Determination of Covid-19 elimination

Speaking of ending the covid-19 pandemic, Anthony Fauci said: “We will end the epidemic phase, and we will likely get somewhere between control and elimination, more likely closer to control.” Although the government of England is abandoning most protocols to control, let alone eliminate, the infection.

During the pandemic, the word ‘eliminate’ has been defined in many ways. Many can’t distinguish between elimination and eradication, which normally means permanent reduction to zero of the worldwide incidence of infection.

The confusion between these two makes it seem like it’s impossible to eliminate covid-19 and not worth pursuing. Elimination is variously defined but stops short of permanent eradication of infection. For instance, the World Health Organization has defined the elimination of tuberculosis, for example, as a reduction in prevalence to below one case per million population.

The authors defined elimination as “maximum action to control SARS-CoV-2 and stop community transmission as quickly as possible.”

An excessively strict explanation of elimination may discourage countries from adopting this ambitious approach. Instead of using the phrase “zero covid,” elimination of SARS-CoV-2 in a population could be defined as “achievement of a situation in which outbreaks of covid-19 are extinguished eventually, with no continuing widespread transmission.”

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