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COVID-19 reinfection seems not to be a ‘regular event’, says UN health agency
There is likely only a slim possibility of people being reinfected with COVID-19, the UN health agency said on Tuesday, following reports in Hong Kong that a man had contracted new coronavirus for a second time after an interval of more than four months.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris downplayed concerns that the development could herald a new alert.
“The important – other important - thing to note is the numbers are very, very small,” she said. “So this is one documented case in over 23 million and we will probably see other documented cases. But it seems to be not a regular event, we would have seen many more cases.”
Nonetheless, Dr Harris noted that the reinfection signalled on Monday was significant.
According to the University of Hong Kong scientists who announced the development, the virus strains that infected the man more than four months apart were different.
“The important thing here is that this is clear documentation,” the WHO spokesperson said. “So, we’ve had anecdotal reports every now and then from people who’ve tested negative, then tested positive. And it hasn’t been clear up until this case whether that was simply a problem of testing or whether people were getting infected a second time.”
Priorities for the UN health agency include understanding “what this means in terms of (people’s) immunity”, Dr Harris continued.
“This is why we have got a lot of research groups actually tracking people, measuring antibodies, trying to understand how long the immune protection lasts – the natural immune protection - and that should be understood as it is not the same as the immune protection that a vaccine provides.”
To date, the WHO has recorded nearly 23.5 million cases of COVID-19 infection globally, with more than 809,000 deaths. The Americas have been worst-hit by region, with more than 12.5 million people infected, followed by Europe (3.995 million), South-East Asia (3.666 million), Eastern Mediterranean (1.840 million), Africa (1.007 million) and Western Pacific (460,991).
In a related development, WHO said that more than 170 countries are cooperating on a global initiative to produce fairly priced COVID-19 vaccines once they are licensed and approved.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX) initiative involves countries and vaccine manufacturers; it is led by WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
In a statement, WHO said that COVAX has the world’s “largest and most diverse COVID-19 vaccine portfolio” with nine candidate vaccines, nine more “under evaluation and conversations underway with other major producers”.
WHO described the project as only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both higher-income and lower-income countries.
But it insisted that in order to secure enough doses of vaccines to protect the most vulnerable populations - such as health workers and the elderly – funding was needed by 31 August deadline.
- Exterior wide shot, UN Geneva, Palais des Nations, flag alley, a beautiful day.
- Medium wide shot, podium speaker Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service, UN Geneva shown, seated, in front of organization’s logo and empty tables and chairs during hybrid virtual press conference, Press Room III.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization (WHO): “The important thing here is that this is clear documentation. So we’ve had anecdotal reports every now and then from people who’ve tested negative, then tested positive. And it hasn’t been clear up until this case whether that was simply a problem of testing or whether people were getting infected a second time.”
- Medium shot, spokespersons sitting apart during hybrid virtual press conference, UN Geneva Press Room III.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization (WHO): “The important – other important - thing to note is the numbers are very, very small. So this is one documented case in over 23 million and we will probably see other documented cases. But it seems to be not a regular event, we would have seen many more cases.”
- Medium shot, podium speaker Alessandra Vellucci, checking notes during hybrid virtual press conference, UN Geneva Press Room III.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization (WHO): “But it’s very important to understand what this means in terms of immunity, and this is why we have got a lot of research groups actually tracking people, measuring antibodies, trying to understand how long the immune protection lasts – the natural immune protection - and that should be understood as it is not the same as the immune protection that a vaccine provides.”
- Wide shot, journalists, masked, sitting apart during hybrid virtual press conference, UN Geneva Press Room III.
- Close-up, journalist, masked, taking photograph, UN Geneva Press Room III.
- Medium close-up, journalist, masked, typing on laptop and checking sound recorder, UN Geneva Press Room III.
- Medium close-up, journalist, crouching and masked, taking photo of TV camera, UN Geneva Press Room III.
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
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Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
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Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
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