Click play to hear this article from Amazon PollyEurope is learning to live with coronavirus and stop worrying. However, some countries take different paths to get back to normal.Due to the highly transmissible Delta virus, cases are again on the rise. European leaders are less concerned about this as vaccines are keeping deaths and hospitalizations well below the levels of last year.EU leaders are now changing their view of the virus. They will be focusing more on hospitalization rates than case numbers in order to determine its spread.Jens Spahn, the German Health Minister, declared that 200 is now 50. He was referring to Germany's 50-per-100 000 population weekly goal as critical. Berlin's higher threshold is due to the fact that infections are now far less common.Similar to Italy, Italy said this month it would give more weight to hospitalizations in deciding whether or not to implement any new restrictions.Europe is now in a new pandemic phase. However, political leaders face new challenges: the effects of vaccines, the possibility of new variants, and the potential for a spike in serious diseases. Europeans want normality and leaders want to boost economic growth.Christopher Dye, an epidemiologist from the University of Oxford, stated that Europe is in a very precarious situation. We have had a lot of success with... vaccine rollout. However, the level of vaccination is still not high enough to protect many people from getting ill or prevent them from dying.Many countries are trying to find the right balance amid the escalating number of cases due to the Delta virus. France and Italy are more cautious, requiring proof that they have been vaccinated for certain occupations, as well as many other activities. The U.K. took a different approach and removed all restrictions as though the pandemic was over. Public health experts advise caution.Hans Kluge, WHO's European regional director, warned recently: We are far from being out of the woods.The new normalThe U.K. and the Netherlands are two examples of countries that are trying to grapple with the new math.The Netherlands' virus reproduction rate ("R") reached its highest level in the pandemic in July. Reporters were told by Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, that his government had made a mistake in lifting restrictions too quickly. The country's high vaccination rate meant that almost 70% of the population had received at least one dose. This helped to reduce hospitalizations.The U.K. has been transformed into a breeding ground for the Delta variant. More than 47,000 cases were reported in the country on July 20, the day after the government removed most coronavirus restrictions. However, the number of fatalities has remained low due to widespread vaccination, even though hospitalizations have increased from around 900 up to almost 6,000, putting pressure on the health system.Experts warn that coronavirus infection can also pose a risk, including "long COVID". A third of patients with symptomatic COVID-19, although not severe enough to warrant hospitalization, still had health problems. There are as many as 200 symptoms.It is a serious disease, and we don't know how to treat it. Lawrence Young, virologist and professor of molecular cancerology at the University of Warwick, stated that this was a serious condition. It places enormous pressure on people and on their quality of life, as well the health system.The jab is the thingVaccinations are Europe's most powerful tool against the pandemic. Problem is, not enough people have them.Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, declared Tuesday that the EU had reached its goal of 70% vaccination of adults. However, that number only includes those who have received at least one dose. The trend that is worrying policymakers is that there is an ebbing vaccine demand.Stella Kyriakides, Health Commissioner, stated that now is not the right time to relax and let our guard down.The most alarming aspect is the fact that many eastern countries, including Bulgaria and Romania, are falling behind. Although these countries have not seen a Delta-driven surge in cases, experts warn that this could be a temporary problem.Angel Kunchev, Bulgaria's national epidemiologist said that he expects the Delta variant to dominate the epidemiological situation over the next few weeks. He noted that only 16 percent of Bulgarians were fully vaccinated and another 18% had received one dose. This is despite the fact there are no supply restrictions.Kunchev attributed the low rates to mistrust and skepticism regarding vaccines.Vili Bero, Croatia's health minister, also blamed anti-vaxxer propaganda on social media for the fact that less than half the country's adults have had at least one shot. He also noted that only 60% of his ministry's employees are vaccinated.The potential for a new surge in cases in these countries could prove to be catastrophic, particularly since many of them had the highest rates of mortality in the EU during the pandemic.Kunchev stated to the Sofia Globe that he is not optimistic about the country's future. Kunchev said that both the hospitalized and the sick will experience higher mortality rates in the United States than Europe.Public health officials in Europe are intensifying efforts to improve vaccine coverage and are changing their approach.Some people face a challenge because of the rapid development and controversy surrounding the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab. Siddhartha Datta, regional advisor for vaccine preventable diseases, has more questions than usual.He cautioned people against blaming others who have questions about vaccines. While some may refuse to be vaccinated, health professionals can often answer questions and doubts.In Romania where fewer than a third of adults have started a course of vaccination WHO Europe helped design a smartphone-accessible chatbot to give people more information on shots in an attempt to tackle hesitancy.The Delta variant is 40-60 percent more contagious that the original coronavirus strain. Experts raised the threshold of herd immunity to around 70% due to its rapid spread. French scientists at the Pasteur Institute have now put it at 95 percent. However, modeling from Germany's Robert Koch Institute(RKI) shows that a rate of 85 percent is necessary to prevent hospitalizations and cases from rising.Based on current trends, it is highly unlikely that the EU will be able to get as many people vaccinated. It's also uncertain if 70 percent of the world's population will have been vaccinated by next year.Young, a University of Warwick virologist, stated that scientists are worried about the potential for new strains of the virus to develop from these gaps in vaccination.The new normalAlthough it may be the end to the pandemic, that does not mean that its life will cease to be normal.Scientists at RKI think that natural immunity and increasing vaccination coverage are making a pandemic in Germany more common. However, both eradicating the virus as well as achieving herd immunity are impossible. Countries should instead focus on reducing the severity of cases.Francois Balloux is a professor at University College London and a bioscience expert. He feels that he was right in his prediction of a pandemic ending by mid-to late 2021. Balloux tweeted that by "end", he meant the virus would become an endemic in most of the world and continue to circulate worldwide with the other 200 seasonal endemic respiratory diseases.According to Oxford's Dye, Coronavirus will be around for a while. He supports the French approach. This includes requiring social distancing and mask-wearing; requiring that health and social workers get vaccinated; and requiring proof that people have been double-jabbed before they enter public spaces.Public health experts were not impressed by the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision that the country would be reopened almost as normal. The U.K. has not seen any serious effects other than a slight rise in deaths and hospitalizations. Scientists aren't sure what to make of the U.K.'s recent decline in new infections. While some see it as a positive sign, others believe that the drop in cases could be due to people not getting tested as often, holidaying schoolchildren, or a decrease after an increase in European Football Championship matches being held here.The questions surrounding how to manage the virus are constantly changing. However, it is not getting easier. One, there are heated debates about vaccine mandates, while others consider whether to vaccinate teenagers.Dye stated that the greatest risk is when people stop talking about it.Dye stated that people want to get past it as the dominant thought in their heads and regain their lives. They don't want it to be something they have to think about every day. We're learning to accept it when it happens. However, the chance to make large and important decisions from a political standpoint will begin to diminish.This article is part POLITICO's premium policy service, Pro Health Care. Our specialized journalists will keep you up to date on the latest topics in health care policy, including drug pricing, EMA and vaccines. For a free trial, email [email protected]
