Now is not the time to let our guard down.
The level of vaccination in Europe is insufficient to avoid a resurgence of the pandemic, the European branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday, also calling for the "mistake" of the rise in cases to be avoided. during the summer of 2020.
“Vaccine coverage is far from sufficient to protect the region from a resurgence,” WHO European director Hans Kluge warned during an online press conference.
"The way to go to achieve coverage of at least 80% of the adult population is still considerable," he said, calling for maintaining hygiene and distancing measures and avoiding travel to the home. 'foreign.
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In the 53 territories of the European region according to WHO criteria, 30% of the region's population has received a first dose of vaccine and 17% are fully vaccinated.
While the situation across the region has improved with a drop in cases and deaths over the past two months and the recent easing of restrictions, "we are far from out of danger," he insisted.
For the first time since autumn 2020, the weekly death toll in the European area fell below 10,000 last week, according to WHO Europe.
The Delta variant "left to settle" in Europe
But the precedent of the past year requires vigilance, pointed out its director.
"Over the past summer, cases gradually increased in younger age groups and then moved to older age groups, contributing to a devastating resurgence, lockdowns and deaths," in the fall and in the winter ”, recalled the Belgian doctor.
“Let's not make that mistake again,” he said.
WHO has reiterated its concern about the circulation of worrying variants, such as the Delta variant initially detected in India.
More contagious, it is suspected to be more resistant, even after a first dose of the vaccine.
This Delta variant has "left to settle" in Europe, while "many people over 60 remain unprotected," Kluge said.