By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND (Worthy News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged nations to sign on to a pandemic treaty so the world can prepare for a potential “Disease X” with a fatality rate 20 times that of COVID-19, and no vaccine.
Tedros appealed while speaking for an audience at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, which has come under fire for allegedly influencing governments.
The WHO chief said he hoped countries would reach a pandemic agreement by May to address this “common enemy.”
Disease X is a hypothetical “placeholder” virus that has not yet been formed, but scientists say it could be “20 times” deadlier than COVID-19, which allegedly killed at least some 7 million people.
Their estimation suggests a death toll of at least 140 million. That is higher than the 1918-1920 Spanish Flu, shocking the world with a death toll of up to 100 million, though the world population of up to 2 billion was significantly lower than the current 8 billion people roaming the earth.
Disease X was added to the WHO’s short list of pathogens for research in 2017 that could cause a “serious international epidemic,” the WHO said.
‘NATIONAL INTEREST’
In comments obtained by Worthy News late Saturday, Tedros added that “national interest” should not deter countries from not signing the new pandemic treaty. Critics say that would grant him unbridled power to mandate health edicts and pandemics.
However, WHO Director-General Tedros stressed that his health organization was already implementing measures. They include the establishment of a pandemic fund and building a technology transfer hub in South Africa to address inequities in vaccine distribution, he explained.
“Of course, some people say this may create panic,” Tedros acknowledged.
“It’s better to anticipate something that may happen because it has happened in our history many times and prepare for it,” he said.
However, several groups, including outspoken Christian and conservative commentators, fear that this could lead to forced vaccinations and lockdowns that they say limit universal rights agreed on in international human rights treaties.
The WHO suggests these policies are needed in a rapidly changing world.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire that was to begin Friday afternoon, Worthy News learned.
At least 10 people, including four children, were injured in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday. In southern Ukraine, the State Emergency Service reported that one person was killed and four others were injured in a separate Russian attack on the Odesa region.
President Donald Trump signed the temporary peace deal with Iran ahead of schedule Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles in France, kicking off negotiations over a final nuclear deal.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States is being viewed by analysts not as an embrace of peace, but as a carefully crafted declaration that preserves Tehran’s revolutionary posture while allowing the regime to regroup.
The United States imposed new sanctions Thursday on individuals and entities linked to Hezbollah, accusing them of using political and financial influence to obstruct Lebanon’s peace process and delay the Iran-backed group’s disarmament.
Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow since the war began, hitting a key oil refinery and other targets around the Russian capital, leaving at least one person dead and numerous others injured, Russian officials said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Southeast Asian leaders in Kazan this week as Moscow moved to deepen ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and promote its vision of a “multipolar world order” aimed at countering U.S. global dominance.