The World Health Organization (WHO) expected that another 236,000 people could die from COVID-19 in Europe by December 1.
The health organisation raised the alarm over the rising infections and stagnating vaccine rates on the continent.
“Last week, there was an 11 percent increase in the number of deaths in the region – one reliable projection is expecting 236,000 deaths in Europe, by December 1,” WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said.
Kluge said the Delta variant was partly to blame, along with an “exaggerated easing” of restrictions and measures and a surge in summer travel.
“In the past six weeks, it has fallen by 14 percent, influenced by a lack of access to vaccines in some countries and a lack of vaccine acceptance in others,” Kluge said, urging countries to “increase production, share doses, and improve access”.
“Vaccine scepticism and science denial is holding us back from stabilising this crisis. It serves no purpose, and is good for no one.”
The warning comes as the WHO and UNICEF urged European countries earlier on Monday to make teachers a priority group for vaccination so schools can stay open throughout the pandemic.
Delta Variant Risks
The Delta variant is far more infectious than the previously dominant Alpha variant.
The variant is more transmissible than others and was first identified in India. But it has spread rapidly in the UK.
However, Portugal was the first European Union nation to announce that the Delta variant was now dominant on its territory.
According to the WHO, it is “well on its way” to accounting for a majority of worldwide cases of Covid-19.
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