Press conferences took on an almost celebratory tone as Presidents, Prime Ministers and Chancellors announced road maps away from Covid-19 restrictions, hailing their country’s uptake rates and speaking colorfully about a return to normalcy.
But as another Covid-struck winter grips Europe, many of those countries are now reversing course.
This is all taking place despite one central fact remaining true — the vaccines are working, and working well.
The vaccine “continues to provide very good protection — the immunity against severe disease and death is very well maintained,” Charles Bangham, a professor of immunology and the co-director of Imperial College London’s Institute of Infection, told CNN.
“But we know that the Delta variant is very much more infectious,” he said. “At the same time, there have been changes in society and behavior … and in many countries, some of the precautions are being less stringently observed.”
To put it simply, when it comes to stopping transmission, even a very good vaccination rate isn’t always good enough.
“Vaccinations help,” said Ralf Reintjes, professor of epidemiology and public health surveillance at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany. “They’re one stone in the process of stopping the virus. But it’s not strong enough alone.”
What counts as ‘highly vaccinated’?
Ireland is home to one of Europe’s highest vaccination rates — 89.1% of people over the age of 12, and three-quarters of all people, having been immunized — but it recently imposed a midnight curfew on bars, restaurants and nightclubs…
Source : cnn
