Herd immunity by summer is possible, says EU commissioner
Brussels: COVID-19 herd immunity could be achieved in Europe by July, an EU commissioner has said. The bloc's vaccination drive is expected to speed up after a sluggish rollout that has been besieged by setbacks, DW reported on Monday.
"Let's take a symbolic date: by July 14 [Bastille Day], we have the possibility of achieving immunity across the continent," Thierry Breton, the EU's commissioner for the internal market, told French broadcaster TF1.
Breton's comments were paralleled by French vaccination chief Alain Fischer, who expects France to return to some kind of "normal" living conditions by summer or autumn thanks to an acceleration of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
The optimistic note comes as several European countries are experiencing surges in Coronavirus infections and have reimposed lockdowns, and after mixed messaging on the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Over a third of France's population is now under renewed lockdown, while Germany, Amsterdam, Bulgaria and Switzerland are dealing with protests over extended rounds of virus curbs.
A patchy vaccine drive has complicated Europe's efforts in its battle against a resurging third wave of infections that included several nations temporarily halting AstraZeneca's jabs in response to isolated cases of blood clots.
Most countries have reimplemented AstraZeneca after the European Medicines Agency found it "safe and effective." However, the company has only delivered 30% of its 90 million promised doses for the first quarter.
Breton said that 55 factories would now be producing vaccines in Europe, and he was confident that more vaccines will arrive soon, with 300-500 million doses expected between March and June.
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The EU is to be reminded of its commitment to allow vaccine manufacturers to fulfill orders, British social care minister Helen Whatley said.
There will be "robust" talks with the bloc to ensure exports are not blocked, the minister added. She emphasized the importance "that companies are able to fulfill their contractual obligations."
A second Chinese vaccine has been authorised for emergency use in Hungary, China's CanSino Biologics Inc said on Monday. The CanSinoBIO's vaccine is a single-dose shot that is currently also approved in China, Pakistan and Mexico.
Hungarywas the first EU nation to buy and use Chinese or Russian shots and initially faced criticism for its go-it-alone approval process and negotiations for the vaccines.
Other European countries have expressed interest in buying those vaccines as shipments from Western suppliers lagged.
Maharashtra, India's richest state, reported 30,535 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, which could send the country's overall cases to a multi-month high when national data is released later on Monday.
