“The epidemiological situation in Europe is very worrisome as we move into winter, with increasing rates of infection, hospitalisation and we can also see an increase in fatalities,” said EMA Head of Clinical Studies, Fergus Sweeney.
Speaking at the agency's regular press conference, at a time when countries such as Germany and Belgium are seeing huge increases in the number of Covid-19 infections, Fergus Sweeney stressed that it is “very important that everyone is vaccinated or complete their vaccination dose if have already had a first dose, but not a second dose”.
“It's really important that we're all vaccinated because we're not all protected until everyone is protected,” insisted the European regulator's expert.
When asked about other measures to take this winter, when highly contagious strains such as Delta circulate at high levels and low temperatures favour the spread of this type of virus, Fergus Sweeney noted that “national governments are already taking steps to introduce or reintroduce aspects such as the use of a face mask and the imposition of social distance”.
Furthermore, “we need to follow all these precautions very carefully when washing our hands so that we protect ourselves and others,” he concluded.
According to the EMA specialist, this is already the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data from another European agency, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), reveal that, so far, 75.4% of the adult population in the EU is fully vaccinated, while 80.6% took only the first dose.
This equates to 275 million people with the complete vaccination schedule, according to the ECDC website on vaccination in the EU, which is based on data from Member States.
By country, there are large discrepancies in vaccination rates, between 26.4% of total vaccination in Bulgaria and 92.3% in Ireland.
Many people already have natural immunity from catching and recovering. This is the best type of immunity as you avoid the side effects and deaths (look at VAERS and yellow card databases ). Ever wonder where flu has gone? THe media really needs to stop scare mongering and being whores for Pfizer and Moderna. Wake up people.
By Michael Knight from UK on 08 Nov 2021, 10:27
Bravo Michael, I agree with every word. Enough of this cultist hysteria!
By DD from Lisbon on 08 Nov 2021, 14:52
Portugal has such high vaccination rates everyone should be just fine........unless the vaccine doesn't work! Which seems obvious when you look at the numbers in Israel. Why doesn't anyone talk about boosting the immune system? Or natural immunity? This is getting out of hand and we've seen that lockdowns do not work. So can we all just move on. People get sick and die of flu every year, so what is the big deal. Just boost your immune system by eating raw garlic and taking vitamin C!! It's very simple and has kept me well for about 40 years!!!
By Aju from Beiras on 08 Nov 2021, 17:31
Let’s compare world deaths due to COVID to the number of abortions this year alone. 5 million COVID related deaths, 36.5 million abortions worldwide. And we worry about the pandemic?
By Ian from Lisbon on 09 Nov 2021, 08:20