Corona, Lockdowns and protests - what happened around the world with COVID-19 in 2022

Global healthcare systems are still at risk of being besieged in 2023 as Covid19 spreads unchecked, the World Health Organisation declared, as we look back over a year of coronavirus headlines. The year 2023 could see the end of COVID-19 worldwide, but global healthcare systems are still at risk of being ravaged, World Health Organisation has declared.

From lockdown protests in China to the long-awaited reopening of Japan to President Joe Biden declared the pandemic over in the US, coronavirus remained in the headlines worldwide in 2022.

Now as we close out the third year of the pandemic, and look towards the fourth, we shall look at how different regions have dealt with everything from vaccines to disinformation, from hospitals to mortuaries - and what to expect in 2023.

Omicron strains found in China during the last quarter of 2022

One of the biggest storylines this year was the growth of the Omicron strain in China, subsequent spread in the US, Japan and a few European countries and which has come to dominate the global COVID-19 caseload.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove from WHO stated "We reached a peak of more than 23 million cases reported in a week, we had to re-draw our scale. On the one hand, while we saw that huge increase in transmission, on average Omicron was not as severe as Delta but still in some countries caused more deaths because of just the sheer number of cases."

Omicron may have become the dominant variant, Dr Van Kerkhove says, but it is still evolving and changing, with around 500 sub-lineages in circulation. She added: "And this is why surveillance needs to continue."We need to track the known variants. We need to be able to detect new ones."

Original vaccines are capable of containing all variants of Omicron

Several epidemiologists have claimed that despite the changes with Omicron, the original vaccines are continuing to hold up against the severe disease.

There is more to do in terms of vaccine coverage worldwide however, she added.

WHO target of 70% of the population in each country has not been reached

While more than 13 billion doses of vaccines have been administered globally, the WHO target of 70% of the populations in each country has not been reached. This is one of the areas where inequalities can assist in the escalation of the virus.

Notably, worldwide some 79% of people aged 60 or over have received their primary vaccine, but that number is only 60% in Africa. And the people that are requiring hospitalization, the people who are dying, are the people who have either not been administered any vaccine at all or have not taken the full number of doses that they need.

Some countries in the Asia and Pacific regions, for instance, had been much more closed off during the pandemic as they sought to seal themselves off while rolling out vaccination programmes. Thailand, which is highly dependent on tourism, was one of the first Asian countries to open up, while Japan and Hong Kong were some of the last.

The prevalence of mask-wearing has been common in most of the world.

The latest spread of Omicron in China, and subsequent strict lockdown measures, resulting in violent protests in China culminated in some of the most significant unrest the regime has seen since Tiananmen Square.

But immediately after most zero-COVID restrictions were taken back in the wake of the protests, the virus swept through the country largely unchecked.

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Too premature to declare the end of the pandemic

The new wave led some leading scientists in recent weeks to warn of very serious consequences and it could be too premature to declare the end of the pandemic.

Protests against mandatory vaccines across Canada and the Atlantic

Canada had its own share of protests when trucks rolled out into the nation’s capital as a mark of dissent against mandatory vaccines that turned into a larger protest against government overreach.

This enthused others across the Atlantic in France and Belgium, with a "freedom convoy" demanding an end to COVID-19 restrictions.

In Asia, especially what is happening in secretive North Korea remained unknown to all, as it was reluctant to report having any cases at all.

Little impact in India after the devastation in 2021 – Over 90% vaccination is the cause

India, however, has seen very little impact from coronavirus this year compared to the devastation it caused in 2021.

Markets, schools, colleges, factories, manufacturing units, government and private offices are all open, while work from home has been largely withdrawn after becoming the norm.

This has been helped by the country's large-scale vaccination programme that has seen 2.9 billion vaccines administered, covering over 90% of the population with two jabs.

US President, Joe Biden declared that the "pandemic is over"

Unknowingly, US, President Joe Biden declared that the "pandemic is over" in September 2022.

However, despite more countries opening up in 2022, there remains a risk that healthcare systems could be plagued again. Despite Covid19 still being there, the countries are better at dealing with it now.

Huge issues that remain to be addressed or countered are disinformation and partisan politics about the virus.

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