Covid-19 Coronavirus

Well now this👇. @JoeBiden has to look tough on China. Please don’t rely too much on US intel: increasingly disengaged under Trump & frankly wrong on many aspects. Happy to help WH w/ their quest to verify, but don’t forget it’s “TRUST” then “VERIFY”! https://t.co/ukaNAkDfEG

— Peter Daszak (@PeterDaszak) February 10, 2021

DW: WHO coronavirus mission member: 'Don't rely' on US virus intelligence 

The World Health Organization's mission in Wuhan ended without finding the source of the coronavirus, prompting criticism from Washington. 

But experts have found new lines of inquiry, including some proposed by China. 

A team member who was part of the World Health Organization's mission to China hit out at the United States on Wednesday after US officials had criticized the WHO's probe. 

Zoologist Peter Daszak was part of the special mission sent to the city of Wuhan to investigate the source of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: The WHO official who is making this claim is Peter Daszak. Critics have pointed out that Peter Daszak should never have been included in the WHO team sent to China. The problem is that he is affiliated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and he would not be an impartial investigator .... WHO inspector has conflict of interest in Wuhan COVID probe: Prominent biologist (Taiwan News). More here .... WHO Covid Expert Peter Daszak's Alleged China Connection and CCP Money Trail: What's the Truth? (IBTimes). 

More News On The WHO Official Saying Don't Rely On U.S. Intelligence On The Suspected Origin Of The Covid-19 Coronavirus 

"Don't Rely Too Much" On US Virus Intelligence, Says WHO Mission Member -- AFP 

WHO team member attacks US over COVID-19 investigation claims -- NYPost 

Expert from WHO origins investigation warns against relying ‘too much on US intel’ on Covid-19 -- The Telegraph 

‘Frankly wrong’: WHO official derides US intelligence on COVID -- Al Jazeera 

  American on World Health Organization coronavirus investigation team dismisses US intelligence -- SCMP

World Health Organization Team In China Says COVID-19 Probably Came From Animals And Not From A Lab

 

ABC News (Australia): World Health Organization team in China says COVID-19 probably came from animals, but no evidence it originated in bats 

The World Health Organization team in the Chinese city of Wuhan says viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2 can be found in many animals, but they have been unable to find direct evidence of animal-human transmission. 

The team, along with Chinese experts and counterparts, held a press conference to announce the conclusion into their fact-finding mission into the origins of COVID-19 in the central Chinese city where the outbreak was discovered in late 2019. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: According to AP News, the WHO team visited the Wuhan lab and spoke with officials for three whole hours!!!!! And after this meeting, made their final conclusion that the pandemic could not have started from a lab leak. This has to be one of the fastest "investigation" and findings report of any global organization ever. 

 More News On The World Health Organization Saying COVID-19 Probably Came From Animals And Not From A Lab 

WHO team: Coronavirus unlikely to have leaked from China lab -- AP 

WHO whitewash: Investigators BACK Beijing's claim Covid did NOT leak from a Wuhan lab and call for 'no further study into that theory' - but they WILL probe China's claim virus was imported on frozen meat -- Daily Mail 

COVID may have taken 'convoluted path' to Wuhan, WHO team leader says -- Reuters

Identifying animal origin of coronavirus a ‘work in progress’, says WHO mission to Wuhan -- France 24 Covid origins still a mystery as WHO-China probe ends -- AFP 

Covid: WHO says 'extremely unlikely' virus leaked from lab in China -- BBC 

WHO investigators say COVID-19 almost certainly didn't come from lab -- UPI 

WHO team says theory Covid began in Wuhan lab ‘extremely unlikely’ -- The Guardian 

Coronavirus: WHO fails to find animal source of COVID-19 -- DW 

WHO mission to China fails to find source of coronavirus -- AFP

Recordings Reveal WHO's Analysis Of The Coronavirus Pandemic In Private Was Opposite What They Were Saying In Public

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, center, speaks during a news conference on updates regarding the coronavirus COVID-19, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on March 9, 2020 (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone FILE via AP) 

ABC News/AP: Recordings reveal WHO's analysis of pandemic in private 

As its annual meeting is underway this week, the World Health Organization is under intense pressure to reform 

GENEVA -- As the coronavirus explodes again, the World Health Organization finds itself both under intense pressure to reform and holding out hope that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will reverse a decision by Washington to leave the health agency. 

