Covid-19: the 27 must react urgently to avoid another massacre, warns a European agency – Franceinfo

With more than 2.5 million cases and nearly 30,000 deaths recorded in the past week, Europe is by far the region of the world most affected by the pandemic, according to official data collected by AFP. And the trend remains on the rise, especially in countries with the lowest vaccination rates.

On Tuesday, the European branch of the WHO was alarmed by the“hold” of Covid-19 in Europe, which could kill 700,000 more on the continent by the spring, in addition to the 1.5 million deaths already counted. The highly contagious Delta variant has reduced the effectiveness of vaccines against the transmission of the disease to 40%, said the head of the WHO.

“Vaccines save lives, but they do not completely prevent the transmission of Covid-19”, explained Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Data suggests that before the arrival of the Delta variant vaccines reduced transmission by about 60%, with Delta this dropped to 40%”, he stressed. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the EU health agency responsible for epidemics, called for filling the vaccination gaps, but also for taking action. “non-pharmaceutical measures”, a generic term designating health restrictions against Covid-19.