The number of deaths by Covid in Europe could reach 2.2 million in March of next year, said on Tuesday (23) Hans Kluge, director for the WHO continent (World Health Organization), if current trends are maintained.
Escaping this “dark milestone” requires adopting a “vaccine-plus” attitude, Kluge said. “That means getting vaccinated, getting boosted if offered, and at the same time wearing masks, keeping your distance, ventilating indoors, washing your hands and sneezing on your elbow.”
According to the entity’s director, it is up to everyone to “avoid unnecessary tragedies and losses” and limit further disturbances to society and companies during the winter.
Because of the fourth wave, Latvia, the Netherlands and Austria reimposed confinement and other countries tightened measures, also sparking dissatisfaction and protests — some ended in violence.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1.5 million Europeans have died from the coronavirus in the 53 countries followed by the entity.
The average of daily deaths has been growing since the end of the European summer and, according to the WHO, has doubled, from 2,100 at the end of September, to 4,200 last week.
According to a survey by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, Covid is now the leading cause of death in Europe and Central Asia, and estimates are that the pressure on hospitals is high or extreme in 25 of the 53 countries, between this end. of the month and March 1st.
The outlook for ICUs is even more worrying: high or extreme pressure is not expected in just 4 countries —Malta, Switzerland, Kazakhstan and Israel, which are in the area monitored by the WHO European section.
According to the organization, there are three main factors driving Covid’s current high transmission. The first is the dominance of the delta variant, highly transmissible and present in more than 99% of the sequencing carried out on the continent, with no country reporting more than 1% of any other variant.
Second, “many countries indicated to their populations that Covid was no longer a threat by alleviating measures such as the wearing of masks and physical distance in confined spaces,” intensifying the contagion.
According to a survey, less than half (48%) of people in the region wear a mask when leaving the house, although studies indicate that production equipment can reduce the incidence of Covid by 53%.
If the percentage of those wearing masks rose to 95%, more than 160,000 deaths would be prevented during the winter, according to the WHO.
The third reason is that a large number of people are still unvaccinated and therefore not protected from serious illness and death. At the same time, immunization loses its power to prevent infections over time.
The WHO director said that vaccines are vital to prevent hospitalizations and reduce pressure on health systems. The percentage of citizens fully immunized, however, is still low (53.5%, on average) and hides great inequality.
There are countries where less than 10% received the necessary doses, such as Armenia, while others surpass 80%, such as Portugal.
“It is clear that in most countries intensive care beds are now occupied mainly by patients who have not been vaccinated or are only partially vaccinated,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech on Tuesday.
She highlighted that the death rate per population in countries with the highest rate of vaccination, such as Portugal and Spain, is much lower than in European Union countries that have not advanced in immunization.
“If we look at hospitalization and mortality rates, we’re mainly dealing with a pandemic of unvaccinated people. That’s why our top priority is and continues to move forward with vaccination,” he said.
Kluge urged Europeans to get vaccinated and adopt basic protective measures to avoid lockdowns and school closures: “We know from bitter experience that this has far-reaching economic consequences and a pervasive negative impact on mental health, facilitates interpersonal violence and is harmful to children’s well-being and learning”.
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