Effectively and safely protecting against disease this is what makes vaccines a vital and successful public health tool that saves lives and safeguards health and well-being. Today, vaccines shield us from more than 20 life-threatening diseases.
April 30, 2021 Share
The World Health Organization’s Europe Regional Director Hans Kluge reported Thursday the number of new COVID-19 infections in the region dropped significantly in the last week for the first time in two months.
Speaking from WHO regional headquarters in Copenhagen, Kluge said hospitalizations and deaths were also down in the past week. He also said as of Thursday, 7% of Europeans have been totally vaccinated, more than the 5.5% of the population that has contracted COVID-19.
Kluge cautioned that while that is good news, the virus remains a threat, as infection rates remain high in several areas. He said individual and collective public health and social measures remain dominant factors in shaping the pandemic’s course.
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IMAGE: World Health Organization (WHO) Member States affirmatively reporting national adult immunisation programmes, by WHO Region and worldwide, 2018 view more
Credit: Eurosurveillance, WHO
Effectively and safely protecting against disease this is what makes vaccines a vital and successful public health tool that saves lives and safeguards health and well-being. Today, vaccines shield us from more than 20 life-threatening diseases.
Each year, between 2 to 3 million lives are saved by immunisation against diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza or measles [1]. However, several vaccines such as the one against measles can only reach their full potential protecting not just those who are immunised, but also those who might not be eligible for vaccination if the vaccination coverage in a population is high enough [2].
Caribbean News Global
April 30, 2021
A 33-year-old man gets a COVID-19 vaccine in London, United Kingdom. [WHO/Blink Media - Chiara Luxardo]
GENEVA, Switzerland â Just over 460 days since the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Europe, more citizens living in the region have now been vaccinated, than the number infected, and although new cases and hospitalizations are falling, âthe threat remains presentâ, a senior UN health official said on Thursday.
Based on confirmed cases, 5.5 percent of the entire European population has now had COVID-19, while 7 percent has completed a full vaccination series.
But WHO regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge said in a video message, âthe virus still carries the potential to inflict devastating effectsâ.
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More Europeans have been vaccinated against Covid-19 than have been confirmed to be infected, Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization s (WHO) regional director for Europe, said on Thursday. Based on numbers of confirmed cases, 5.5 per cent of the entire European population has now had Covid-19, while 7 per cent has completed a full vaccination series, Kluge said in a press release, Xinhua reported.
To date, some 215 million vaccine doses have been administered in Europe, he said. Approximately 16 per cent of the WHO European Region s population has received the first vaccine dose.
The WHO European Region has so far registered 51,506,373 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 1,076,173 deaths.