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Ref.: C.L.11.2025
Extension of the Standing Recommendations for COVID-19
The Director-General of the World Health Organization presents his compliments to States
Parties to the International Health Regulations (2005) and has the honour to refer to Article 16 of the
IHR. Pursuant to this provision, on 9 August 2023, the Director-General issued standing
recommendations to States Parties for COVID-19. These recommendations were presented to the
consideration of the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly in document A77/8 Add.2, and will
expire on 30 April 2025.
Considering the evolution of the global epidemiological situation in relation to COVID-19
(see https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19), a one-year extension of the above-mentioned set of
standing recommendations is regarded as necessary to prevent or reduce the international spread of
COVID-19, as well as its impact on health.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization will present for information to the
Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly (19–27 May 2025) the above-mentioned set of standing
... recommendations for COVID-19, extended until 30 April 2026, as presented in the enclosure.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization takes this opportunity to renew to
States Parties to the International Health Regulations (2005) the assurance of his highest
consideration.
GENEVA, 30 April 2025
... ENCL.: (1)
Extension of the Standing recommendations for COVID-19
issued by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO)
in accordance with the International Health Regulations (2005)
These standing recommendations are issued by the Director-General of the World
Health Organization (WHO) in accordance with provisions of Articles 16 to 18, and 50 to 53 of
the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR or Regulations).
These standing recommendations, based on scientific principles and evidence,
represent an extension of the standing recommendations for COVID-19 issued on
9 August 2023, 1 taking into consideration the advice of the IHR Review Committee regarding
standing recommendations for COVID-19. 2
The extension of these standing recommendations is necessary to support States Parties
in addressing the risk posed by COVID-19 and to prevent or reduce the international spread
of COVID-19, as well as its impact on health.
These standing recommendations are in effect for all States Parties until 30 April 2026.
These standing recommendations may be modified or terminated prior to that time, in
accordance with Article 53 of the Regulations.
===
1
https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/documents/ihr/covid-19_standing-recommendations_9-
august-2023.pdf?sfvrsn=805ad4e4_8&download=true [Accessed on 10 March 2025].
https://www.who.int/teams/ihr/ihr-review-committees/review-committee-regarding-standing-
2
recommendations-for-covid-19 [Accessed on 10 March 2025].
1
A. States Parties are recommended to revise and implement, as appropriate, national
COVID-19 plans and policies that take into account the WHO COVID-19 Strategic
Preparedness and Response Plan April 2023–April 2025. This document outlines critical
actions that support States Parties in transitioning from emergency response to COVID-19
into strengthened and integrated infectious disease prevention and control programmes
with the goal of reducing disease burden from COVID-19 and preparing for a possible
worsening situation caused by new variants of the virus. Actions are recommended to:
1. Incorporate lessons learnt from national and sub-national evaluations of the COVID-19
response into COVID-19 related plans and policies.
2. Sustain national and sub-national capacities, as appropriate, for preparedness,
prevention, and response for COVID-19. The capacity gains achieved during the public
health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) associated with the COVID-19
pandemic should be leveraged to prepare for current and future events of both
COVID-19 and other infectious pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential. These
capacities may include multi-source surveillance, risk assessment, testing and
sequencing capacities, infection prevention and control, clinical management, planning
and delivery of mass gathering events, risk communication and community
engagement, infodemic management, public health and social measures, and access to
and use of medical countermeasures.
3. Based on the current COVID-19 epidemiological situation, refrain from any unilateral
travel-related restrictions or health measures, including requirements for testing or
vaccination, and lift any such remaining measures to avoid unnecessary interference
with international traffic and trade.
4. Continue to restore health programmes adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
B. States Parties are recommended to sustain collaborative surveillance 3 for COVID-19, in
order to provide a basis for situational awareness and risk assessment and the detection of
significant changes in virus characteristics, virus spread, disease severity and population
immunity. Actions are recommended to:
5. Incorporate information from different COVID-19 monitoring systems to ensure
detection of early warning signals and prepare to scale up and adapt systems, as
needed. Include, as applicable, surveillance in sentinel populations, genomic
sequencing, event-based surveillance, wastewater or environmental surveillance,
serosurveillance, clinical severity assessment, and surveillance in animal populations.
Support the enhancement of surveillance using a One Health Approach 4 to better
understand SARS-CoV-2 circulation and evolution in animals.
6. Integrate COVID-19 surveillance with surveillance for other respiratory infections,
e.g. influenza, where applicable, to provide baselines relative to other circulating
viruses.
3
The definition of collaborative surveillance by WHO is available at:
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240074064 [Accessed on 10 March 2025].
4
The WHO One Health page is available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/one-health#tab=tab_1
[Accessed on 10 March 2025].
