This is because Europe’s summer holidays are here, and fair weather brings more social events. Governments are reluctant to crack down. Social distancing, particularly among young people, is often overlooked. Some countries have dropped the requirement for masks to be worn outdoors.
People can get free groceries, entertainment and travel vouchers as incentives to get shots. Prize drawings are also available. Even the president of Cyprus appealed for patriotism.
According to the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), which monitors 30 countries across the continent, the risk of infection by the delta variant is “high-to very high” for those who are not fully or partially vaccinated. The European Centre for Disease Control estimates that the variant will be responsible for 90% of all cases within the European Union by August.
The ECDC advised that it was important to move at a rapid pace with vaccine rollout.
The World Health Organization is also worried. Maria Van Kerkhove (its technical lead for COVID-19), said that the variant causes transmission growth to be “expendential”.
In countries such as Russia, Portugal, and the United Kingdom daily new cases are rising rapidly.
The U.K. has seen cases of the Delta variant quadruple in a matter of months, with Friday’s confirmed cases up 46% over the week before.
The Portuguese health authorities reported this week a “vertiginous” rise in the prevalence rate of the delta variant. This variant was responsible for almost 56% of June’s cases, and 4% in May. The country has reported its highest daily number of cases since February and more than 500 COVID-19 patients have been admitted to hospitals since April.
The number of reports of new infections in Russia more then doubled in June. They topped 20,000 per day this week and death tolls reached 679 on Friday. This is the fourth consecutive day that a daily record has been broken.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said that “noone wants any lockdowns” at a briefing. However, he acknowledged that the virus situation is “tense” in some Russian regions.
Some countries are seeing the virus spread faster among young people. Spain’s national 14-day case notification rate per 100k people rose to 152 Friday. It jumped to 449 for those aged between 20 and 29.
These numbers have raised alarm throughout the continent.
To prevent a new surge in feared cases, the Dutch government will expand its vaccination program to include children aged 12-17 years. After their first vaccination, young adults in Greece will receive 150 euros ($177) credit. Rome authorities are considering using vans to administer beach vaccinations. Last week, Poland launched a lottery that was open to all adults who have been fully vaccinated. There were also new cars up for grabs.
Portuguese authorities extended the hours of vaccine centers, opened new walk-in clinics and called up military personnel to run operations. They also reduced the time between the two doses from 12 to 8 weeks.
Mariana Vieira da Silva, Cabinet Minister, stated that “We are in a race against time.”
The appearance of new variants in Europe has created uncertainty about the effectiveness of vaccines and has fueled the fight against vaccination hesitancy.
Claudia Aguilar (58 years old archaeologist) received her second Pfizer BioNTech jab in Madrid, this week. She was attending an auditorium that is increasing its hours over the night.
She said that she was “not sure” she’ll be immune to future variants.
Aguilar stated, “I mean I’m a bit skeptical this is going to work any good.”
Yevgeniya Chernyshkova, a bartender, was waiting for her shot Thursday at Moscow’s GUM department shop just off Red Square. This was after the government mandated vaccinations for certain sectors.
She stated, “Now it’s mandatory and we all know why — because the 3rd wave of the pandemic started here.”
Some governments seem more willing to reward patience than others, even though COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by WHO 15 months ago.
Around 40,000 people attended England’s European Championship soccer match against Germany at London’s Wembley Stadium last Wednesday. Portugal has implemented new restrictions that aren’t too restrictive, like limiting the hours of restaurants on weekends.
Moscow restaurants, bars, and cafes now allow only those who have been vaccinated or have had COVID-19 treatment in the last six months.
France lifted its last major restrictions Wednesday. This allowed unlimited attendance at restaurants, weddings, and other cultural events, despite the rapid rise of cases of the Delta variant.
Tiago Correia is an associate professor at Lisbon’s Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She notices a general impatience among young people, particularly those who want to enjoy the warm summer nights.
He stated that people want to go back to normal faster than the vaccination rollout.
These new variants have shed light on the enormous scale of immunization programs. According to the ECDC, 61% of those aged over 18 have received one shot and 40% are fully vaccinated in countries that it studies.
However, Dr. Hans Kluge from the WHO’s Europe Office warned this week that the Delta variant could become the dominant one by August in the 53 countries his office covers. He also noted that 63% of those living in the region have not had a first jab.
Kluge stated that the three conditions necessary for a new wave in excess hospitalizations and deaths (before the) fall are: New variants of vaccines, a deficit in vaccine uptake, and increased social mixing.
