The Pandemic Treaty was postponed. Amendments to the International Health Regulations were adopted, and remain non-binding.
The draft for the IHR amendments was released minutes before the 9pm Plenary Session adopted the amendments without a vote.
The Pandemic Treaty will continue to be negotiated, and they aim to finalize it by the end of 2024 or WHA 78 in 2025.
Costa Rica and Slovakia offered interventions that “disassociated” their countries with the amendments.
Iran, Russia, Argentina, and the UK (!) said they will need their national legislatures to review, indicating they might reserve or reject.
Read Dr. Nass’ two posts on the IHR amendments:
“The barely changed IHRs were just adopted. Don’t worry — the changes are practically meaningless”
The 2024 IHR Amendments retained the previously existing “non-binding” language. However, they add – as a core competency which countries must develop – “addressing misinformation” (something we thought the First Amendment of the US Constitution prevented the US government from doing.)
Of course, 49 Senators, 24 Governors, and 22 AGs have formally voiced they share our concerns. If half the country holds an interpretation as correct, is it still “misinformation”?
