SARS-CoV-2 Detections Increase While COVID-19 Vaccinations Decrease

Since early 2025, SARS-CoV-2 virus activity has been increasing globally, with the positivity rate reaching 11% in some countries. However, unlike in past years, activity is now very regional.

According to the World Health Organization (DON572) on May 28, 2025, this respiratory disease increase is primarily observed in countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, and Western Pacific regions.  

This DON says recent increases in SARS-CoV-2 activity are broadly consistent with levels observed during the same period last year. But virus surveillance has been limited in 2025

Countries in the African Region, European Region, and the Region of the Americas are currently reporting low levels of SARS-CoV-2 activity with percent positivity from sentinel or systematic virological surveillance sites ranging from 2% to 3%. 

WHO advises all Member States to continue applying a risk-based, integrated approach to managing COVID-19, including vaccinations. Currently approved COVID-19 vaccines continue to protect against severe disease and death.

The WHO and its Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) continue to regularly assess the impact of variants on the performance of COVID-19 vaccines to inform decisions on updates to vaccine composition.

In the latest recommendation published in mid-May 2025, the WHO TAG-COVAC advised that monovalent JN.1 or KP.2 remain appropriate COVID-19 vaccine antigens; monovalent LP.8.1 is a suitable alternative vaccine antigen.

An estimated 39.2 million individuals, across 90 reporting Member States, had received a dose in 2024. Uptake was notably higher among older adults, with coverage reaching 5.1% in the European Region and 3.6% in the Region of the Americas, compared to less than 0.5% in other regions.

In the United States, the COVID-19 vaccination policy was updated in May 2025.