Health Authorities Around The World Are Deliberately Concealing COVID-19 Data And Even Changing Their Websites Despite A Global Surge!

COVID-19 News: The role of various Ministries of Health and health authorities around the world are not only to oversee the various healthcare issues in their respective countries but also to provide clear, accurate and transparent data especially epidemiological data so that not only doctors and healthcare institutions are aware and prepared but also so that the local citizens are aware of the true situation of any disease outbreaks and are able to also tale precautionary measure to themselves and also to prevent the emergence of fake news. Such data is also very vital to researchers in various fields and even personnel in the pharmaceutical industries.


Health Authorities Around The World Are Deliberately Concealing COVID-19 Data 

However, as a medical media that needs to access and validate COVID-19 data on a frequent basis, I noticed so many changes since early last year where many countries especially those in Europe, South America and parts of Asia that have made so many changes in the format and frequency of COVID-19 reporting and even the criteria of classifying COVID-19 death or cases that is it so apparent that many of these governments are basically trying to conceal the true COVID-19 data. In Europe, the French, Spanish and German governments are the worst and they have even placed geolocation blocking to prevent international media to access their sites!
 
Literally every mainstream media has stopped doing daily or weekly COVID-19 News updates about the situation in their respective countries despite the situation worsening. For example, at present, in Brazil, Japan, Spain and Russia where the COVID-19 surges are really concerning, there is literally no or very minimal reporting on the situation!
 
As new SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge and causes surges in various countries around the world and the common masses grapple with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, concerns have arisen about the deliberate concealment and alteration of crucial data by health authorities worldwide. Governments, once at the forefront of an extensive surveillance system, have been steadily dismantling it, leaving citizens in the dark about the true extent of the virus's impact. This shift from daily to fortnightly or monthly reporting, coupled with the discontinuation of vital forecasting efforts, raises questions about the long-term implications for global health preparedness.
 
Even genomic surveillance is at the lowest compared to the start of the pandemic and in many cases, some countries are not even sharing sequences on global platforms like GISAID. Countries like India, China and Russia will only pick and select certain sequences and that too only upload it at much delayed times! This prevents researchers and variant hunters from getting a proper real time perspective of the how the SARS-CoV-2 virus is evolving and where certain sub-lineages are becoming predominant. Such data is also crucial as it can detect the efficacy of the current vaccines and also determine if conferred immunity is waning in certain geolocations.
 
It was also observed that many countries even had their Ministry of Health or Public healthcare websites changed to new URL locations and even some have resorted to making things so difficult to access or even complicated.
 
The Deterioration of Data Quality
Attempting to access recent COVID-19 case numbers has become a frustrating endeavor for individuals such as myself seeking accurate information. The reporting frequency in various geolocations around the world, Thailand included has slowed down significantly, resulting in a lack of clarity about the current state of the pandemic. The majority of cases are now going undiagnosed or unreported, signaling a degradation in the quality of available data. Many governments around the world have dismantled free COVID-19 testing centers or even the distribution of free COVID-19 test kits. Understandably, sustaining the intense surveillance effort of 2020 and 2021 was challenging, but the repercussions of diminishing data quality are now visible to all.
 
While countries like the United States, Canada and Australia tend to have constant COVID-19 reporting, a lot of the data is misleading as they have strange criteria for classifying COVID-19 deaths and often testing rates and test positivity rates are not included similar to Thailand. Also, when you look at sites like that of the U.S. CDC and then make an analysis of data from various states reporting in the US, the data does not correlate..same in Canada as well!
 
With the recent change of the company involved in waste water surveillance in the United States ie from Biobot to Verily, a subsidiary company of tech giant Google that is closely associated with the WEF, experts are warning that the waste water surveillance data is no longer accurate and seems manipulated! Similar issues are happening in various other countries.
 
Excess mortality which became a focus of many experts, concerned citizens and media around the world are has become a controlled issue as many governments are now either concealing that data too or have changed the way that data is reported!
 
The End of Weekly COVID-19 Forecasting
A significant blow to the surveillance system comes with the discontinuation of weekly forecasts and situational assessment reports for federal and state officials in many countries around the world. These forecasts, produced by a group of mathematical modelers, provided crucial insights into the effective reproduction number and transmission potential various geolocations around the world.
 
However, many governments are deeming that COVID-19 is no longer a "Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance," and have started terminating such reporting.
 
This decision has been met with mixed reactions, with some experts expressing disappointment at the return to pre-pandemic approaches to respiratory diseases.
 
Missed Opportunities and Lessons Learned
Researchers and health experts argue that the current scenario represents a missed opportunity to learn from the emergency response efforts and implement an integrated model of surveillance that considers multiple respiratory viruses.
 
In a recent article in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, experts highlight the need for a comprehensive review of disease surveillance practices, emphasizing the importance of ongoing surveillance to detect emerging waves, new variants, and potential pandemics early on. The absence of a clear forward plan and the lack of initiative to capitalize on the lessons from COVID-19 raise concerns about the world's preparedness for future health crises.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/2/23-0768_article
 
Global Disparities in Disease Forecasting
While some countries are investing heavily in disease forecasting, many are still lagging behind. The United States, for instance, allocated over $250 million over five years to establish a network of infectious disease forecasting centers, a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p0922-disease-modeling.html
 
The European Union's equivalent of the CDC also launched a respiratory forecasting program, demonstrating a global recognition of the value of forecasting in public health. However whether such data is available to the general public remains an issue!
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/respicast-new-european-respiratory-diseases-forecasting-hub
 
In contrast, many countries do not have a proper CDC facility of their own and even if there is, it is not even professional functional and is merely for namesakes!
 
It is acknowledged by experts and researchers for the need of a National Surveillance Plan for every country with regards to COVID-19, influenza, RSV and other diseases. However, the emphasis is shifting from case notifications to novel and cost-effective surveillance strategies, including sentinel surveillance, healthcare utilization data, genomic sequencing, and wastewater analysis. While wastewater analysis proved promising during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a consensus among experts that validation is necessary before it becomes a reliable measure. Until then, uncertainty looms over the effectiveness of these new strategies.
 
In fact, maybe its time that now in 2024, that all Public Health Ministries around the world get proper make over, a reorganization of various divisions, strategies, disease planning and reporting of data and even websites that are of a standard format across very country around the world so that heads of every relevant division can easily communicate and exchange ideas, advice and strategies easily with their counterparts in other countries during pandemics or regional disease outbreaks. These formats can that do down to state, province or prefecture levels and even down to community levels. In 2024, its also time to dismantle the WHO that has failed to even manage this current COVID-19 crisis properly. Too much funds and resources are being channeled to this redundant entity that did not help in any way to mage the COVID-19 crisis. In fact, many of their actions made the situation worse. Instead of empowering this group of incompetent idiots, a new entity needs to be set up that is free from political interference, from tech billionaires interfering with global healthcare policies and not having global healthcare leaders dancing to the whims of the WEF! The masses should unite and actually start doing something to remove individuals like Tedros etc from the WHO and to disband the WHO.
 
Conclusion
The deliberate concealment and alteration of COVID-19 data, coupled with the dismantling of surveillance systems, raise concerns about the world's preparedness for future health crises. The discontinuation of critical forecasting efforts and a lack of a clear forward plan highlight a missed opportunity to build on the lessons learned during the pandemic. As other countries invest in disease forecasting, other countries must catch up to ensure a robust and integrated surveillance system. The global community must prioritize ongoing surveillance, validation of new techniques, and collaborative efforts to fortify global health preparedness and respond effectively to emerging threats.
 
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