The rate in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) continued to decrease for 12 weeks in a row, yet Spain observed an increase in test positivity compared with the previous week, and Cyprus and Portugal reported an increment in notification rates.
The Delta variant is capturing much of the attention. Cases of the Delta variant have been reported in 98 countries and “is spreading quickly in countries with low and high vaccination coverage”, warned Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Head of the World Health Organization (WHO). Fortunately, vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc have shown high effectiveness after two doses at preventing hospitalization of those infected with the Delta variant. The Johnson & Johnson Single-Shot vaccine has also shown strong neutralizing antibody activity against the Delta variant.
According to Bloomberg, the 3.22 million doses administered to date should be enough to fully vaccinate 21% of the global population, but inequitable vaccination is a reality. In the EU/EEA, the median cumulative uptake of at least one vaccine dose among adults aged 18 years and above is 62% and 39% for full vaccination. In the US, 54.6% of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Travel restrictions are constantly being updated to prevent COVID-19 new cases and variants. On July 1, the European Council added 10 countries and one entity/territorial authority to the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Jordan, Montenegro, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Saudi Arabia and Kosovo. The UK also updated the red, amber and green list rules for entering England on June 30. Among others, the Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Haiti, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda moved from amber to the red list.
The Delta variant is capturing much of the attention. Cases of the Delta variant have been reported in 98 countries and “is spreading quickly in countries with low and high vaccination coverage”, warned Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Head of the World Health Organization (WHO). Fortunately, vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc have shown high effectiveness after two doses at preventing hospitalization of those infected with the Delta variant. The Johnson & Johnson Single-Shot vaccine has also shown strong neutralizing antibody activity against the Delta variant.
According to Bloomberg, the 3.22 million doses administered to date should be enough to fully vaccinate 21% of the global population, but inequitable vaccination is a reality. In the EU/EEA, the median cumulative uptake of at least one vaccine dose among adults aged 18 years and above is 62% and 39% for full vaccination. In the US, 54.6% of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Travel restrictions are constantly being updated to prevent COVID-19 new cases and variants. On July 1, the European Council added 10 countries and one entity/territorial authority to the list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Jordan, Montenegro, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Saudi Arabia and Kosovo. The UK also updated the red, amber and green list rules for entering England on June 30. Among others, the Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Haiti, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda moved from amber to the red list.