Vaccine for 70 percent of citizens: EU reaches vaccination milestone


Vaccine for 70 percent of citizens
EU reaches vaccination milestone

The EU procures the vaccine for its member states centrally and an important milestone has now been reached, as Commission President von der Leyen announced. This weekend vaccine should be delivered to 70 percent of citizens. But that’s not enough.

According to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union has achieved its goal of providing enough vaccine against the coronavirus to cover 70 percent of adults. “The EU has kept its word,” said von der Leyen. “We delivered enough vaccine to Member States this weekend to fully vaccinate at least 70 percent of the adult population this month.”

According to the EU Commission President, “around 500 million cans” will be distributed across the EU by Sunday. So far, 330 million doses of vaccine have been supplied by Biontech / Pfizer, 100 million by Astrazeneca, 50 million by Moderna and 20 million by Johnson & Johnson through the joint EU procurement program. With the exception of Johnson & Johnson, two vaccinations are required for maximum protection.

“Covid-19 has not yet been defeated,” continued von der Leyen. “But we are ready to continue delivering vaccines – also against new variants”. For their part, the member states must now “do everything to ensure that the vaccinations progress”. Only then are “everyone safe”. The EU Commission is responsible for the joint vaccination procurement program. In spring, von der Leyen set the goal of vaccinating at least 70 percent of the approximately 366 million adult EU citizens by the end of the summer.

44 percent fully vaccinated

However, the responsibility for vaccination campaigns rests with the governments of the 27 member states, and progress has varied widely. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the proportion of people aged 18 and over who are fully vaccinated in the EU and the European Economic Area is 44.1 percent.

According to experts, the spread of the particularly contagious Delta variant now requires an even higher vaccination rate to contain the corona pandemic than previously assumed. According to the model scenarios of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 85 percent of twelve to 59 year olds and even 90 percent of people aged 60 and over should be vaccinated for herd immunity. The French government’s scientific advisory board considers a vaccination quota of up to 95 percent to be necessary.

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