The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control is urging all adults above 40 years old to get booster shots as Europe and Central Asia—now the epicenter of COVID 19 and variants— are breaking all records in infections and deaths.
Amid the surging coronavirus infections breaking records in parts of Europe on Wednesday, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), EU’s public health agency, recommended the vaccine boosters for all adults with priority to those over 40 in a major shift from its previous guidance that suggested extra doses only for older frail people and those with weakened immune systems.
Europe on Wednesday, with the continent once again the epicenter of a pandemic that has prompted new curbs on movement and seen health experts push to widen the use of booster vaccination shots, AFP said.
Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Hungary all reported new highs in daily infections as winter grips Europe and people gather indoors in the run-up to Christmas, providing a perfect breeding ground for COVID-19.
New cases have jumped 23 percent in the Americas in the last week, mostly in North America, in a sign that region might also face a resurgence of infections.
"Available evidence emerging from Israel and the UK shows a significant increase in protection against infection and severe disease following a booster dose in all age groups in the short term," the ECDC said on Wednesday.
Many EU countries have already begun giving booster doses but are using different criteria to prioritize them and different intervals between the first shots and boosters.
Increased protection
ECDC head Andrea Ammon said boosters would increase protection against infection caused by waning immunity and "could potentially reduce the transmission in the population and prevent additional hospitalizations and deaths."
Europe and Central Asia could reach more than 2.2 million total Covid-19 deaths by next March as countries battle a surge of the highly transmissible delta variant, the World Health Organization’s office for the region wrote in a statement released Tuesday.
The forecast for the months ahead comes as the 53-country region passes 1.5 million Covid deaths, with the virus now becoming the leading cause of death in both Europe and Central Asia, the WHO’s Europe branch said. The region is currently experiencing nearly 4,200 deaths per day, twice the daily deaths recorded at the end of September, the statement noted.
The WHO’s regional office in Copenhagen, Denmark covers Europe as well as Israel, Turkey and the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
‘Vaccine plus’
“In order to live with this virus and continue our daily lives, we need to take a ‘vaccine plus’ approach,” Dr. Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said in the statement. “This means getting the standard doses of vaccine, taking a booster if offered, as well as incorporating preventive measures into our normal routines.”
She advised countries with low vaccination levels to speed up rollouts and warned of high risks of a further spike in deaths and hospitalizations in Europe in December and January if the recommended measures are not introduced.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, acknowledging that Europe was again at the epicenter of the pandemic, warned against a "false sense of security" over the protection offered by vaccines.
"No country is out of the woods," he told reporters, adding that he hoped a consensus can be found at a World Trade Organization ministerial meeting next week for an IP waiver for pandemic vaccines.
Sweden will begin gradually rolling out boosters to all adults, government and health officials said. Booster shots of mRNA vaccine have been offered to people aged 65 or above, with an eye to eventually extending the shots to other groups.
Uncertain winter
"We are faced with an uncertain winter," Health Minister Lena Hallengren told a news conference. "You can contribute by staying home if you're sick or by getting vaccinated if you haven't already and taking your booster when you're offered it."
Slovakia reported its highest daily rise in cases on Wednesday when the government approved a two-week lockdown to curb the world's fastest surge in infections.
Restaurants and non-essential shops will close and movement will be limited to trips for essential shopping, work, school or medical visits.
"The situation is serious," Prime Minister Eduard Heger said, "We got here because the (existing) measures were not observed."
Vaccination reservations
Neighboring Austria has already locked down this week for at least 10 days, becoming the first to reimpose such restrictions. It will also require the whole population to be vaccinated from Feb. 1, infuriating many in a country where skepticism about state curbs on individual freedoms runs high.
The Czech Republic reported its highest daily rise in infections, with cases surpassing 25,000 for the first time. The government is looking to institute mandatory vaccines for people over 60 and some professions, like healthcare workers.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Wednesday the cabinet would debate more measures on Friday.
The Netherlands recorded more than 23,700 coronavirus infections in 24 hours, the highest number since the start of the pandemic, and the government will announce new measures on Friday.
Hungary reported a record 12,637 new daily COVID-19 cases.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, which opposes further lockdowns for fear of stifling the economy, launched a vaccination campaign this week, offering shots without prior registration.
Russia to find anti-vax proponents in social media
Authorities in Russia, where daily coronavirus-related deaths are near record highs, said they were scouring social networks and media websites to find people spreading false claims about the dangers of vaccination.
France will announce new COVID measures on Thursday, while Italy is tightening curbs on people who have not been vaccinated, preventing them from going to cinemas, restaurants and sports events in new restrictions that come in from Dec. 6.
Portugal, one of the world's most vaccinated countries, will give booster shots to a quarter of its population by end-January. Cases there reached a four-month daily high Wednesday.
Deaths remain far below January levels, however, and the infection rate is far lower than in most of Western Europe.
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