With its annual meeting underway this week, WHO has been sharply criticized for not taking a stronger and more vocal role in handling the pandemic. For example, in private internal meetings in the early days of the virus, top scientists described some countries' approaches as “an unfortunate laboratory to study the virus” and a “macabre” opportunity to see what worked, recordings obtained by The Associated Press show. Yet in public, the U.N. health agency lauded governments for their responses.

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: I posted a similar story a few months ago on how different the WHO message was to the rest of the world, and what they were saying in private. They were concerned that if they were forceful in their demands to have access in China, Beijing would have just "shut them out". Unfortunately. China did (and still is) shutting out their experts from visiting the epicenter of the disease in Wuhan.

Update: The establishment of a WHO-led inquiry on how they conducted themselves in responding to the pandemic has already been condemned by the U.S. for its lack of transparency .... U.S. denounces terms for WHO-led inquiry into COVID origins (Reuters). Unfortunately this U.S. reaction is all moot. Joe Biden has already made the commitment to rejoin the WHO and re-establish U.S. funding. Whatever leverage the U.S. may have had for the WHO to reform itself is now gone.

WHO Is Helping China Block The Search For The Origin Of The Coronavirus

 

SCMP: Coronavirus: WHO and Chinese experts launch origins mission – online 

A much-anticipated scientific investigation into the origins of the coronavirus began on Friday, but only virtually, as an expert team assembled by the World Health Organization (WHO) met online with its Chinese counterparts to launch the inquiry which has been called for by more than 100 countries. 

The mission, a WHO-led collaboration between international and Chinese experts to uncover the animal origins of the pathogen, was expected to include a visit to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the outbreak’s first epicentre. 

But when that will happen remains unclear. WHO health emergencies programme executive director Mike Ryan said on Friday that he “fully expects” the international team to “deploy on the ground”, but the virtual meeting was an important first step in a “politically intoxicated environment”. 

Read more .... 

Update #1: In Hunt for Coronavirus Source, W.H.O. Let China Take Charge -- New York Times 

Update #2: Beijing Has Blocked WHO from Investigating COVID Origins -- NRO 

WNU Editor: Why am I not surprised. China will not want people that it does not control snooping around Wuhan to discover the origins of the coronavirus. It is going to open doors that China will not want open.

Update #3: NY Times: How China Blocked A Search For The Origin Of The Coronavirus With The World Health Organization’s Help (Hot Air).

WHO Now Urging World Leaders To Stop Using Lockdowns As The Primary Virus Control Method

WATCH: Dr David Nabarro, the WHO's Special Envoy on Covid-19, tells Andrew Neil: 'We really do appeal to all world leaders: stop using lockdown as your primary control method'. Watch the full interview here: https://t.co/XLdaedsKVS #SpectatorTV @afneil | @davidnabarro pic.twitter.com/1M4xf3VnXQ

— The Spectator (@spectator) October 9, 2020

News.com.au: Coronavirus: WHO backflips on virus stance by condemning lockdowns 

Lockdowns have been used to control the coronavirus around the world, plunging millions of lives into chaos. 

Now the WHO has changed its mind. 

The World Health Organisation has backflipped on its original COVID-19 stance after calling for world leaders to stop locking down their countries and economies. 

 Dr. David Nabarro from the WHO appealed to world leaders yesterday, telling them to stop “using lockdowns as your primary control method” of the coronavirus. 

