United Nations Office Warns of More COVID-19 Deaths Across Europe

The World Health Organization's Europe office estimates its 53-country area could record 700,000 additional deaths from the new coronavirus by next spring.

WHO Europe is based in Denmark. The office noted¹ the growing evidence that people are less protected against infection and less serious disease through vaccines². It said an additional "booster dose" should be given as soon as possible to people with serious health problems, people over 60 and those who work in health care.

The WHO's international headquarters in Switzerland, however, has advised differently. It has repeatedly called for a delay on the use of boosters through the end of 2021. It has called for the delay so that more doses can be made available to developing countries. Developing and poor countries have faced a severe lack of the COVID-19 vaccines compared to rich countries.

WHO Europe called on people to get vaccinated³, respect recommended washing methods and practice social distancing to help stop the spread of the virus.

Dr. Hans Kluge is regional director for WHO Europe. He said in a statement, "Today, the COVID-19 situation across Europe and Central Asia is very serious. We face a challenging winter ahead, but we should not be without hope, because all of us...can take decisive action to stabilize⁴ the pandemic."

The European region the office oversees⁵ stretches deep into central Asia. WHO Europe said deaths from COVID-19 in the region rose to nearly 4,200 per day in recent weeks. That is two times higher than daily deaths recorded at the end of September.

Total deaths have now reached 1.5 million in the region.

WHO Europe said there are three main reasons for the rise in deaths and cases in its region. One is the continued spread of the Delta⁶ variant⁷, or version, of the virus. Another is an easing of restrictive measures like requirements for mask-wearing and physical distancing in places. The third reason is that a high number of Europeans remain unvaccinated.

The WHO Europe statement said, "We can expect that there will be high or extreme stress on hospital beds in 25 countries, and high or extreme stress in intensive care units (ICUs) in 49 out of 53 countries" between now and March 1, 2022.

It also said the area could reach a total of 2 million deaths from the pandemic by next March.

Words in This Story

booster (shot) –n. an extra amount of a substance (called a vaccine) that is injected with a needle into a person or animal to help protect against a disease

dose – n. the amount of a medicine, drug or vitamin that is taken at one time

practice –v. to do (something) regularly or all the time as an ordinary part of your life

challenging –adj. difficult in a way that is sometimes interesting or enjoyable

stabilize –v. to stop quickly changing, increasing or getting worse

stress –n. pressure caused by physical force or by facts that influence how people do things

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

3 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

4 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

5 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

6 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

7 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。