Europe: The other wave of COVID-19 infections may have started in Europe as cases have started to rise all over the region, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) mentioned on Wednesday.
The director of WHO’s Europe, Hans Kluge, as well as ECDC’s director, Andrea Ammon, mentioned in the statement, “Although we are not where we were one year ago, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is still not over.”
Moreover, “We are unfortunately seeing indicators rising again in Europe, suggesting another wave of infections has begun.”
According to WHO statistics broken down by region, only Europe had an increase in COVID-19 cases in the week ending October 2, with an increase of 8% from the week before.
Public health professionals have cautioned that low booster uptake in the area is likely due to uncertainty about the available immunizations and vaccine weariness.
Along with this, the WHO and ECDC stated that millions of people in Europe are still unvaccinated against COVID-19.
They advised European nations to give COVID-19 and flu vaccinations in advance of a predicted rise in seasonal influenza incidence.
Furthermore, the WHO and ECDC stated that there was “no time to waste” and advised vulnerable populations, such as those over 60, expecting mothers, and those who have co-morbidities, to receive both influenza and COVID-19 vaccines.