He also claimed that the only thing lockdowns achieved was poverty – with no mention of the potential lives saved. 

“Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer,” he said. 

Read more .... 

Update: Dr. David Nabarro, the World Health Organization’s special envoy on COVID-19, is now urging world leaders to stop “using lockdowns as your primary control method" for blunting the current virus surge. Why is this story not the top news story in the news media right now? 

 More News On WHO Urging World Leaders To Stop Using Lockdowns As The Primary Virus Control Method 

WHO official urges world leaders to stop using lockdowns as primary virus control method -- Washington Examiner 

WHO discourages lockdowns as U.S. hospitalizations continue climb; 11 states set records for new COVID-19 cases -- USA Today 

WHO Flip-Flops: Urges World Leaders To Stop Using Lockdowns To Fight COVID Contagion -- Zero Hedge

World Health Organization Estimate Suggests 760 Million People Have Contracted The Covid-19 Coronavirus

WHO estimate suggests 760million people have contracted the disease, based on current global population of about 7.6billion. But only 35million cases have officially been picked up around the world through countries' official testing programmes (pictured on the map) 

Daily Mail: WHO says 10 PER CENT of the world's population - 760MILLION people - has had Covid-19 but warns most people are still vulnerable because 'we are now heading into a difficult period' 

 * Dr Michael Ryan, head of emergencies at WHO, said 'best estimate' was that 10% of people had been infected 

 * Suggests 760million people have contracted disease, based on current global population of about 7.6billion 

 * Only 35million cases have officially been picked up around world through countries' official testing regimes 

One in 10 people around the world has been infected with the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization. Dr Michael Ryan, head of emergencies at the WHO, said its 'best estimate' was that 10 per cent of the global population has caught Covid-19. 

He said the figures vary wildly from country to country, as well as between urban and rural settings, and different groups of people. The WHO estimate suggests 760million people have contracted the disease, based on current global population of about 7.6billion. 

It also suggests Covid-19 kills around 0.14 per cent of patients, making it slightly deadlier than seasonal flu — which has a mortality rate of around 0.1 per cent. For comparison, the WHO's last estimate was that around 0.6 per cent of everyone who gets infected will die. 

Read more .... 

 World Health Organization Estimate Suggests 760 Million People Have Contracted The Covid-19 Coronavirus 

One in 10 may have caught COVID, as world heads into 'difficult period': WHO -- Reuters 

1 in 10 people worldwide may have been infected with Covid-19, WHO estimates - SCMP/AP 

Covid-19 updates: One in 10 worldwide may have had virus, WHO says -- BBC 

Coronavirus: WHO estimates 10% of global population infected with COVID-19 -- DW 

World Health Organization expert Mike Ryan warns ten per cent of global population may have contracted COVID-19 -- ABC News Online 

WHO: 1 in 10 people worldwide may have been infected by coronavirus -- The Hill 

Ten percent of world’s population may have had COVID-19, WHO says -- The Hill

The Polio Vaccine Being Used In Africa Has Caused A Deadly Outbreak Of The Disease It Was Suppose To Eradicate

Health officials administers polio vaccine to children at refugee camp in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Aug. 28, 2016 (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

21st Century Wire: UN Forced to Admit Gates-funded Vaccine is Causing Polio Outbreak in Africa

This really should be one of the biggest public health scandals of the decade, but instead it’s given little attention – mainly because of the high-profile nature of the people and organisations involved.

The United Nations has been forced to admit that a major international vaccine initiative is actually causing a deadly outbreak of the very disease it was supposed to wipe-out.

While international organisations like the World Health Organization (WHO) will regularly boast about ‘eradicating polio’ with vaccines—the opposite seems to be the case, with vaccines causing the deaths of scores of young people living in Africa.

