31/08/2021 (Agence Europe) – The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced, on Tuesday 31 August, that 70% of people over the age of 18 are now fully vaccinated. “In total, more than 256 million adults in the EU have now received a full vaccine course”, the Commission said in a statement. However, there are significant disparities in this picture (see EUROPE 12778/6): according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the rate is still below 50% in six countries. It even stagnates at 20% in Bulgaria. Without elaborating on these imbalances, the President called for more Europeans to be vaccinated in order to “avoid a new wave of infection and to stop the emergence of new variants”. The President also said that the EU should “help the rest of the world vaccinate”. (AC)