Europe’s Covid vaccine programme ‘unacceptably slow’, WHO warns

‘Vaccines present our best way out of this pandemic,’ Hans Kluge says

The European Union’s coronavirus vaccination programme is “unacceptably slow”, a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) figure has warned.

Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said the bloc must ramp up production of jabs and remove barriers to their rollout.

His comments came a day after French president Emmanuel Macron was forced to impose a third national lockdown amid rising cases and hospitalisations.

Germany is also experiencing a resurgence in new infections, with the number of intensive care patients reportedly reaching levels close to the peak of the first wave last year.

Dr Kluge stressed that “vaccines present our best way out of this pandemic”, adding: “Not only do they work, they are also highly effective in preventing infection.”

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He also criticised the EU’s inoculation programme, which lags behind both the US and the UK in ordering and approving vaccine shots.

“The rollout of these vaccines is unacceptably slow,” Dr Kluge said. "We must speed up the process by ramping up manufacturing, reducing barriers to administering vaccines, and using every single vial we have in stock, now.”

According to WHO figures, only 10 per cent of Europe’s population has received a first vaccine dose, and 4 per cent has had both.

A battle over vaccines broke out between the UK and Europe last month after Britain was able to pre-order more doses. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen admitted underestimating the difficulties of mass production of vaccines.

Then, last week, the commission threatened to tighten rules on exporting vaccines from the EU, to stop doses being shipped to countries that had a “less urgent” need.

The UK vaccine programme has surged ahead of the EU’s, and the bloc has claimed some companies are not meeting their contractual obligations to deliver to Europe, while shipping jabs to Britain.

Dr Kluge said new infections in Europe were rising in every age group except those aged over 80, a sign that the vaccinations that have gone to older groups are working but that the slow rollout was leaving younger people vulnerable.

“As variants of concern continue to spread and strain on hospitals grows, religious holidays are leading to increased mobility,” the WHO said.

“Speeding up vaccination rollout is crucial.”