将给定的文章进行简化，只保留其主要内容。
此处为一段英文新闻报道，原文如下：
“The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. As of July 2021, the pandemic has caused the deaths of more than 4 million people worldwide, with millions more infected. Despite the availability of vaccines, the pandemic continues to pose a significant threat to public health and global economies.”
COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health Organization. It has caused death and infection globally, and despite available vaccines, continues to be a danger to public health and economies.