Letter: COVID emergency over; now lets fight to eradicate TB

Anne Child
·1 min read
3

To the Editor:

The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration has expired. While we all should stay vigilant, it is great to see that New York Times Latest COVID Maps report the global average daily deaths are down to 269. That holds, it’s less than 100,000 deaths globally annually!

WHO declares COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency but still remains a threat
WHO declares COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency but still remains a threat

For another global pandemic, tuberculosis, the latest numbers are from 2021, when 1.6 million people lost their lives to this preventable and curable disease. That’s 4,848 daily on average. With 25% of the world infected and well over 10 million people falling ill to TB every year, one would expect intense efforts to fight the disease.

However, TB disproportionately affects marginalized and impoverished communities and over the last few years, TB resources, equipment, and expertise were drafted into the frontlines of the COVID pandemic, at the expense of the already under-funded TB response.

The End Tuberculosis Now Act (H.R.1776/S.288) would help us get back on track by making sure current TB resources go to the right places. It requires the U.S. to establish bold goals for reaching the most vulnerable populations to detect, cure, and prevent even multi-drug resistant forms of TB. It also requires officials to track outcomes and report back to Congress on their findings. We all want our tax dollars spent effectively.

TB truly can be a disease of the past. Let’s urge our members of Congress to co-sponsor the End TB Now Act and pass it into law this year.

Anne ChildOak Ridge

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Letter: COVID emergency over; now lets fight to eradicate TB