BERLIN (AP) – Slowly out of the gate, the European Union has stepped up its efforts on COVID-19 vaccination, with the distribution of Johnson & Johnson’s one-off product this week boosting momentum amid stubbornly high infection rates on the planet. continent.
The EU’s urge to vaccinate is still far behind that of Great Britain or the United States. Only about 1 in 5 of the block’s 450 million residents have received their first shot – about half the US share. But European officials say they have turned the corner.
“In the first quarter of 2021, only 10% of Germans could receive a first vaccination due to the vaccine shortage,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn said this week. “We got to the next 10% in just three weeks.”
France has recently celebrated several milestones in the vaccine, including providing at least one dose to practically 100% of the 700,000 residents of nursing homes.
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And Italy, the Netherlands and other countries are continuing plans to start providing the J&J injection, or are already doing so, after the EU drug regulation agency gave the green light on Tuesday for its use amid concerns about a rare type of blood clot. in an extremely small number of recipients in the US.
“The numbers are now encouraging,” said Manfred Weber, a German Member of the European Parliament, adding that the EU should be able to offer every citizen a vaccine by the end of the summer.
“If that works, then I think a lot of Europeans will say, ‘Okay, it was a bumpy ride and it didn’t work out at first. But in the end, we Europeans will be the first continent to be fully vaccinated,” he said.
The upswing comes as countries across Europe grapple with an increase in infections, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the EU to nearly 30 million, while deaths recently exceeded 660,000, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Hospitals in many European countries are under renewed pressure, treating increasingly younger patients with severe COVID-19 as older age groups benefit from the vaccinations.
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Officials have said more contagious variants of the virus are now dominating, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently warned, “We do have a new pandemic in effect.”
The continent’s vaccination campaign has faced repeated setbacks, including production delays, concerns about the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca injection and fears of clotting, including the AstraZeneca vaccine. Both vaccines are now approved for use in Europe, with regulators saying the benefits of vaccination against COVID-19 far outweigh the risks.
Merkel said on Wednesday that the EU’s decision to jointly procure vaccines for all of its 27 members – in some quarters criticized as a rejection of national responsibility – is “a brutal competition from bigger, stronger and perhaps richer countries against smaller ones”. had prevented.
“There would have been enormous potential for destruction” within the EU, she said.
In Germany, Spahn said the rate of vaccinations will continue to pick up in the second quarter. The country of about 83 million people administers about half a million doses, or about five injections per second, on weekdays, and it has recently started offering vaccinations in about 55,000 doctor’s offices, meaning people no longer need to go to special centers. to go. .
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French President Emmanuel Macron, who was accused of fueling skepticism about the AstraZeneca vaccine after initially calling it “quasi-ineffective”, this week urged citizens to cast aside their concerns about the shot after the European Medicines agency deemed it safe.
There are scattered signs that the AstraZeneca vaccine is struggling to regain the trust of some of those eligible to get it – in France aged 55 and over.
French media reported that a vaccination center in the Mediterranean city of Nice had 4,000 AstraZeneca doses available last weekend, but attracted only 58 customers and closed early on Saturday. Ministry of Health officials stress that such examples are an exception.
Italy began releasing 184,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson shot held in storage at regional vaccination centers on Wednesday. Poland and Luxembourg have started administering the shot, while the Netherlands and the Czech Republic are expected to do so this week.
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With persistently high numbers of new infections, EU member states are taking a series of approaches to curb the spread of the virus pending vaccinations that reach a critical threshold.
German lawmakers on Wednesday approved uniform “emergency brake” restrictions for when the virus spreads too quickly, replacing a patchwork of measures in the 16 German states.
Areas with more than 100 weekly new cases per 100,000 residents face curfews, stricter limits for personal contact and closures of shops, museums and sports facilities.
Thousands protested the plan outside parliament in Berlin.
Other countries gave in to demands to ease pandemic restrictions amid mounting lockdown fatigue.
“We really see the tension between the grim reality in the here and now in the hospitals and at the same time that cautious, optimistic outlook,” said Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday when announcing that a curfew will be lifted next week and for the first time since half past six. In October, bars and cafes may reopen the outdoor terraces in the afternoon.
In Italy, schools can reopen for full-time, face-to-face learning, and restaurants and bars can open from Monday for sit-down, field service in all zones except the highest-risk zones.
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Sitting in the waiting room of a vaccination center in the Cinecitta film studios in Rome, where “La Dolce Vita” and other gems of Italian cinema were made, Patrizia Centa expressed relief when she received a first dose.
“Undoubtedly a positive experience,” said Centa, surrounded by movie star posters and inspiring messages from Sophia Loren and Roberto Benigni, among others. “It was, well, an incredible thing. It was a fun experience, a fun experience.”