EU hits goal of vaccinating 70% of adults against COVID

31 August 2021, 2:09 pm

Edit

Christian Gravert, left, chief medical officer of the Deutsche Bahn, vaccinates a man with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in a special train of the public transport S-Bahn, in which vaccination against COVID-19 are offered, in Berlin, Germany, August 30, 2021. (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP)

BRUSSELS — The president of the European Union’s executive arm says the 27-nation bloc has reached its goal of getting 70% of the adults in the EU fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of the summer.

In a message posted today on Twitter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen thanks “the many people making this great achievement possible.”

The EU’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign got off to a slow start due to supply shortages and delays but now is among the most successful worldwide.

“But we must go further! We need more Europeans to vaccinate,” von der Leyen says. “And we need to help the rest of the world vaccinate, too. We’ll continue supporting our partners.”

She says the EU is the biggest contributor to the COVAX initiative, which aims to deliver vaccines to low-income nations.