Vaccines have reduced the number of deaths from SARS-CoV-2 by 59% in the WHO European Region, according to a study by the World Health Organization. The Health Organization also confirms the summer wave hitting the region.
The COVID-19 vaccine is estimated to have saved 1.6 million lives in the World Health Organization’s European region, according to a WHO/Europe study, based on data from the European surveillance system and published on 7 August in The Lancet Respiratory Medecinesince their introduction in December 2020 and through March 2023, vaccines have reduced deaths by at least 59%. The study focused on those aged 25 and older.
Since the start of the pandemic, the disease has caused 2.2 million deaths in the WHO European zone; this figure could have risen to 4 million without vaccines. “Most of those rescued were aged 60 or older, the group most at risk of severe illness and death from SARS-CoV-2,” notes the WHO press release. Thus, 96% of the lives saved were people aged 60 and over and 52% were 80 and over. It was when the Omicron variant was dominant that vaccines saved the most lives, according to the study (60% of lives saved).
A virus that has no season
These results come in the context of a new wave of the epidemic. In detail, according to the WHO, “The percentage of patients with respiratory disease infected with SARS-CoV-2 in primary care has increased fivefold over the past 8 weeks, and the percentage of patients hospitalized for contamination.
The figures remain lower than those of the winter wave but remind us that Covid-19 circulates all year round, unlike the flu virus. “Until this trend changes, the region could well experience multiple waves of infection each year, straining health systems and increasing the risk of disease, particularly for the most vulnerable,” WHO stresses.
More contagious sublineages
“Globally, JN.1 and its descendants, which include the FLiRT variants KP.2 and KP.3, remain the most reported variants. Recently, KP.3 has spawned its own descendant, KP.3.1.1, which is now the most common variant circulating in Europe, comprising almost a quarter of sequenced viruses.” These sublineages are not more dangerous but are more contagious. Their existence is a reminder that the emergence of a new, more dangerous variant is possible and that surveillance remains essential.
The vaccine also remains an effective tool to reduce hospitalizations and deaths in people at risk – the elderly and immunocompromised, those with comorbidities, pregnant women and health care workers. The vaccine also reduces the risks of developing long covid. “We urge those at high risk to remain vigilant and follow national COVID-19 vaccination recommendations, and Member States in the WHO European Region to continue implementing COVID-19 vaccination, targeting the most vulnerable,” insists Dr. Margaux Meslé of WHO/Europe and author of the study.
Finally, wearing a mask in crowded places and washing hands remain good prevention tools for vulnerable people.
