Slow Rollout of Vaccine in Europe is Unacceptable

Distribution of the Covid vaccine has come under criticism. The World Health Organization (WHO) have deemed the slow rollout of vaccine in Europe is unacceptable.

Vaccinations have been hit by delays in supply, with most of Europe being affected. Due to this, infections are on the rise.

Europe is in a worse state now than it has been in for months. Many countries are tightening their restrictions again, with France being the latest to announce new lockdown measures.

Vaccinations are paramount to us finding a way out of the pandemic, and returning to any semblance of a ‘normal’ life. According to Hans Kluge, the WHO director for Europe, “the rollout of these vaccines is unacceptably slow”. This is having a huge impact on the European region and causing the pandemic to continue.

The process must be sped up. This can be done by increasing manufacture, reducing barriers to administering vaccinations, and ensuring that all stock is used immediately.

To compensate for the delays EU countries have to remain in lockdown and enforce measures whilst vaccine coverage is low.

What is the Covid situation in Europe?

The majority of countries in the European region saw increasing levels in the transmission of Covid-19 in the last week. This includes over 50 countries. 1.6 million new cases were recorded and there were around 24,000 deaths.

There was only one age group that didn’t see a rise in cases.

Out of the near 900 million people in the region, only 10% have had a single dose of Covid vaccine.

The total number of deaths is nearing one million, and the total number of cases is well on its way to passing 45 million. This puts Europe as the region of the world second most affected by the virus.

The WHO also warned there was a risk of further spread of the virus as we approach the religious holidays of Passover, Easter and Ramadan. It is likely that at these times people will be more active or social, and want to gather with family and friends.

Around half of the countries included in the WHO Europe region have implemented some form of lockdown to help combat coronavirus.

Why has there been a slow rollout of vaccine in Europe?

So far, only 16% of the EU’s population has received a dose of vaccine.

Problems with supply arose because the the EU was slow to negotiate a deal with vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca. A political row was sparked with the UK, where AstraZeneca plants are located.

The EU also encountered problems early on with production and distribution of vaccines from other manufacturer, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

EU regulators took a long time to authorise vaccines so they could be used. A number of EU countries halted the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine because a small amount of people who had received a dose had reported blood clots. Some were reluctant to give the jab to people in older age groups due to worries that there was not enough testing data provided by the company.

In general, public confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine is low. According to a poll by YouGov, only a third of Germans and less than a quarter of French people now regard it as safe to use.

However, this view is not shared by the WHO and the European Medicines Agency. They say the benefits of having a vaccine outweigh any risks.

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