EU vaccination target achieved: 70 percent of adults fully vaccinated


Status: 08/31/2021 1:50 p.m.

The vaccination campaign in the EU got off to a somewhat bumpy start. But now the EU has achieved an important goal in the fight against the corona pandemic. The European vaccination program is now considered to be one of the most successful in the world.

70 percent of adults in the international community of the European Union are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. This was announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “That’s more than 250 million people who are immunized,” said the EU executive. She spoke of a “great achievement” and a “milestone”.

The goal of vaccinating 70 percent of adults in the European Union against Covid-19 by the end of summer was set by the EU Commission in January. At the time, experts assumed that around two thirds of the population would have to be vaccinated in order to stop the pandemic in a country. This hope has been dashed because of the much more contagious Delta variant. The vaccination campaign, however, has greatly reduced the pressure on health systems and society.

The USA is now overtaken

Immunization, for example, has greatly reduced the number of serious illnesses and deaths. At the same time, many restrictions on public life could be lifted again. With the achievement of the 70 percent target, the EU has also made a successful comeback. For example, the USA was initially much quicker to offer vaccinations to the population. This was mainly due to the fact that very little vaccine was initially available in the EU. Today the United States lags behind the EU in immunization rates.

The EU has not yet set itself a new, even higher vaccination target. However, the commission once again encouraged all vaccination skeptics to be immunized. “We can’t stop there. New variations make it necessary to go beyond 70 percent to be safe,” said Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. It is now a matter of being one step ahead.

Closing the gap between EU member states

She also pointed out that the 70 percent is only an average and that the proportion of those vaccinated varies greatly in the 27 member countries. While only 20 percent of all adults in Bulgaria are fully vaccinated and in Romania 32 percent, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), around 73 percent of adults in France have already received a full vaccination. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the proportion in Germany is 60.5 percent.

“We urgently need to close the worrying gap between our Member States on vaccination rates,” said Kyriakides. To do this, it is necessary to further sharpen awareness and combat misinformation. Von der Leyen also called for greater support to be provided for comparatively poor countries outside the EU. “More needs to be done,” she said. “The pandemic is not over yet.”



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