Health officials have now admitted that their plan to stop ‘wild’ polio is backfiring, as scores children are being paralyzed by a deadly strain of the pathogen derived from a live vaccine – causing a virulent wave of polio to spread.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This is a disaster that deserves far more news media attention than what it is receiving. On a personal note. I mentioned in a blog post a few weeks ago my own experience with this type of vaccine. Growing up we were all given the polio vaccine. A girl a few houses down from where I lived and who attended my school got the flu, her immune system became compromised, polio became active resulting in crippling her for life. That experience still scars me, and the memory of her struggling in a wheelchair is one that I will never forget. It is why I am always leery of vaccines. Especially these type of vaccines.

WHO Head Says The Covid-19 Pandemic Means That ‘We Cannot Go Back To The Way Things Were’. World Will Also Need To Respond To Climate Change

CNBC: WHO warns coronavirus vaccine alone won’t end pandemic: ‘We cannot go back to the way things were’

* World leaders and the public must learn to manage the virus and make permanent adjustments to their daily lives to bring the virus down to low levels, the WHO said.
* Throughout history, outbreaks and pandemics have changed economies and societies, the agency said.

The World Health Organization said Friday that a vaccine will be a “vital tool” in the global fight against the coronavirus, but it won’t end the Covid-19 pandemic on its own and there’s no guarantee scientists will find one.

World leaders and the public must learn to manage the virus and make permanent adjustments to their daily lives to bring the virus down to low levels, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference from the agency’s Geneva headquarters. “At the same time, we will not, we cannot go back to the way things were.”

Throughout history, outbreaks and pandemics have changed economies and societies, he said.

“In particular, the Covid-19 pandemic has given new impetus to the need to accelerate efforts to respond to climate change,” he said. “The Covid-19 pandemic has given us a glimpse of our world as it could be: cleaner skies and rivers.”

Read more ....

Update: COVID-19 pandemic gives new impetus in response to climate change: WHO chief (Xinhaunet)

WNU Editor: This is why people are losing trust in international institutions like the WHO. Instead of focusing on the pandemic, it looks like the WHO is now focused on climate change and rearranging the global economy order. Also not surprisingly, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus provides zero evidence to back his claims.

WHO Sets Up Panel To Assess Its Global Coronavirus Response

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), attends a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, June 25. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

The Hill: WHO sets up independent panel to assess global coronavirus response

The World Health Organization on Thursday announced the formation of a panel to lead an investigation and assessment of how the world responded to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The panel, which will choose the investigators for the review, will be expected to provide an interim report of its investigation by November.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement the world deserves an evaluation for its handling of the pandemic and that now is the time for self-reflection.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I would not have chosen these two to lead this review .... Helen Clark, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf named leaders of WHO coronavirus inquiry (News.com.au). The people who should be heading this review are people who have no connections to the UN bureaucracy and organization.

More News On The WHO Setting Up A Panel To Assess Its Global Coronavirus Response

Independent evaluation of global COVID-19 response announced -- WHO
Coronavirus: WHO sets independent panel to review its handling of pandemic -- Global News
WHO promises 'honest evaluation' of how world handled COVID-19 -- Reuters
WHO Launches Review of Covid-19 Pandemic Response After Trump Criticism -- Bloomberg

World Heath Organization Director General Says The Pandemic Is Still 'Accelerating'

CNBC: WHO warns the coronavirus is ‘getting worse,’ continues to accelerate

* “The pandemic is still accelerating,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
* More than half the world’s cases have been identified in the Americas, according to WHO’s latest situation report.
* Tedros announced the launch of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, which he said will evaluate the global response, including that of WHO.

More than six months after the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, the “once-in-a-century pandemic” continues to accelerate, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday.

“The virus can be brought under control,” he said in his opening remarks to a member states mission briefing in Geneva. “But in most of the world, the virus is not under control; it’s getting worse.”

The new coronavirus, which emerged in Wuhan, China, in late December, has infected more than 12 million people around the world and killed at least 550,300 people so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than half of the world’s cases have been identified in the Americas, according to WHO’s latest situation report.

Read more ....

