- About 65% of the population of the European Economic Area (EEA) – which includes the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – have received two doses, according to EU data, but the pace has slowed in recent months.
- Norway will offer a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to everyone aged 18 and older and will give municipalities the option of using digital “corona passes”, the government said on Friday.
- Italy will also offer the third dose to people over 40.
Europe has once again become the epicentre of the pandemic, causing some governments to consider reimposing unpopular lockdowns in the run-up to Christmas, as well as stoking discussion about whether immunizations alone will suffice to contain COVID-19 as reported by Reuters.
Prolonged pandemic
According to a Reuters calculation, Europe accounted for more than half of global average 7-day infections and about half of the recent deaths, the highest proportions since the virus’s original peak in Italy in April last year.
Governments and businesses are concerned that a prolonged pandemic could jeopardise an already shaky economic recovery.
The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic are all taking or preparing to take steps to stop the spread.
Caretaker From Saturday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will impose a three-week partial lockdown, the first in Western Europe since the summer. “The virus is everywhere, and it must be combated everywhere,” Rutte said in a Friday evening speech.
In southern European countries, uptake is approximately 80%, but scepticism has delayed distribution in central and eastern Europe, as well as Russia, potentially leading to outbreaks that overwhelm healthcare.
‘Don’t take the eye off the ball’
However, virologists and public health specialists told Reuters that a combination of low vaccine uptake in some areas, declining immunity among individuals who were vaccinated early, and apathy about masks and distancing as governments lifted limits over the summer are likely to blame.
“If there’s one thing to take up from this, it’s not to lose sight of the ball,” said Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
According to the World Health Organization’s report for the week ending Nov. 7, Europe, including Russia, was the only region to have an increase in cases, up 7%, while the rest of the world saw decreases or stable trends.
In the Netherlands, restaurants and shops have been compelled to close early, and fans have been prevented from athletic events.
On Saturday, Germany’s acting health minister Jens Spahn announced the reintroduction of free COVID-19 tests.
Booster shots
Most EU countries are giving extra injections to the elderly and those with fragile immune systems, but scientists say that spreading vaccination to more people should be a top focus to prevent measures like lockdown.
“The actual need is to increase the number of people who have been vaccinated,” Carlo Federico Perno, chief of microbiology and immunology diagnostics at Rome’s Bambino Gesù Hospital, said.
The vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is also being evaluated by the European Medicines Agency in children aged 5 to 11.
Only individuals aged 65 and up have received a third dose in Norway so far.
Italy will begin offering the third dose to adults over the age of 40 on December 1.
Central, Eastern Europe
Central and Eastern European governments have had to take severe measures in order to increase shot volume.
Its parliament decided on Friday to prohibit legislators who refuse immunisation from voting or participating in debates in the assembly.
Restrictions have also been strengthened in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia.
Vaccines alone will not be enough to stop the pandemic in the long run, according to virologists.
In addition to inoculations, Israel has enforced mask-wearing and provided vaccine passports after cases rose a few months ago, according to several experts.
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Source: Reuters
