In an on-line press conference, WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge raised the alarm about an increase in contagions and regretted the hesitating vaccination in parts of the continent.

A large part of the so-called ‘Old Continent’ is facing peaks in infections, for example, Germany on Thursday reported its highest number of new cases in a day since the pandemic began, he noted.

Kluge said the current rate of transmission in Europe is “very worrying and we are, once again, at the epicenter.”

He also explained that in recent months the rate of vaccination decreased throughout the continent.

On average, only 47 percent of people in the region, which includes European and other Central Asian countries, are fully vaccinated, according to WHO.

In Spain, 80 percent of people are fully immunized with two doses, while in France and Germany vaccination reach 68 and 66 percent of the population, respectively.

PL 11/5/2021 9:21 OMS-EUROPA/COVID19

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