2
C. States Parties are recommended to continue reporting COVID-19 data, particularly
mortality data, morbidity data, SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences with meta-data, and vaccine
effectiveness data to WHO or in open sources so that WHO can understand and describe the
epidemiological situation and variant landscape, perform global risk assessments and work
with expert networks and relevant WHO Advisory Groups. Actions are recommended to:
7. Report COVID-19 burden and impact data including hospitalization, Intensive Care
Units, and mortality data to WHO or publish the data.
8. Maintain public reporting of sequences with meta-data and support the establishment
of the WHO Global Coronavirus Laboratory Network (CoViNet) in order to, inter alia,
support future selection of strains for updated vaccines.
9. Report epidemiological and laboratory information in a timely manner to established
WHO regional or global platforms, through RespiMart and the expanded activities of
the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS).
10. Improve reporting on COVID-19 vaccine implementation and programme data to WHO,
in particular vaccine uptake in high risks groups, via established systems.
11. Notify WHO through IHR channels about significant COVID-19 related events.
D. States Parties are recommended to continue to offer COVID-19 vaccination based on both,
the recommendations of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization
(SAGE) and on national prioritization informed by cost benefit reviews. Vaccine delivery
should be appropriately integrated into health services. Actions are recommended to:
12. Improve efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage for all people in the
high-priority groups using COVID-19 vaccines recommended by WHO or vaccines
approved by national regulatory authorities, taking into account SAGE
recommendations, and continue surveillance of vaccination uptake and adverse events.
13. Address actively vaccine misinformation, disinformation, acceptance, and demand
issues with communities and health care providers.
E. States Parties are recommended to continue to initiate, support, and collaborate on
research to generate evidence for COVID-19 prevention and control, with a view to reduce
the disease burden of COVID-19. Actions are recommended to:
14. Contribute to the global research agenda to generate and promptly disseminate
evidence for key scientific, social, clinical, and public health aspects of COVID-19
prevention, control, and disease burden reduction.
15. Improve collaboration between countries and with national and international
organizations to design and perform such research. Particular attention should be paid
to funding aimed at strengthening research institutions in low- and middle-income
countries (LMIC) and to support LMIC researchers to lead and or participate in research
for national, regional or global research agendas.
16. Continue primary research and systematic reviews of research, including but not limited
to the following topics:
• Understand SARS-CoV-2 transmission patterns and the impact of climate, seasonality
and behavior.
3
• Understanding SARS-CoV-2 evolution and its impact on medical countermeasures.
• Understanding the optimal use and impact of single and combined public health and
social measures and travel related health measures on reducing SARS-CoV-2
transmission as well as the impact of misinformation and disinformation on
adherence to such measures.
• Vaccination efficacy, effectiveness, duration, and safety in groups defined by age,
medical conditions and previous infection and vaccination with various products.
• Development of vaccines that reduce transmission and have broad applicability.
• Improved treatment of severe COVID-19 cases.
• Development of therapeutics for COVID-19.
• Understanding the full spectrum, incidence, impact, and treatment possibilities for
post COVID-19 conditions (PCC).
• Understand the origins of SARS-CoV-2.
• Understanding the breadth and duration of immunity after infection, vaccination, or
both, and cross-reactivity with other coronaviruses.
F. States Parties are encouraged to continue deliver optimal clinical care for COVID-19,
appropriately integrated into all levels of health services, including access to proven
treatments and measures to protect health workers and caregivers as appropriate. States
Parties are encouraged to take actions to:
17. Ensure provision, and related scaling-up mechanisms, of appropriate clinical care, with
infection prevention and control measures in place, for suspected and confirmed
COVID-19 cases in clinical settings. Ensure training of health care providers accordingly
and provide access to diagnostics and to personal protective equipment.
18. Integrate COVID-19 clinical care within health services as appropriate.
19. Ensure access to provision of evidence-based care and health products for patients with
acute COVID-19 and PCC.
G. States Parties are encouraged to continue to work towards ensuring equitable access to
safe, effective and quality-assured medical countermeasures for COVID-19. State Parties are
encouraged to take action to:
20. Support and enhance equitable access to safe, effective, and quality-assured
diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for all communities for COVID-19, including
through, for example resource mobilization mechanisms and technology transfer, as
appropriate.
21. Intensify ongoing efforts, including through global and regional networks, to expand the
manufacturing capacity of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19.
22. Strengthen regulatory authorities to support efficient and effective authorization of
diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines within national regulatory frameworks.
Geneva, 30 April 2025
4
Saatja:
[email protected]
Teema: WHO: C.L.11.2025 (Extension of standing recommendations for COVID-19)
Kuupäev: 2025-05-01 14:30
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Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada.
Dear States Parties to the International Health Regulations (2005),
Please find attached, in the six official languages, C.L.11.2025 regarding
the extension of the standing recommendations for COVID-19.
Best regards,
Department of Governing Bodies
World Health Organization
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