Vaccine ineffective to curb rising Covid-19 infections in Europe.
QUICK FACTS:
- The European Union reported 1.02 million new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, according to Forbes.
- The high total sets a record single-day rise as the omicron variant spreads rapidly throughout the well-vaccinated region.
- The total—up from nearly 900,000 on Tuesday—also marks the second consecutive day of record-breaking coronavirus infections in Europe, show data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University and Our World In Data.
- The number of new cases reported in the bloc each day has increased rapidly since the last week of December, notes Forbes, up from roughly 200,000 to 300,000 a day, earlier in the month.
- 72.9% of Europe’s total population has received a Covid-19 vaccine, 68.6% being called fully vaccinated, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control as of Thursday morning.
- Europe’s high vaccination rate and rising coronavirus infections in the region raise questions about the vaccine’s effectiveness.
FRANCE, ITALY, & SPAIN:
- France logged a record 332,000 new cases on Wednesday, which is the highest of any country in Europe as well as the second highest in the world after the U.S., which reported 644,000, Forbes reports. 78.6% of France’s population has received the Covid-19 vaccine, 73.6% being fully vaccinated.
- Italy and Spain reported 189,000 and 137,000 new cases, respectively, the fourth and fifth highest in the world. Italy is 80.5% vaccinated (74.3% fully), while Spain is 84.1% vaccinated (75.2% fully).
BACKGROUND:
- The U.S. also just reported nearly one million new coronavirus infections on Monday, the highest daily tally of any country in the world, though the country is highly vaccinated.
- Google data as of Wednesday showed 62.2% of Americans are fully vaccinated, 74.3% having received at least one jab.
