Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

COVID surge in Europe 'deeply worrying' as vaccination slows, WHO says

COVID surge in Europe 'deeply worrying' as vaccination slows, WHO says

The high transmission rate of COVID-19 across Europe is "deeply worrying," the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday, calling for vaccination to be ramped up.

"In 15 countries, there is a decrease in vaccination uptake even when the vaccines are available. So we have to work on multiple fronts and one of them is to decrease the vaccine hesitancy," Dr Hans Kluge, regional director of WHO Europe, told Euronews in an interview.

"The first priority is to ensure that the most vulnerable get their first and second shot. Then we have to do it all, meaning that in those countries where we see that people with decreased immunity, the elderly people, have a waning immunity against severe disease, then those countries can consider a third dose," Kluge said.

"But we should do it all, meaning sharing doses with those countries which still didn't vaccinate fully health care workers, and at the same time look at the evolving evidence," he added.

"We know in the pan-European region for example that there are at least 28 countries which have a surplus of doses. So those doses need to be shared as soon as possible," he told Euronews.

Earlier on Monday, Kluge told reporters that as summer comes to an end, the epidemiological picture across the 53 countries it monitors "is mixed" with a "greater than 10% increase in 14-day case incidence."

"This high transmission is deeply worrying, particularly in the light of low vaccination uptake in priority populations in a number of countries," he said.

Kluge said that "several countries are starting to observe an increased burden on hospitals" and that "a particularly steep increase in cases" is being observed in the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Central Asian countries.

The last week also saw an "11% increase in the number of deaths in the region."

So far, the region has recorded more than 64 million confirmed cases and 1.3 million deaths. A projection that a further 236,000 people could lose their lives to the pandemic across Europe by December 1 — issued last week by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) — was described as "reliable" by Kluge on Monday.

The increase in cases and deaths is being blamed on three factors: the Delta variant, now dominant in 15 countries; the easing of public health measures; and the seasonal surge in travel.

The European office of the UN's health agency stressed that "vaccines are the path towards reopening societies" but flagged that "in the past six weeks, vaccination uptake has slowed down."

This has been attributed to "insufficient production, insufficient access and insufficient vaccine acceptance."

Only 6% of people in the region's lower and lower-middle-income countries are fully vaccinated with only one in ten healthcare professionals having completed a full vaccination course in some countries.

Kluge also emphasised that "vaccine skepticism and science denial is holding us back from stabilising this crisis" as slow vaccine uptake could boost cases and deaths and lead to the emergence of new variants of concern.

The agency called on authorities to look at vaccination data by population groups and to establish "tailored interventions at community level to boost vaccine uptake."

The end of the summer in Europe also means the beginning of a new school year. Kluge called for schools to be reopened, underlining how their closure had impacted children's mental health and future livelihood.

"Our children have suffered greatly over the past 20 months, especially those who were already vulnerable and or could not benefit from digital ways of teaching. Unlike a year ago, we are now in a position to keep them safe," he said.

He urged nations to implement vaccination strategies for teachers, other school personnel and children over the age of 12, especially if they have underlying conditions.

He also advised schools to take other measures including social distancing, masks, and regular testing of staff and pupils.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×