UPDATED: EU vaccination campaign catching up, von der Leyen says, EU looking to summer with optimism

The European COVID-19 vaccination campaign is gaining speed and catching up with that of the United States, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.

“We aim to have offered a jab to 70% of all adults by the end of July…this is almost the same target as the one the U.S. has set,” she told a conference.

Critics of the EU vaccination campaign should keep in mind that the EU has exported 220 million jabs, almost as many as it has used for its own citizens, von Leyen said in a snipe at the U.S. and Britain.

“Others are keeping their entire vaccine production all to themselves, but the EU will reach its vaccination targets without sealing itself off from the world.”

The European Union commissioner for health said on Thursday she was looking towards the summer with optimism as COVID-19 vaccinations in the bloc picked up speed.

“Over 20 million vaccinations are taking place every week in the EU, compared to a few hundred thousand per week in January,” Stella Kyriakides told a news conference after a video conference of EU health ministers.

“We can now look ahead with more confidence and also look towards the summer with cautious optimism,” she added, noting that 40% of the EU’s adult population had received at least one dose of vaccine, and 17% was fully vaccinated. 

Photo: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a press conference in Brussels, Belgium. EPA-EFE/JOHN THYS / POOL