Terming the roll-out as unacceptably slow, WHO raised concerns over the rising Covid-19 cases in the E.U.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has criticized the European Union (E.U.) for the slow roll-out of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines to Member States.
Terming the roll-out as unacceptably slow, WHO raised concerns over the rising cases in the E.U. at the same time, it also criticised the vaccine makers for under-delivering on scheduled shipments.
The WHO said that only 10% of Europeans have receive the first dose of the vaccine and only 4% have received both the doses.
Taking it to twitter, the Regional Director of WHO, Europe – Dr. Hans Kluge tweeted,
#Vaccines present our best way out of this pandemic. Not only do they work, they are also highly effective in preventing #COVID19 infection. However, the roll-out of these vaccines is unacceptably slow. https://t.co/hfjMGViidu
— Hans Kluge (@hans_kluge) April 1, 2021
He further tweeted,
We must speed up the process by ramping up manufacturing, reducing barriers to administering #COVID19 #vaccines, and using every single vial we have in stock, now. https://t.co/hfjMGViidu
— Hans Kluge (@hans_kluge) April 1, 2021
The risk is only getting high. With more easing of restrictions and the religious gatherings being permitted, the presence of United Kingdom (U.K.) variant in Europe may increase. This variant is more transmissible and can increase the risk of hospitalization. It has a greater public health impact and additional actions are required to control it. Last week, Europe reported 1.6 million fresh cases.
As the vaccination rollout grows across Europe, WHO has called for early action to implement public health and social measures.
He tweeted,
The risk of ongoing vaccination providing a false sense of security to authorities and the public alike is considerable – and that carries a danger. https://t.co/hfjMGViidu
— Hans Kluge (@hans_kluge) April 1, 2021
Asking Governments to take action, Hans tweeted, “
My message to governments in the Region is therefore that now is not the time to relax measures. We can’t afford not to heed the danger. We have all made sacrifices, but we cannot let exhaustion win. https://t.co/hfjMGViidu
— Hans Kluge (@hans_kluge) April 1, 2021
Meanwhile, all the 27 Member States are either in partial or complete lockdown. 21 have implemented night curfew. In the past two weeks, 23 countries have intensified restrictions and 13 have eased measures.
Compared to U.K., which has administered more than 30 million vaccines covering 58% of its adult population, Europe has only covered 13% of its population with 70 million doses. The biggest flaw in E.U.’s vaccines roll-out was its heavy dependence on AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. The E.U. ordered at least 300 million doses from AstraZeneca. The vaccine maker had told the E.U. that it will deliver less than 50% of the agreed COVID-19 vaccine by the second quarter of the year. The shortfall, which has not initially reported, follows a big reduction in supplies in the first quarter and could hit the E.U.’s ability to meet its target of vaccinating 70% of adults by summer. The company has said it is striving to increase productivity to deliver 180 million doses.
Separately, France is expected to reach the peak of the second wave in the next 10 days. The Government has tightened the restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
The President of France – Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, i.e., March 31, 2021 announced a partial lockdown across France. This came after ICU admission numbers broke past the 5,000 mark and doctors called on the government for more restrictive measures.
