European Union estimates up to 80% population has been infected by Covid

As the EU approaches a post-emergency phase in which bulk reporting of cases is no longer obligatory, the European Commission estimates that between 60% and 80% of the EU population has been infected with COVID-19.

 

In order to prepare for this less severe phase, European Union states should increase COVID-19 immunisation of children, according to the bloc’s executive council, which also hinted at intentions to produce antivirals.

 

‘Around 60 percent to 80 percent of the EU population has received COVID by now,’EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said at a press briefing.

 

“Around 60 percent to 80 percent of the EU population has received COVID by now,” EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said at a press briefing.

 

According to the EU public health agency, reported cases have covered about 30% of the European population so far, but if unreported infections are included, the number of cases could rise to 350 million, or 77 percent of the population.

 

The EU is moving away from mass testing and reporting of cases due to a recent decline in infections and deaths associated to COVID-19, Kyriakides said, corroborating what Reuters reported on Tuesday.

 

 

Brussels asked states to continue pressing for immunisation of the unvaccinated, particularly children, before the start of the new school year in the autumn, in a document outlining the pandemic’s post-emergency strategy.

 

Immunization rates among children aged 5 to 9, the youngest age group for whom COVID-19 vaccines have been approved in Europe, are below 15%. According to the document, almost 70% of youths aged 15 to 17 fall into this category.

 

The Commission also stated that it may support the development of new COVID-19 medications, particularly antivirals that are easier to store and administer.

 

The EU said it will “look into the possibility of supporting research aimed at the development of antivirals.”