Status: 07/10/2021 3:13 p.m.
366 million people over 18 live in the EU. According to the EU Commission, there is now enough vaccine available to vaccinate 70 percent of them against Corona. So far, the vaccination rates differ greatly in the member states.
According to its own statements, the EU Commission has provided the member states of the European Union with sufficient corona vaccine to fully vaccinate at least 70 percent of adult citizens. Commission head Ursula von der Leyen announced that a total of around 500 million vaccine doses would have been distributed by Sunday.
So far, the joint EU procurement program has delivered 330 million doses of vaccine from BioNTech / Pfizer, 100 million from AstraZeneca, 50 million from Moderna and 20 million from Johnson & Johnson. With the exception of Johnson & Johnson, two vaccinations are required for maximum protection. There are around 366 million people over the age of 18 in the EU.
Appeal to the EU member states
Von der Leyen called on the EU countries to accelerate the vaccination campaigns. “Covid-19 has not yet been defeated,” she warned. The member states must now “do everything to ensure that the vaccinations progress”. Only then are “everyone safe”.
In Germany, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn, 42.1 percent of citizens are now fully vaccinated and 58.2 percent have been vaccinated at least once. “That’s good – but that’s not enough in the race with the Delta variant,” tweeted Spahn and called for vaccinations. “Vaccine to vaccinate everyone is here. Please use it!”
Far from herd immunity
According to calculations by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), at least 85 percent of 12 to 59 year olds and 90 percent of people over 60 years of age would have to be fully vaccinated in order for so-called herd immunity to be achieved. Experts hope that this condition will occur before autumn, when an increase in the number of infections is to be expected due to the season.
What is Herd Immunity?
Herd immunity describes the indirect effect of a vaccination that occurs when a certain proportion of the population has been vaccinated, thereby reducing the transmission of the pathogen so that unvaccinated people also have a lower risk of being infected. This occurs when vaccines not only prevent the occurrence of the disease caused by the pathogen, but also prevent infection with the pathogen or its transmission. However, herd immunity does not set in abruptly above a certain threshold value, but increases in intensity with increasing vaccination rates.
“The EU has kept its word”
The EU Commission is responsible for the joint vaccination procurement program. Von der Leyen set the target in the spring of vaccinating at least 70 percent of adult EU citizens by the end of the summer. “The EU has kept its word,” said von der Leyen now.
However, the responsibility for vaccination campaigns rests with the governments of the 27 member states, and progress has varied widely. According to EU data, only 15 percent of adults in Bulgaria have full vaccination protection.