WHO urges more targeted vaccination as COVID-19 cases surge in Europe

 

GENEVA: As COVID-19 cases balloon again in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) called on Friday (Nov 12) for more targeted vaccination efforts to ensure the most vulnerable worldwide get the jabs.

The UN health agency said Europe, once again at the epicentre of the pandemic, registered nearly two million COVID-19 cases last week.

That is "the most in a single week in the region since the pandemic started", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

But as countries scramble to rein in transmission by reimposing restrictions or rolling out more vaccines and boosters, WHO said it was vital to ensure the jabs were going to those who needed them most, on the continent and beyond.

"It is not just about how many people are vaccinated. It is about who is vaccinated," Tedros said.

"It makes no sense to give boosters to healthy adults, or to vaccinate children, when health workers, older people and other high-risk groups around the world are still waiting for their first dose," he said.