BRUSSELS
Large gaps exist between vaccination rates of EU countries, which started their vaccination drive in early 2021, according to data from the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC).
The data showed that at least one does of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered to 225 million people in the bloc with a total population of 450 million.
The number of "fully vaccinated" people who have received both jabs of double-dose vaccines or a single jab of single-dose ones exceeded 147 million.
According to the ECDC, 61.5% of the adult population in the EU received at least the first dose of a vaccine, while the proportion of fully vaccinated adults reached 40.2%.
With these numbers, the target of giving at least one dose of vaccine to 70% of the adult population by July set by the EU Commission has been approached, but this target has yet to be met.
Belgium has highest rate of vaccination, Bulgaria lowest
In Belgium, where the vaccination rate is the highest, 78% of adults have received at least one dose, while this rate stands at 17% in Bulgaria.
Belgium is followed by the Netherlands with 73.3% vaccinated adults, Finland with 73%, Malta with 72% and Denmark with 70.5%.
Among the least-vaccinated countries, Romania follows Bulgaria with 30%, Latvia with 39%, Croatia with 43.7%, Slovakia with 44.3%, and Slovenia with 46.7%
The rate is around 50-60% in other EU countries, according to the data.
In Italy, one of the most-populated countries in the bloc, some 67.4% of people received the first dose of the vaccine. This figure in the other highest-population countries is 65% in Spain, 64.2% in Germany and 63.6% in France.
Over 430 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed to EU countries to the date. Around 364 million doses of them have been used.
Vaccines produced by the companies BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson have so far been approved for use across the EU. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is given in a single dose, while recipients of the others are given two doses to be considered "fully vaccinated."
*Writing by Sena Guler in Ankara
