EU to have delivered 1 billion vaccines by week’s end, says EC President Ursula von der Leyen

The European Union will have delivered 1 billion COVID vaccine doses to its member states by the end of the week, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

She made the comments as part of a statement calling for the vaccine drive to be further stepped up, as a new wave of COVID again threatens to decimate Europe.

A number of countries have reintroduced stringent COVID restrictions for their entire populations while others, such as Italy, have introduced new measures targeting unvaccinated individuals.

“The good news is that we have enough vaccine doses. By the end of this week, Europe will have delivered 1 billion doses to our Member States,” she said.

She also advocated for booster shots, stating people should take it within six months of the original vaccination, as “we must keep up the immunity of people who are vaccinated.”

Concluding, she warned that more people need to get vaccinated, pointing out that a quarter of EU adults have not yet received the jab.

Her statement came as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved a version of the vaccine for children aged five to 11, and as Europe reached a grim milestone of 1.5 million COVID deaths on Thursday.