The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently denied responsibility for mandatory vaccination, compulsory use of face masks, and lockdowns imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“WHO recommended the use of masks, vaccines and physical distancing, but at no stage recommended mask mandates, vaccine mandates or lockdowns,” the organisation said in a statement posted on X. “We supported sovereign governments to make decisions they believed were in the best interests of their people, but the decisions were theirs.”  

Responding to claims by the Trump administration that the WHO mishandled the pandemic, obstructed the timely and accurate sharing of critical information, and attempted to conceal its failures, the UN health agency acknowledged that no organization or government managed the crisis perfectly. However, it maintained that its overall response was appropriate and transparent.

The WHO said it shared information in a timely and open manner throughout the pandemic and consistently provided guidance based on the best available scientific evidence. It emphasized that while it offered recommendations to member states, decisions on how those recommendations were implemented rested solely with individual governments. 

Meanwhile, issues surrounding the United States’ and Argentina’s withdrawal from the WHO have been referred to the seventy-ninth World Health Assembly, scheduled to take place in Geneva in May 2026.