Covid-19 treatment at a hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, the US. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

1 year after the virus first appeared, the world recorded its 100 millionth case of COVID-19. It took another 7 months to reach 200 million cases, then 6 months to reach 400 million (on February 13 of this year). More than 6 million people have died of COVID-19 so far.

The pandemic has had other consequences as well, including disrupting global supply chains and logistics, and raising energy prices.  

Global efforts to control the virus, in particular widespread vaccine coverage, have enabled many countries to begin reviving their economy and reopening to tourism.

While the number of new cases is still growing, driven by a surge of the new Omicron variant, health experts believe this could be a sign that COVID-19 is becoming an endemic disease like the common flu that people will just have to learn to live with.

The WHO hopes that 2022 will be the year that the acute phase of the pandemic comes to an end. To make this a reality, the WHO is working to eliminate vaccine inequality and vaccinate at least 70% of the global population by mid-2022.