BRUSSELS, July 27 (Reuters) - The European Union is on
course to hit a target of fully vaccinating at least 70% of the
adult population by the end of summer given that percentage of
those 18 and over have now received a first dose, the European
Commission said on Tuesday.
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said the bloc had
reached an important milestone of 70% of adults having received
a first dose and 57% fully vaccinated. Projections showed that
the EU would reach its goal by the end of the summer, she said
in a statement.
The EU's vaccine campaign got off to a slow start relative
to the likes of Britain and the United States due to delays in
deliveries of vaccine doses, notably those of AstraZeneca,
against which it launched legal proceedings.
However, after a sharp ramp-up in supplies from the second
quarter, particularly of the Pfizer-BionTech vaccine, European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was now
among the world leaders.
"The catch-up process has been very successful - but we need
to keep up the effort," she said.
"The delta variant is very dangerous. I therefore call on
everyone - who has the opportunity - to be vaccinated. For their
own health and to protect others," she continued.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop)
Astrazeneca (AZN)