COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing in Europe. Here are some of the vaccination plans across the continent.
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France launched a new vaccination campaign against COVID-19 this week, urging people at risk to receive another booster dose of updated vaccines to combat the latest circulating variants.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), cases are increasing in more than half of European countries, with some countries seeing increases in hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and deaths, although these continue are limited.
Although around 73% of citizens in EU and European Economic Area (EEA) countries have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the uptake of booster doses is lower.
According to the ECDC, just over half of Europeans have received the first booster dose and only 14% have received the second.
Below are some vaccination guidelines in EU countries and what to do if you test positive for COVID-19 in most EU countries.
Who should get vaccinated against COVID?
European countries are recommending a booster shot to vulnerable people at risk of severe COVID-19 disease, and some governments have brought forward their winter vaccination campaigns as cases rise at the end of the summer season.
The start of vaccination campaigns also coincides with the rollout of updated vaccines against Omicron subvariants such as XBB 1.5, which have become dominant across the continent.
These updated vaccines were also found to protect against related variants such as EG.5 and BA.2.86.
France expected it this week Vaccination campaign against COVID-19 and calls on people at risk to receive a booster vaccination. The vaccine is free for anyone who wants to receive it in the country.
It is recommended for people over 65 years old, people with comorbidities or immunodeficiency, pregnant women, people living in nursing homes and people in contact with vulnerable people.
The German Robert Koch Institute now recommends an annual booster vaccination against COVID-19 for people with an increased risk of serious illness, such as those over 60, residents of care facilities and people with comorbidities.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach received a new booster dose last month to persuade others to do the same.
Spain has updated its Vaccination recommendations for the winter in September and urged people over 60, nursing home residents, immunocompromised people, pregnant women and people with comorbidities to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and flu.
The Netherlands I started doing that too Vaccinate risk groups again against COVID-19. People who want to be vaccinated because they live with people who are at risk of developing more severe forms of the disease can also receive the vaccination.
From April, fifth booster doses were made available in Poland for people at risk of serious illness and for medical staff.
Bulgaria began its new campaign with vaccines against the Omicron XBB subvariant last week, with vaccines available for people ages 12 and older.
According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Health, vaccination is “strongly recommended” for the elderly, chronically ill people, immunocompromised people, pregnant women, and healthcare and nursing home workers.
One of the concerns of the winter season is the simultaneous spread of COVID-19 with other respiratory diseases such as influenza and RSV, and the possibility of the three viruses overwhelming hospitals.
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“In the last winter season, although SARS-CoV-2 circulated much less frequently than in the previous two years, its impact was amplified by the simultaneous spread of influenza and RSV, which caused health services to come under severe pressure.” Andrea Ammon , Director of ECDC, said in September.
“Despite the uncertainty about how the 2023/2024 season will unfold, we must act now to minimize the expected burden on health systems from the co-circulation of respiratory viruses,” he said, emphasizing the need to vaccinate people at risk because of COVID-19. 19 hospitalized.
Is isolation still mandatory if you have COVID?
Starting this year, European countries will no longer require isolation in the event of a positive COVID-19 test result.
The The Netherlands announced that they withdrew the testing and isolation rules due to the “high immunity of the Dutch population and the fact that few people become seriously ill from the variants currently circulating.”
Instead, the government is advising people to use their “common sense” and try to stay at home if they have symptoms or work from home if they can.
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This is part of a new time in which “we learn to live with the virus,” explained Health Minister Ernst Kuipers in March.
Germany recommends staying home when sick, but has not required isolation or quarantine for people with COVID-19 since July this year. France has a similar recommendation after a positive test.
“The epidemiological situation with COVID-19 currently does not require ordered infection protection measures for the general population in the sense of isolating sick people and quarantining contact persons,” the German Ministry of Health wrote to Euronews Next.
“If symptoms of a respiratory infection occur, such as a runny nose, sore throat or cough, it is recommended to stay at home and avoid contact for 3 to 5 days until the symptoms have significantly improved. If necessary, a hospital visit should be made. “Consultation of a doctor”.
Italy raised his last Isolation restrictions due to COVID-19 declared in August that the availability of vaccines and medicines no longer required mandatory self-isolation.
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Italian Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said he would continue to monitor the virus situation and take new containment measures if necessary.