The newest vaccines are the most effective way to prevent severe illness from coronavirus. COVID-19 can still cause serious health consequences, but vaccines are effective Healthcare
Six years ago, on December 31, 2019, the first reports of the spread of an unknown pneumonia in Wuhan appeared – this is how the COVID‑19 pandemic began. In May 2023, after more than 6.9 million deaths had been confirmed, the WHO declared the end of the emergency. However, the virus itself has not disappeared.
Recent research conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe and partners from seven countries shows that SARS-CoV-2 infection continues to lead to hospitalizations and deaths in the European region. However, the latest vaccines are the most effective way to prevent severe disease.
COVID‑19 is still dangerous
The EuroSAVE network, created in 2021 to monitor the spread of severe respiratory infections, analyzed almost four thousand hospitalizations in six countries between May 2023 and April 2024. Almost 10 percent of the patients examined were infected with COVID‑19. More than two-thirds of those sick were over 60 years old or had chronic diseases—it is precisely these groups that WHO recommends revaccination annually. In reality, only three percent of patients in these countries received the vaccine within the last 12 months.
COVID‑19 continues to lead to severe outcomes: 13 percent of patients ended up in intensive care, 11 died. A comparative study from 2022 to 2024 found that those hospitalized with COVID‑19 were more likely to require oxygen support, intensive care, and had a higher risk of death than patients with common influenza.
Highly effective vaccines
Two other EuroSAVE studies confirmed the high effectiveness of available vaccines. In one study, based on data from Kosovo, a vaccine received in the past six months reduced the risk of hospitalization by 72 percent and the risk of severe outcomes by 67 percent. Another study in six countries showed a 60 percent reduction in hospitalizations.
WHO emphasizes the importance of annual booster vaccinations for older people, patients with chronic diseases and weakened immune systems, pregnant women and health care workers.