According to the World Health Organization (WHO). Almost two million cases of COVID-19 were reported in Europe last week, the most in a single week in that region since the pandemic. About 27,000 deaths were reported in the continent last week, more than half of all COVID-19 deaths globally.

WHO, speaks on newly recorded COVID-19 cases.

WHO Director-General, explained that the virus was not only surging in countries with lower vaccination rates in Eastern Europe but also in nations with some of the world’s highest vaccination rates in Western Europe

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said “It’s another reminder, as we have said again and again, that vaccines do not replace the need for other precautions. “Vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalization, severe disease and death, but they do not fully prevent transmission,” he said.

The Director-General recommend the proportionate use of testing, masks, physical distancing, improved ventilation, and other measures. “With the right mix of measures, it’s possible for countries to find the balance between keeping transmission down and keeping their societies and economies open.

“No country can simply vaccinate its way out of the pandemic,” Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said.

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus further said, “it makes no sense” to give boosters to healthy adults or to vaccinate children, when health workers, older people and other high-risk groups around the world are still waiting for their first dose. Every day, there are six times more boosters administered globally than primary doses in low-income countries, which he described as “a scandal that must stop now”.

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus also provided an update on COVAX, the UN-led worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to vaccines. “The vast majority of countries are ready to get doses into arms, but they need the doses,” he said.

Dr Ghebreyesus further explained that the pandemic has affected other vaccination campaigns, Reports was made by the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the reports shows that more than 22million infants missed their first dose of measles vaccine last year – three million more than in 2019 – marking the largest increase in two decades.

Reports also show cases decreased by more than 80 per cent.

“But this decrease is cause for concern, not celebration,” he said, explaining that measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 may have contributed, noting that lab specimens sent for testing were the lowest in a decade.

“The drop in vaccination, combined with weak monitoring, testing and reporting, create the ideal conditions for explosive outbreaks of measles,” he said.