Αssociated Press reports from London that the European nations’ immunization campaigns against COVID-19 are “unacceptably slow” and risk prolonging the pandemic, a senior World Health Organization official said Thursday.
Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said vaccines “present our best way out of this pandemic,” but pointed out that to date, only 10% of Europe’s population has received one dose and that only 4% have been fully protected with two doses.
“As long as the coverage remains low, we need to apply the same public health and social measures as we have in the past, to compensate for delayed schedules,” Kluge said.
Even those numbers hide the true scope of the problems facing the European Union’s 27 nations, where only about 5.6% of its people have had a first vaccine shot, according to the bloc. In Britain, that figure is 46% of its population.
WHO said new COVID-19 infections are increasing in every age group except those over 80, in a sign that vaccination efforts are having an impact in slowing outbreaks. But the U.N. health agency said “early action” to stop the virus’ spread must be taken in the absence of high immunization rates.
Faced with rising hospitalizations that were overwhelming hospitals in Paris and elsewhere, French President Emmanuel Macron imposed new measures to combat a resurgence of the virus, including a three-week school closure and a domestic travel ban.
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