Covid-19: 1.6 million lives saved in Europe thanks to vaccines, according to WHO

Le Covid-19 circule toute l’année, contrairement au virus de la grippe. DR

Vaccines have reduced the number of deaths from SARS-CoV-2 by 59% in the WHO European Region, according to a study by the World Health Organization. The health organization also confirms the summer wave that is hitting the region.

The Covid-19 vaccine is estimated to have saved 1.6 million lives in the World Health Organization European Region. According to a WHO/Europe study, based on data from the European surveillance system and published on 7 August in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, since their introduction in December 2020 and up to March 2023, vaccines have reduced deaths by at least 59%. The study focused on people aged 25 and over.

Since the start of the pandemic, the disease has claimed 2.2 million lives in the WHO European region, a figure that could have risen to 4 million without vaccines. "Most of those saved were aged 60 or over, the group most at risk of severe illness and death from SARS-CoV-2", notes the WHO press release. Thus, 96% of the lives saved were in people aged 60 and over and 52% in those aged 80 and over. It was when the Omicron variant was dominant that vaccines saved the most lives, according to the study (60% of lives saved).

A virus that has no season

These results are part of a new wave of the epidemic. In detail, according to the WHO, "the percentage of patients with respiratory disease and infected with SARS-CoV-2 in primary care has increased 5-fold over the last 8 weeks, and the percentage of patients hospitalized for contamination.

The figures remain lower than those of the winter wave but remind us that Covid-19 circulates all year round, unlike the flu virus. "Until this trend changes, the region could well experience multiple waves of infection each year, straining health systems and increasing the risk of disease, particularly for the most vulnerable", underlines the WHO.

More contagious sub-lineages

“Globally, JN.1 and its descendants, which include the FLiRT variants KP.2 and KP.3, remain the most reported variants. Recently, KP.3 has spawned its own descendant, KP.3.1.1, which is now the most common variant circulating in Europe, comprising nearly a quarter of sequenced viruses.” These sublineages are not more dangerous but are more contagious. Their existence is a reminder that the emergence of a new, more dangerous variant is possible and that surveillance remains essential.

The vaccine also remains an effective tool to reduce hospitalizations and deaths in people at risk – the elderly and immunocompromised, with comorbidities, pregnant women and healthcare workers. The vaccine also reduces the risk of developing long covid. “We urge people at high risk to remain vigilant and follow national COVID-19 vaccination recommendations, and WHO European Region Member States to continue implementing COVID-19 vaccination, targeting the most vulnerable”, insists Dr. Margaux Meslé of WHO/Europe and author of the study.

Finally, wearing a mask in crowded places and washing hands remain good prevention tools for vulnerable people.