Five years since COVID-19 began to upend the world, the virus is still infecting and killing people across the globe – albeit at far lower levels than at the peak of the pandemic.

Here is the current state of the piece.

‘Still with us’

About 777 million COVID-19 cases and more than seven million deaths have been officially recorded since the first infections appeared in December 2019, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

However, the true toll is believed to be much higher.

The pandemic also crippled health systems, crashed economies and sent the populations of many countries into lockdown.

In the second half of 2022, infection and death rates decreased due to growing immunity to vaccinations or previous infection. The virus also mutated to become less severe.

In May 2023, the WHO declared that the crisis phase of the pandemic was over.

Since then, the virus appears to have gradually become endemic, experts say, with occasional resurgences similar to influenza — though less seasonal.

It has also largely withdrawn from the public eye.

“The world wants to forget about this pathogen that is still with us, and I think people will put COVID-19 in the past as if it’s over – and in many ways pretend it didn’t happen – because it has been so traumatic,” WHO pandemic preparedness director Maria Van Kerkhove said last month.

From October to November last year, there were more than 3,000 deaths from COVID-19 in 27 countries, according to the WHO.

More than 95 percent of official COVID-19 deaths were recorded between 2020 and 2022.

Variants

Since the appearance of the Omicron variant in November 2021, a number of its sub-variants have replaced each other as the dominant strain around the world.

Currently, the Omicron variant KP.3.1.1 is the most common.

The rising XEC is the only “variant under surveillance” by the WHO, although the UN agency rates its global health risk as low.

None of the successive Omicron subvariants has been noticeably more severe than others, although some experts warn that it is not out of the question that future strains could be more transmissible or deadly.

Vaccines and treatments

Vaccines were developed against COVID-19 in record time and proved to be a powerful weapon against the virus, with more than 13.6 billion doses administered worldwide so far.

However, rich countries bought a large proportion of the early doses, creating uneven distribution around the world.

Boostershots updated to the JN.1 Omicron subvariant are still recommended in some countries, especially for at-risk groups such as the elderly.

However, the WHO has said that most people – including the elderly – have not kept up with their booster shots.

Even among health workers, the booster uptake rate was below one percent by 2024, according to the WHO.

Long COVID-19

Millions of people have been affected by prolonged COVID-19, a still poorly understood condition that persists for months after initial infection.

Common symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, and shortness of breath.

About six percent of people infected with the coronavirus develop long-term COVID-19, the WHO said last month, adding that the condition “continues to pose a significant burden on health systems”.

Much about how long COVID-19 remains unknown. There are no tests or treatments. Multiple COVID-19 infections appear to increase the chance of getting the condition.

Future pandemics?

Scientists have warned that another pandemic will hit sooner or later and are urging the world to learn the lessons of COVID-19 and prepare for the next one.

Attention has recently focused on bird flu (H5N1), especially after the United States reported the first human death from the virus on Monday.

The Louisiana patient had underlying medical conditions and contracted H5N1 after being exposed to infected birds, US health officials said, stressing there was no evidence of person-to-person transmission.

Since the end of 2021, WHO member countries have been negotiating a world-first treaty on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

However, a deal has remained elusive ahead of a May deadline, with a key fault line between Western nations and poorer countries wary of being sidelined when the next pandemic strikes.

The COVID-19 pandemic also saw a massive increase in skepticism and misinformation about vaccines.

Experts have warned of the prospect of having vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr – US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary – head the US response to a possible pandemic threat over the next four years.