ECDC hampered by problems when pandemic hit
Updated / Tuesday, 9 Feb 2021
14:27
Europe Editor
The lead agency for monitoring and controlling the spread of infectious diseases in Europe was hampered by a catalogue of problems when the coronavirus pandemic struck, according to an investigation by EU Ombudsman Emily O Reilly.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control struggled in the early weeks of the crisis due to a lack of resources, poor data from member states, and incomplete information from China, where the pandemic originated, according to a report published this morning.
Speaking on RTÉ s Morning Ireland, Ms O Reilly said the agency met with resistance when it attempted to get any sort of a grip on the capacity of member states.
Portugal has administered over 338,000 doses of vaccine By TPN/Lusa, in News, Health · 03-02-2021 19:10:00 · 2 Comments
Portugal has already administered over 338,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, including over 269,000 first doses and over 68,000 second doses, according to the Directorate General for Health (DGS).
Questioned by Lusa, the DGS said that on 31 January had been applied 269,563 first doses and 68,7747 second doses, totalling 338,310 doses, equivalent to about 3.3 percent of the population.
The information differs from the online vaccination monitor of the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), where only about 166,000 first doses administered in Portugal are recorded.
The DGS states that this information does not correspond to that submitted on the TESSy platform (European Surveillance System)
Overview of the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination strategies and vaccine deployment plans in the EU/EEA Technical report This technical report provides an updated overview of the progress of national COVID-19 vaccination strategies including vaccine deployment plans and their rollout in the EU/EEA. It also provides new insights into some of the critical aspects and challenges of the implementation.
Executive summary
On 19 January 2021 the European Commission set out actions to step up the response against the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate the rollout of vaccination campaigns across the EU, with the aim to vaccinate a minimum of 70% of the adult population by the summer of 2021.
Greece continues to be the only country in the European Union with 'green' zones in the revised pandemic maps released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and.
Risk Assessment: Risk related to spread of new SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in the EU/EEA Risk assessment This risk assessment presents the latest available information on the recent emergence of two variants of potential concern, VOC 202012/01 discovered in the United Kingdom (UK) and another variant, 501.V2 identified in South Africa. It also assesses the risk of these variants of concern being introduced and spread in the EU/EEA, as well as the increased impact this would have on health systems in the coming weeks.
Executive summary
Viruses constantly change through mutation, and so the emergence of new variants is an expected occurrence and not in itself a cause for concern; SARS-CoV-2 is no exception. A diversification of SARS-CoV-2 due to evolution and adaptation processes has been observed globally.