When COVID‑19 exploded across the globe in early 2020, it changed the lives of almost every human on the planet. Lockdowns, travel bans, mass vaccination campaigns and constant case counts filled our screens. Deaths were reported with horror at first, later with a sense of boring repetition.

Fast-forward to late 2025, though, and a question that regularly appears as we approach the colder winter months is: has COVID actually gone away?

In short the answer is no. COVID is still around – it just may not be the headline-grabber it once was.

From emergency to endemic

On May 5 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 was no longer a “public health emergency of international concern” That announcement triggered relief around the world as governments used it to lift a range of travel and group association restrictions.

Within weeks, media headlines moved on, and for many the virus slipped from front-page news to the background. Yet medical experts were swift to caution that this did not mean the virus was gone. Indeed the WHO itself has stressed that the disease “remains a global health threat”.

Even today, two and a half years later, despite the end of the emergency status, the virus is still out there. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says “the virus continues to circulate … and remains a potentially serious risk to health”.

The current state of play

According to the WHO’s dashboard, recent data (from September 8, to October 5, 2025) shows 157,539 new cases across 88 countries in a single 28-day period. Of these, 10,284 required hospitalisation, and 422 needed ICU admissions. Deaths reported in that period amounted to 917 - down from 1,660 in the prior 28-day span.

Other data presents a mixed picture. On May 11 this year, the WHO reported a test-positivity rate of 11% across 73 countries - up from just 2% only a few months earlier. And the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 36 states infections are “declining or likely declining”, but in one state they are “growing or likely growing”.

Combining these statements with the figures, the picture emerges of a virus that persists - less deadly perhaps than in its earliest incarnation - but very much alive and ‘well’.

Why we may feel like it’s gone away

1. Immunity & vaccines
By 2025, most people in many countries have either been infected, vaccinated, or both. According to a March 2025 piece at Boston University, “because so many people have had at least one infection and/or multiple doses of vaccines… the severity of infection will generally remain relatively low.”

2. Milder disease for many
Variants such as Omicron and its sub-lineages have tended to cause less severe illness for younger and healthier populations. As a result, the fear-factor that pervaded early 2020 has receded, even if the virus hasn’t. Accompanying headlines are avoided and thus there is no concept of public panic.

3. Media fatigue & competing priorities
For five years, the pandemic dominated policy and public interest – 24/7 for month after month, year after year. This sense of novelty, emergency, and collective vigilance has faded in the period since the WHO said COVID was no longer a “public health emergency of international concern”. In an article in Le Monde, experts noted: “COVID-19 has become normalised… the disease is almost banal.”

Manageable does not mean ‘gone’

Despite progress, important caveats remain. Variants do remain in play. The WHO noted in September that the variant XFG now accounts for 76% of all submitted sequences, with NB.1.8.1 contributing about 15%. While “available evidence suggests that XFG and NB.1.8.1 do not pose additional public health risks relative to other currently circulating … variants.” Nevertheless, surveillance remains essential. Even those who escape severe acute disease may face lingering issues. A February 2025 article described how “many report a ‘brain fog’ … while others have various symptoms, including fatigue, pain, or even digestion issues.” Ignoring such issues risks underestimating the medium- and long-term burden.

Because of this, risk stratification is still vital. Older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and those with underlying conditions remain at elevated risk of severe outcomes. Even if population-level severity is lower, individual risk remains potentially serious.

Unfortunately, a number of countries have scaled back routine testing and monitoring of SARS-CoV-2. A December 2024 Le Monde article warned that “surveillance has lessened… making it impossible to assess the level of contamination in the population in the absence of serious hospitalised cases.” The consequence may thus be that as a species: we may be much less aware of where and how the virus is moving.

What this means for policy & individuals

For governments, the shift in language, from emergency response to long-term management is profound. The approach becomes akin to how many respiratory viruses, such as influenza, are handled: layered defences, vaccination campaigns targeted to vulnerable groups, and active rather than universal surveillance.

Individuals, however, may misinterpret “not a global emergency” as “no longer a threat”.

Access to updated vaccines remains relevant, and health systems must stay alert for resurgences - or for variants that could evade immunity.

Around the world, some regions are already seeing an increase in cases. In parts of Asia including Singapore and India, rising infections associated with the variant JN.1 are being reported. While not yet dominating global headlines, such signals underscore that risk remains.

From a public-policy vantage, the lessons of the pandemic loom large: stronger surveillance infrastructure, better global data-sharing, and agile health systems.

COVID today

COVID-19 has not gone away. What has changed is the framing. What once loomed as a sudden, catastrophic global threat is now treated as an endemic disease - persistent, manageable, but far from vanquished. For many nations, the acute emergency phase has ended. For the virus itself, the game continues. The risk for humanity now is complacency.