Europe rethinks booster shot policy as COVID cases hit records
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[November 24, 2021]
By Francesco Guarascio and Jason Hovet
BRUSSELS/PRAGUE (Reuters) - Coronavirus
infections broke records on Wednesday in parts of Europe, once again the
epicentre of a pandemic which has prompted new curbs on movement and
made health experts think again about booster vaccination shots.
Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary all reported new highs in daily
infections as winter grips the continent and people gather indoors in
the run-up to Christmas, providing a perfect breeding ground for
COVID-19.
The disease has swept the world in the two years since it was first
identified in central China, infecting more than 258 million people and
killing 5.4 million.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the EU
public health agency, recommended vaccine boosters for all adults, with
priority for those over 40, in a major shift of policy.
"Available evidence emerging from Israel and the UK shows a significant
increase in protection against infection and severe disease following a
booster dose in all age groups in the short term," the ECDC said in a
report published on Wednesday.
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Many EU countries have already begun giving booster doses to their
populations but are using different criteria to make priorities and
different intervals between the first shots and boosters.
ECDC head Andrea Ammon said boosters would increase protection against
infection caused by waning immunity and "could potentially reduce the
transmission in the population and prevent additional hospitalisations
and deaths".
She advised countries with low levels of vaccination to speed up their
rollouts and warned of high risks of a further spike in deaths and
hospitalisations in Europe in December and January if the recommended
measures are not introduced.
Sweden will begin gradually rolling out boosters to all adults,
government and health officials said. Booster shots of mRNA vaccine have
been offered to people aged 65 or above, with an eye to eventually
extending the shots to other groups.
"We are faced with an uncertain winter," Health Minister Lena Hallengren
told a news conference. "You can contribute by staying home if you're
sick or by getting vaccinated if you haven't already, and taking your
booster when you're offered it."
Unlike many of its neighbours, Sweden has not been hit by a new wave of
infections, and hospitalisations remain relatively low, but there have
been scattered signs the pandemic is picking up pace.
Slovakia reported its highest daily rise in cases on Wednesday, just
ahead of a government meeting likely to agree a short-term lockdown to
quell the world's fastest surge in infections.
VACCINATION RESERVATIONS
Neighbouring Austria has already locked down its population this week
for at least 10 days, becoming the first to reimpose such restrictions.
It will also require the whole population to be vaccinated from Feb. 1,
infuriating many in a country where scepticism about state mandates
affecting individual freedoms runs high.
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A medic tends to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients at the
intensive care unit (ICU) of Pirogov hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria,
October 15, 2021. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
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The Czech Republic reported its highest daily rise in
infections, with cases surpassing 25,000 for the first time and
putting further strain on hospitals.
The country of 10.7 million has the world's fourth-highest infection
rate per capita, according to Our World in Data.
The Czech government, due to hand over power in the coming weeks
after losing an October election, has put in place measures barring
unvaccinated people from restaurants, cinemas and other services
such as hairdressers, aiming to boost vaccination figures that lag
many in the European Union.
The outgoing government is also looking to institute mandatory
vaccines for people over 60 and some professions, like healthcare
workers.
Hungary reported a record 12,637 new daily COVID-19 cases, bringing
the total to 1.045 million with 33,519 deaths.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, which opposes further
lockdowns for fear of stifling the economy, launched a vaccination
campaign this week, offering shots without prior registration.
However, the idea of mandatory vaccinations has raised concerns
among Hungarians, with some expressing reservations despite already
being vaccinated.
"Making the vaccine obligatory is a difficult thing as it could
limit people severely, including from earning a living, so I think
such a decision should be made very carefully," said Zsuzsanna
Koszoru as she lined up for a booster jab.
Many German regions have already started to impose tighter rules
amid the country's worst COVID surge yet as the curtain comes down
on the Angela Merkel era, including demanding that vaccinated people
show a negative test to attend indoor events.
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Outgoing Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Monday that by the end
of the winter almost everyone in Germany would be "vaccinated,
recovered or dead".
(Reporting by Jason Hovet, Robert Muller, Gergely Szakacs, Niklas
Pollard, Andreas Rinke, Riham Alkousaa and Sarah Marsh in bureaux
across Europe; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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