There's also the political backlash if the WHO accurately says, "this is a pandemic," early enough to flatten the curve and save lots of lives.
Do you expect politicians to actually think? Especially when they can point at the "fakenews WHO." (I don't know how Trump would actually say it but you get the picture.)
If the WHO declares a pandemic early, they _do_ save lives. But they take the political beating because "nothing happened."
If the WHO declares a pandemic late, they don't save lives. They take a mild wrist slap because "they were late to declare it," which will not be remembered in about a month.
Do you expect politicians to actually think? Especially when they can point at the "fakenews WHO." (I don't know how Trump would actually say it but you get the picture.)
If the WHO declares a pandemic early, they _do_ save lives. But they take the political beating because "nothing happened."
If the WHO declares a pandemic late, they don't save lives. They take a mild wrist slap because "they were late to declare it," which will not be remembered in about a month.