It is a message addressed to all the leaders of the Old Continent.
While the vaccination of children began Wednesday in several European countries, including Spain and France, it will not "be enough" in the face of the Omicron variant which should become dominant by mid-January, the agency warned. European disease by urgently calling for more restrictions.
At ten days of Christmas, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) called for a "rapid reintroduction and strengthening" of measures against Covid such as a return to telework or increased caution during the end of the holiday season. year. In France, the government will meet to discuss the health crisis this Friday, in a new Defense Council. A toughening recommendation that comes as the restrictions go increasingly badly in many European countries almost two years after the start of the pandemic.
In the German region of Saxony, stronghold of the anti-restrictions movement, a police raid carried out after death threats made by the anti-vaccine movement against a regional leader made it possible to get hold of weapons.
New Chancellor Olaf Scholz has vowed to wage a relentless struggle against a “minority of extremists”.
In an attempt to stem this new wave, certain German regions including Berlin, Spain, Greece and Hungary have taken over from Denmark and Austria, by starting to vaccinate children under 12.
UK case record
This expansion of vaccination to children comes as the new variant Omicron could become dominant in Europe by mid-January, warned the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
In the United Kingdom, a record of more than 78,000 cases in 24 hours was recorded on Wednesday.
Vaccination of 5-11 year olds, with a version of the Pfizer vaccine less strong than that intended for adults, has been possible in the European Union since its authorization by the drug regulator on November 25.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 5-14 year olds are currently the most affected by the pandemic, sometimes with rates two to three times higher than in the rest of the population.
In Germany, besides Berlin, Bavaria has also started to immunize children.
Read alsoVariant Omicron: "We will probably not be able to differentiate the 5th wave from the 6th"
Hoping to be "an example for the world", in the words of its Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Spain, one of the champions of vaccination in Europe, has also mobilized its staff to administer the vaccine to those under 12 in schools, vaccinodromes or hospitals.
In the country, 74% of parents plan to have their child vaccinated, according to a survey.
In Europe, start of the vaccination campaign for children
Passing for several days, a government campaign on television shows children rejoicing that it is "their turn" to be vaccinated to act like "grandpa and grandma, papa and mama, auntie and uncle, the mistress".
In Greece, more than 30,000 parents have made an appointment to have their child vaccinated while the campaign also began Wednesday in this country, as in Hungary.
Other countries like Italy, Poland (where new restrictions were introduced on Wednesday), Portugal or Cyprus will start their campaign in the coming days.
Read also Covid-19: what are the pathologies concerned by the opening of the vaccination of children this Wednesday?
In France, only the vaccination of children at risk of developing serious forms has been approved, but the government has said it is considering extending it "to all children" on a voluntary basis.
The pandemic has killed at least 5,319,316 people around the world since the end of 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Wednesday midday.
While the Omicron variant continues to spread at high speed across the planet, Morocco has detected its first case, just like Kenya which for the first time has identified "at least three".
