GENEVA (AP) – A top official of the World Health Organization says Europe has exceeded 1 million deaths from COVID-19 and that the situation is still “serious”, with around 1.6 million new cases reported each week in the region word.
The remarks of dr. Hans Kluge on Thursday aimed to emphasize that Europe must guard against social distance and accelerate vaccinations, as virus variants cause new infections in some countries to rise to a record level.
Overall, a Johns Hopkins University census shows that nearly 3 million deaths worldwide have been linked to COVID-19 – with the Americas being hit hardest, followed by Europe. The United States, Brazil and Mexico reported the most deaths, totaling more than 1.1 million.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Greece, Kluge pointed to ‘early signs that distribution could slow across different countries’ in the WHO’s 53 region of Europe, which extends to Central Asia – and called ‘declining incidence’ among the oldest people.
He said the percentage of COVID-19 deaths among people over 80, who prefer vaccines, had dropped to almost 30% – the lowest level in the pandemic.
Britain in particular has declined dramatically since January with new infections and COVID-19 deaths due to a successful vaccination program and a prolonged national exclusion that is only reversed in phases.
Kluge addressed recent concerns about vaccines, saying the risk of people with blood clots being much higher is for people with COVID-19 than for people getting AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine.
“Let there be no doubt, the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective in reducing COVID-19 hospitalization and preventing deaths,” he said, adding that WHO recommends its use for all eligible adults.
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