A Blog by Jonathan Low

 

Sep 1, 2021

Europe Hits Target of 70 Percent Adult Covid Vaccination Despite Slow Start

After a disorganized and problem-plagued start, Europe improved its implementation efforts achieved its goal of 70% adult vaccination. That is FULL vaccination. 

Despite the many cultural and political differences among peoples on the continent, there has been widespread recognition of the vaccine's socio-economic benefits and little of the ideological and ignorance-driven vaccine refusal seen in the US. JL 

Francesco Guaracio and colleagues report in Reuters:

70% of the European Union's adult population had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, hitting a target it set at the beginning of the year, which means that at least 255 million people have received two doses of Pfizer/BionTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson. Malta has fully vaccinated over 90% of its adult population. Ireland and Portugal have immunised more than 80%, and France is above 70%. Bulgaria has fully vaccinated 20% and Romania 30%. Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia and Slovakia have immunised half of those aged above 18.

The European Commission said on Tuesday that 70% of the European Union's adult population had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, hitting a target it set at the beginning of the year.

The announcement marks a milestone in the EU vaccination strategy after a slow start, but it also masks big differences among EU countries, with some nations exceeding the 70% goal, while others in the poorer eastern region of the bloc are far behind.

"70% of adults in EU are fully vaccinated. I want to thank the many people making this great achievement possible," the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter.

In January, the Commission said that "by summer 2021, member states should have vaccinated a minimum of 70% of the adult population."This was interpreted as meaning that each of the 27 EU member states should hit that target by September. Many, fearing they could not, criticised the Commission in internal meetings, documents seen by Reuters showed.

Now the bloc cumulatively has vaccinated 70% of its adult population, which means that at least 255 million people have received either two doses of Pfizer/BionTech (PFE.N), (22UAy.DE), AstraZeneca (AZN.L) or Moderna (MRNA.O) vaccines, or one shot of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) jab.

The situation differs vastly between countries. Malta has fully vaccinated over 90% of its adult population, data from the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC), an EU agency, show.

Ireland and Portugal have also immunised more than 80% of their adult population, and France is above 70%, according to ECDC figures, which usually are updated slightly later than information at disposal of the EU Commission.

In the east, Bulgaria has fully vaccinated just one fifth of its adult population, and Romania about 30% of adults. Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia and Slovakia have immunised about half of those aged above 18.

"We must go further! We need more Europeans to vaccinate. And we need to help the rest of the world vaccinate, too," von der Leyen said in her tweet.

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