The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the ‘European’ branch of the World Health Organization reported, on Thursday 4 November, a worrying return to a rise in Covid-19 cases in Europe. At a press conference, both organisations called for the continuation of vaccination campaigns.
“The current pace of transmission in the 53 countries of the WHO European Region is of grave concern. Covid-19 cases are once again approaching record levels”, said Hans Henri Kluge, WHO Regional Director, noting that the Delta variant remains the most prevalent form of the virus.
According to WHO ‘Europe’, the region has seen an increase of more than 55% in new cases of Covid-19 in the last 4 weeks and hospital admission rates due to the virus have more than doubled in the last 7 days. The most rapid increase was seen in the older population groups.
“Cumulatively, there are now more reported cases – 78 million – in the European Region than in South-East Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Western Pacific and Africa combined”, Mr Kluge also detailed.
He said the surge in cases was due to “insufficient vaccination coverage” on the one hand, and the easing of health restrictions on the other.
This is a finding shared by the EMA, which recommends that barrier measures and sanitary measures, such as physical distancing or wearing a mask, continue to be carefully applied.
In addition, the Agency said, on Thursday, that, in view of the health context, it would shortly consider issuing an opinion to support an emergency use authorisation in each Member State for molnupiravir (see EUROPE 12819/21), an oral antiviral that was authorised the same day in the UK.
Seven other candidate treatments are currently under evaluation by the European Agency. The process is currently at an advanced stage for five of them. Three could “most likely” be authorised by the end of the year. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)