EU reaches summer goal of 70% of adults getting COVID-19 vaccine

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The European Union said it reached its goal of getting 70% of adults fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the end of summer.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, made the announcement on Tuesday and thanked EU residents for reaching the benchmark of more than 250 million people getting immunized.

The EU said in April it would reach herd immunity by vaccinating 70% of the EU’s adult population. But the health crisis has changed over time, including serious talk about people needing booster shots.

Oxford Vaccine Group Director Andrew Pollard said the spread of the more contagious delta variant makes herd immunity “not a possibility.”

In her remarks, von der Leyen reminded EU residents the pandemic is not over and that there is still much to be done.

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“And I call on everyone who can to get vaccinated,” von der Leyen said. “This is the only way to protect yourself and the others.”


Von der Leyen said the EU needs to help others around the world get vaccinated, an effort that includes backing COVAX, a global initiative aimed at accelerating the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

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The announcement comes one day after the EU removed the United States from its COVID-19 “safe list” and recommended that all nonessential travel to the EU from the country be suspended. To be on the list, a country must have no more than 75 infections per 100,000 people per day over the last two weeks.

Over the last week, the U.S. infection rate has risen to 333 cases per 100,000 people, according to Reuters.

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