Covid, WHO: vaccines have saved almost one and a half million lives in Europe

Anti-Covid vaccines in Europe have saved nearly one and a half million lives. This is demonstrated by a study by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to which, without vaccines, the cumulative budget of the European Region would have been approximately four million deaths, maybe even higher. In 2023 the total number of deaths from Covid in the world exceeded seven million (although, according to the WHO itself, the true death toll could be up to three times higher). Our analysis of 44 countries found that over 90% of the lives saved involved people over the age of 60 – he said Hans Henri Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe —. Overall, vaccines reduced deaths by 57% in the European Region between December 2020, when administrations began, and March 2023. Today, 1.4 million people, mostly elderly, are here and can enjoy life with their loved ones because they have made the fundamental decision to get vaccinated. This is the power of vaccines. The evidence is irrefutable.

Vaccinate at-risk groups

Even today it is useful to protect yourself. WHO recommends that people at highest risk of Covid continue to be vaccinated 6 to 12 months after their most recent dose: elderly, pregnant women, immunocompromised, people with significant chronic medical conditions and front-line healthcare workers Kluge explained, stressing that vulnerable groups must learn to live with Covid and other respiratory viruses, keeping up to date with vaccinations against Covid and influenza. On the public health front, the WHO regional director expressed concern: While health systems are under pressure, we may be unprepared to deal with anything out of the ordinarysuch as the emergence of a new and more serious variant of Covid or a yet unknown pathogen.

The JN.1 variant

Hans Kluge finally urged countries not to lower their guard: Although Covid infection rates are largely decreasing in the European Region, the situation can change rapidly. A new variant of interest, JN.1, is rapidly replacing the others. It is now the most common reported globally and the dominant variant circulating in our Region, where it represents 79% of the variants sequenced. While there is no evidence that JN.1 is more serious, the unpredictable nature of this virus shows how vital it is that countries continue to monitor for any new variants. Many have reduced or stopped reporting Covid to the WHO. I cannot stress enough how important continued surveillance of this virus, along with other circulating respiratory pathogens, is.

The protective measures

The years of the pandemic have taught us a lot, not least that protecting ourselves and others from respiratory infections must be the new way of life – he added -. It means assess our level of risk and the risk to others at every stage of the day. And then apply the most important protective measures to reduce the chances of contracting or spreading respiratory infections, from staying at home in case of illness, to hand and cough hygiene, to adequate internal ventilation and the use of a mask in certain environments, such as hospitals or crowded places.

The English study

In an other new study, published on The Lancet
how many hospitalizations and deaths could have been avoided in the United Kingdom, with greater vaccination coverage against Covid: seven thousand, in the summer of 2022 alone. This is the first study conducted on the entire population of the four nations (England, Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland), i.e 67 million people. After the initial success of the vaccination campaign in the United Kingdom (over 90% of the population over 12 years vaccinated with at least one dose in January 2022), the administrations have had mixed success. In this large study, from Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and the University of Edinburgh, scientists analyzed public health data relating to all those who were over 5 years of age in the period between 1 June and 30 September 2022.

The numbers

The results reveal that the percentage of people under-vaccinated as of June 1, 2022 ranged between a third and half of the population: 45.7% for England, 34.2% for Scotland, 32.8% for Wales and 49.8% for Northern Ireland. Statistical calculations indicated that 7,180 hospitalizations and deaths out of around 40,400 cases of severe Covid during the four months of summer 2022 could have been avoided if the UK population had been fully vaccinated. Undervaccination (i.e. not having received all the doses of vaccine for which you are eligible) was related to a significantly higher number of hospitalizations and deaths in all age groups, with people over 75 years of age more than double likely to have a severe Covid outcome compared to those who were fully protected. The highest rates of undervaccination were found in young people, in males, in people living in poor areas and in people of non-white ethnicity.

Lives saved

Anti-Covid vaccines save human lives. As new variants emerge, this study will help identify the groups and areas of the country where public health campaigns should be focused commented Aziz Sheikh, director of the Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh, one of the authors of the work. The search result a great confirmation of the benefits of vaccination added Alan Keys, collaborator of the British Heart Foundation Data Science Center at HDR UK and co-author of the survey.

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