COVID-19 vaccines have saved more than 1.4 million lives in the WHO European Region, a new study finds

COPENHAGEN, JANUARY 16 – COVID-19 vaccines saved at least 1.4 million lives in Europe – “irrefutable” proof of the power of these inoculations, the regional head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Hans Kluge said on Tuesday.

Delivering his first message of the new year, Dr. Kluge stressed that without vaccines, the death toll on the continent “could have been around four million, possibly even higher.”

More than 2.5 million COVID-19 deaths, and 277 million confirmed cases, were reported in the vast WHO European Region, which comprises 53 countries stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. “Today, there are 1.4 million people in our region – most of them elderly – who are around to enjoy life with their loved ones because they took the vital decision to be vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Dr. Kluge, speaking from Copenhagen. “This is the power of vaccines. The evidence is irrefutable,” he added.

Analysis of 34 countries showed that most people whose lives were saved by vaccines, 90 per cent, were over 60. The vaccines reduced deaths by 57 per cent in the period between their rollout in December 2020 through March 2023, with the first booster doses alone saving an estimated 700,000 lives. In Italy the study showed that over 187,000 lives were spared in the examined period. Over 131,000 died of Covid during the same period. (@OnuItalia)