Why is Europe once again the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization?

Once again, Europe has become the “epicentre” of the Covid-19 pandemicThe World Health Organization also warned, Thursday, after noting a steady increase in cases across the continent.

At a press conference, the Director of the World Health Organization for Europe, Hans Kluge, stated that The region could record an additional half a million deaths in the next three months.

The representative of the organization said that the low acceptance of vaccines contributed to the increase in cases. “First of all, we must change our tactics and move from responding to COVID-19 waves to preventing them,” he urged.

Reduced vaccination levels and relaxed procedures

The fact is that in recent months the vaccination rate has decreased across the continent. In Spain, 80% of people are fully vaccinated – with two doses – while in France and Germany, vaccination reaches 68 and 66% of the population, Straight.

The situation is getting worse in some Central and Eastern European countries, such as Russia, where only 32% of people were vaccinated at the end of last month.

Kluge also considered that the relaxation of public health measures contributed to the increase in infections in the European region of the World Health Organization, which includes 53 countries including parts of Central Asia.

So far, the World Health Organization has recorded 1.4 million deaths across the region.

On her part, Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Director of the World Health Organization for covid-19, stated that In the past four weeks, cases in Europe have risen by more than 55% Despite the “widespread supply of vaccines and the provision of tools” to avoid it.

In turn, Dr. Mike Ryan stated that what is happening in Europe is a “warning shot for the world”.

Germany, for example, has recorded nearly 34,000 cases in the past 24 hours, which is an infection record.

Lothar Wheeler of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (IRK) – responsible for disease control and prevention – predicted a “terrifying” outcome.

“If we do not take action now to confront it, the fourth wave will bring more suffering,” he warned.

Among the many Germans who have not been vaccinated there are more than three million people over the age of sixty, who are considered particularly vulnerable.

But, as the representative of the World Health Organization pointed out, the increase in cases is not limited to Germany.

UK, Russia, Romania…

The fact is that in recent months the vaccination rate has decreased across the continent. Photo: Getty Images

In the United Kingdom, which exceeds 37,000 cases per day, concern is focused on the possible effects of the fourth wave of infection: a large number of deaths and a saturation of the health system.

Some of these numbers are already worrying, because in the last day 165 deaths were reported compared to 126 a week ago.

The largest increases in deaths in the past week occurred in Russia, where more than 8,100 deaths were recordedAnd in Ukraine, which recorded 3,800 deaths and 27,377 new cases in the past 24 hours. Both countries have very low vaccination rates.

In Romania, the highest number of deaths was recorded in 24 hours this week, at 591, while daily infections in Hungary doubled in the past week to 6,268. In that country, the use of a mask is mandatory only in public transport and hospitals.

“For now, we seem intent on believing that the pandemic is over and that we only need to vaccinate a few people. That is not the case,” said Dr. Ryan, who urged countries to reverse the gaps left by their pandemic response.

Meanwhile, the Dutch government said this week it would re-enforce the use of masks and social distancing in many public places after reporting a 31% increase in hospital admissions in seven days.

Latvia, for its part, imposed a three-month state of emergency from Monday amid a record level of coronavirus infections.

Vaccination rates stagnated in Germany as cases of infection rose. Photo: Reuters

Croatia, for its part, recorded 6,310 new cases on Thursday, its highest number so far, while Slovakia recorded the second highest number of cases. In addition, Czech infections have returned to the levels recorded since the northern spring.

Thinking that the epidemic is over is a mistake many people make, as recognized by Professor Jonathan Van Tam, Deputy Medical Director for the Government of England.

This is even if we consider that in countries with higher vaccination rates, infection rates are still relatively low.

Italy is one such country, but there are also new cases, which have increased by 16.6% in the past week.

The number of injuries in Portugal exceeded 1,000 for the first time since September. Spain is one of the few countries that has not recorded an increase in transmission, with 2,287 cases reported on Wednesday.

In the video, what is happening in Russia?

See also:

And the World Health Organization warns that the epidemic “will last for a year longer than it should”, because poor countries are not immunized

(taken from BBC Mondo)