Coronavirus – “Bell-bell” from ECDC: The pandemic is not over – There is no time for complacency

“There is no doubt that the pandemic it is not over and there is no time for complacency” declared the director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Andrea Amon during her speech to the European Parliament’s special committee on coronavirus.

“There are still people at risk of serious illness who we need to protect as soon as possiblehe noted according to the Athens News Agency.

“The goal of all vaccination efforts is to prevent serious illness and death”

“Even the goal of all efforts to vaccination is to prevent severe disease and death, and what we have seen so far is that current vaccines are still effective against severe disease,” said Ms. Amon.

“Over the last three weeks there has been an increase in case rates and hospitalizations,” he said and reiterated his recommendation ECDC and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for a second booster dose for those over 60 or more vulnerable.

“We have seen that many countries will prepare for vaccination campaigns a little later, in September or laterit will therefore take some efforts to achieve an immediate campaign now because by September we believe that most countries will be at or above the peak and thus the impact for the booster dose will be smaller” added the ECDC director.

“We still don’t know what the epidemiological situation will be in the fall, what the variant will be circulating,” he pointed out, adding that it is important that countries also prepare a systematic and robust surveillance system not only for the coronavirus, but also for other diseases respiratory, first of all for the flu.