Europeans are now more vaccinated than people infected with the COVID virus, but “the threat is still there” – global issues

Based on confirmed cases, 5.5 percent of the total European population now has them Covid-197 percent completed the full series of vaccinations.

But Who is the Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge He said In a video message, “The virus still has the potential to have devastating effects.”

He added, “In fact, nearly half of the cases of Covid-19 infection in the region have been reported to the World Health Organization since January of last year during the first four months of this year.”

Shaping the course of a pandemic

Although new cases decreased dramatically last week, and for the first time in two months, infection rates across the region remain “extremely high”, according to Dr. Kluge, who noted that individual and group health and social measures in most countries remain “the dominant factors.” In shaping the course of the pandemic. “

Crucially, national governments in the region are slowly but surely vaccinating those most at risk.

“So far, about 215 million doses of vaccine have been given,” a WHO official said.

Nearly 16 percent of the region’s population received an initial dose of the vaccine, as well as 81 percent of health workers in 28 countries across the region.

Hospital admissions are declining, and mortality rates are declining in the groups at risk of infection with the highest vaccination rates.

“Vaccines save lives. They will change the course of this epidemic and ultimately help end it,” said Dr. Kluge.

The clearest path to normal

The WHO Regional Director emphasized that vaccines alone will not eliminate the epidemic, but, along with strong public health measures, they provide “the clearest way to return to normal.”

He stressed the importance of continuing to share information, engage communities and maintain monitoring, saying otherwise, “we cannot identify new variables.”

Dr. Kluge warned that “without contact tracing, governments may need to reimpose the restrictions.”

Vital fortifications

Every year during European Immunization WeekThe World Health Organization highlights that vaccines protect for more than 200 years from life-threatening diseases.

“Today they are helping protect against more than 20 diseases, from pneumonia to cervical cancer and now also COVID-19,” said Dr. Kluge.

Vaccines bring us closer to ending this epidemic, eradicating polio and eliminating measles, cervical cancer and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

They are helping to propel residents into a world free from the threat of antibiotic resistance.

“The fact that countries in the European region have averaged 96% of children due to receive their first dose of measles vaccine in 2019 is evidence of the commitment of governments in the region to eliminate measles,” he said.

“We now need that commitment to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2.”

Beyond COVID

To maintain the upper hand for vaccine-preventable diseases, health systems must provide basic primary health care, including routine vaccinations while controlling an epidemic.

Dr Kluge noted that stalled immunization rates in 2019 led to more than 100,000 cases of measles, warning that when routine immunization services are temporarily disrupted – as was also seen a year ago in the European countries hardest hit by the first wave of COVID – an infectious disease outbreak may occur. Break out even below the line.

“The hard-won success could slip away quickly,” he said, urging “high immunization coverage with routine vaccinations.”

In order for vaccines to change the course of history again, he added, they must be injected into people’s arms.

“In the end, we, the people who receive them, make them work for the good of all.”