At a press conference after a virtual summit of EU leaders, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “we are at the start of the third wave in Europe, and in many European member states, infections are on the rise again, mostly due to the variant B117.” The situation “highlights the importance of a fast and speedy vaccination” on which EU leaders agreed.
She added that the delivery of vaccines for Q2 is promising, and, “we are on track to achieve our goal, that this summer we want to have 70% of the adult population in the European Union vaccinated.”
Separately, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said, “if a high percentage of the population is vaccinated and immunized in the summer, this will have a very positive impact and lead to a second half of the year in which there could be a very strong rebound in activity.”