Update: Covid-19 pandemic accelerating says WHO as review panel named (The Guardian).

WNU Editor: The stats are sobering. Bottom line. The total number of cases has doubled in the last six weeks, and this acceleration shows no signs of slowing down.

U.S. Notifies UN Of Withdrawal From World Health Organization

USA Today: Trump has officially begun to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization as pandemic spikes

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has officially begun to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the globe and infections spike in many states across the U.S.

Congress received formal notification of the decision on Tuesday, more than a month after President Donald Trump announced his intention to end the U.S. relationship with the WHO and blasted the multilateral institution as a tool of China. The White House said the withdrawal would take effect on July 6, 2021.

Democrats said the decision was irresponsible and ill-considered, noting it comes as the pandemic is raging and international cooperation is vital to confront the crisis.

Read more ....

Update: Trump administration begins formal withdrawal from World Health Organization (CNN)

WNU Editor: Democrat Presidential candidate Joe Biden has promised to reverse President Trump's decision to withdraw from WHO if he wins the Presidency. This would be unfortunate. The WHO desperately needs to reform itself, and to reward it for its failure to respond to the pandemic when it was still isolated in China and to delay calling it a pandemic until March will be a terrible mistake.

World Health Organization Director Says Covid-19 Coronavirus Outbreak Is 'Accelerating'

France 24: Covid-19 pandemic accelerating and global peak still to come, WHO says

Some 400,000 new cases of Covid-19 were reported over the weekend and the new coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of slowing down, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

"The outbreak is accelerating and we've clearly not reached the peak of the pandemic," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference.

The World Health Organization also acknowledged Tuesday that there was "emerging evidence" on airborne transmission of the new coronavirus, after an international group of scientists said it could spread far beyond two metres.

Read more ....

More News On Today's World Health Organization Press Conference

The Latest: WHO official watching for rise in virus deaths -- AP
World Health Organization chief says coronavirus outbreak is "accelerating" -- CBS
Pandemic accelerating, global peak still to come: WHO chief -- CTV News
WHO says coronavirus deaths could start to rise again after cases accelerated in recent weeks, shouldn’t ‘be a surprise’ -- CNBC
WHO acknowledges 'evidence emerging' of airborne spread of COVID-19 -- Reuters
WHO officials are reviewing new evidence of airborne transmission, importance of ventilation in fighting coronavirus -- CNBC
COVID-19 cases hit 5.9 million in Americas, half in Latin America, Caribbean: WHO -- Reuters
Multiple countries that had virus under control seeing new outbreaks after easing lockdown, WHO warns -- Yahoo News
WHO to travellers: keep an eye on 'anywhere and everywhere' COVID-19 -- Reuters

World Health Organization Struggles To Maintain Coherent Response As The Pandemic Continues

Just The News: As pandemic continues, World Health Organization struggles to maintain coherent response

The agency has whipsawed back and forth on several critical matters.

Since December, the World Health Organization has flip-flopped and fumbled its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, at times reversing course on major health issues that has led to confusion among world leaders on just how to handle the pandemic.

Among the earliest failures of the WHO—one which only became apparent last week—was the organization's omission of how it initially learned of the disease outbreak.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on April 20 that "the first report [of the disease] came from Wuhan, from China itself," suggesting that the Chinese Communist Party informed the organization of the pandemic in the first days of the outbreak.

Yet, an updated timeline published last week states instead that WHO's Country Office in China first learned of the disease from "a media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission" on Dec. 31. The lack of clarity led multiple media outlets to report that Chinese authorities told the WHO’s China office about the outbreak.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: As a former employee of a UN agency I can easily say with confidence that this is a problem of leadership, starting with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus politicizing the agency's response because of his ties and allegiances to China. It still boggles my mind that the agency only called this epidemic a pandemic in March. Condemned governments who imposed travel restrictions and closed their borders in February. And said that facemasks did not work until only recently.