WHO: COVID-19 Vaccines Saved Nearly 470,000 Lives of People over 60 in 33 European Countries

The COVID-19 vaccine has saved 469,186 lives for people aged 60 and over in 33 countries in the WHO European Region since the start of the vaccination campaign. This is evidenced by the results of a new study by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the organizations said in a press release, quoted by TASS.

The assessment did not take into account the lives saved from vaccination in the age group under 60 years and the lives whose lives were saved due to the indirect effects of vaccination due to reduced transmission of coronavirus. The study was conducted in 23 countries of the European Union, as well as in Iceland, Norway, Great Britain (England and Scotland), Switzerland, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Ukraine and Israel.

"COVID-19 has led to a huge number of deaths in our region, but now we can say with certainty that without the vaccine as a tool to control this pandemic, many more people would have died," said Hans Kluge, director of the WHO's European branch. In some countries, the number of deaths would be twice as high today as without vaccines. That is why it is crucial that all Member States in the European region reach a high reach of people at risk as soon as possible."

Since December 2019, countries in the WHO European Region have reported more than 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus deaths, of which 90.2% are in people aged 60 and over. The rapid development and deployment of coronavirus vaccines has provided much-needed protection against serious disease and death for millions of the most vulnerable, but the speed and scale of deployment of these vaccines is uneven across the WHO European Region.

Currently, in these 33 countries, 20%...