Fearing autumn COVID wave, EU urges earlier, broader flu vaccination

The European Union executive urged member states on Wednesday to launch earlier and broader vaccination campaigns against flu this year to reduce the risk of simultaneous influenza and COVID-19 outbreaks in the autumn. To avoid what the Commission’s vice president, Margaritis Schinas, called “a cocktail of risks,” it said EU governments this year should buy more shots against influenza and increase the number of people who are vaccinated. They should also, the Commission said, begin vaccinating people this month, instead of waiting until October, when flu vaccination drives traditionally begin in Europe. Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said governments should fight “vaccine hesitancy” to achieve these results, referring to people’s growing scepticism about vaccinations which led to the resurgence of certain diseases, such as measles, before the COVID-19 pandemic.