In recent weeks, Europe has tended to turn, once again, into its global focus Covid-19. The fifth wave of the pandemic is already hitting many countries hard, breaking records of new daily cases - and in some cases - deaths.
And in view of the coming winter, which has already declared "present" in several European northern countries, many fear that the worst is yet to come. The World Health Organization is already talking about a factor that causes "great concern", while public health systems, having already suffered considerably during the previous waves of the pandemic, they will once again be at their limits.
As the head of the WHO for Europe, Hans Kluge, characteristically stated, if the current trend is not stopped, then we will talk about a tragedy until the end of winter. This is because on In 53 countries for which it is responsible (of the European zone), the virus could cause up to half a million new deaths in the next 100 days or so - an average of 5.000 daily!
The truth, of course, is how the situation is much worse outside the EU - especially in Russia it tends to become dramatic. Even within the "27", however, the picture is not uniform. And in this, as one can easily see by comparing the official data from the relevant graph, there is one factor that proves to be decisive: The percentage of fully vaccinated in each country.
Very simple: The higher this is, the lower the number of deaths. The same is true for those who get sick, as a study in Germany showed that only 0,26% of those who are fully vaccinated develop symptoms.
This is an indisputable finding, even if the ratio is not stable, as other factors play a role - such as the state of health systems, which is particularly important in Germany, France and the Nordic countries.
It is no coincidence, therefore, that among the countries with the fewest deaths in the last two weeks (as of Monday, November 8) are the two Iberian neighbors: Spain recorded almost 8 deaths per million inhabitants and Portugal about 7, as the percentage of fully vaccinated is over 80% and 85% respectively and is among the highest in the EU. As for Malta, where almost all have been vaccinated population, rightly in the best position, with the fewest deaths - just 3,88 per million.
The situation in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the Baltics is diametrically opposed. As can be seen in the graph, in Bulgaria and Romania - where the percentage of fully vaccinated is just over 20% and 30% respectively - it has signaled a red alert. The first, in fact, which has a population much smaller than Greece (7 million) reported 334 deaths in the last 24 hours alone!
The relatively low vaccination rate also plays a key role, as shown by its association with deaths in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. (even if it exceeds 50% in all three), but mainly in Croatia and Slovakia, where it is a little over 40%.
As for Greece, which ranks ninth worst in terms of the number of deaths by Covid per million in the past two weeks, while it is well below the European average in the percentage of fully vaccinated - while the NSS remains without the necessary infrastructure , despite the constant calls and suggestions of the health - the answers are obvious as to the reasons for the great deterioration of the last days.
in.gr
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