After more than a year of Covid-19 restrictions, the vaccine is now everywhere on the news. Some European countries are more advanced than others, we might think that our neighbours are faster than us.
What tells the figures ?
We have heard for a long time that Germany was doing better than the rest. It appears that they are not. In fact, some countries like France or Germany have chosen to vaccine more people with one dose, than fully vaccinating their population.
About 20 millions people took their first dose while only 6 millions have been fully vaccinated. They are not alone to try to play on the figures. In France, about 17 millions people received their first dose and half of them took their second dose.
But there is even worse. The UK are seen like the more advanced European country in terms of vaccination with 35 millions of people receiving one dose. Around 17 millions, so even not half of them are fully vaccinated.
In Ireland, the rhythm is quite fast. For a population of almost 5 millions people, 1.4 million of people have had their first dose administered and 500 thousand are fully vaccinated.
You’d say “at least they have their first dose already and get less chance to catch the virus.” And you would be right. But the issue is that this Coronavirus vaccination is getting like a race against time between the rest of the world. It’s been six months since the vaccines are ready and even not a third of the whole continent has received their first dose.
Why is it so long ?
The European Commission is distributing vaccines doses in the members of the EU proportionally with its population. But they are also slow to approve the different vaccines. 105 days after the Britain’s deal, the EU approved the AstraZeneca contract in August 2020. When we look closer at the data, the EU is always approving the vaccines process after the UK and the US.
It is actually a good thing the European Commission is taking precious caution with the vaccines approvements, it is for the sake of the population. The biggest problem is not the approvement but the late due to the lack of vaccines since the beginning of the vaccines roll-out.
What about the figures of people willing to take the vaccine ?
Well, it has been a very complicated issue so far. First of all, many Europeans believe the roll-out of the different vaccines was way too fast in a way that they couldn’t have time to test them. After that, some bad news about AstraZeneca confirmed their doubts. People are globally sceptical depending on the countries.
In the UK, nearly 90% are willing to take the vaccine while across the Channel, in France, only half of them would take it.
We are now waiting for the European decision concerning the vaccine, will it be mandatory or not ? In a democracy, people should be free to take a vaccine, or not. Let’s hope the European Commission have not forgotten the principle of the democracy then.
