Nearly 80% of EU's population estimated to have been infected with Covid

Reports by The European Commission

The European Commission said Wednesday that 80 per cent of the European population was estimated to have been infected with COVID - 19. The figures were reached by calculating the unreported infections that could be as high as 350 million or 77 per cent of Europe's population, the European Commission said. 

European Union governments should ramp up Covid - 19 immunizations of children, the bloc's executive body said, also signaling it was considering plans to develop antivirals. 

Vaccinating eligible children against the coronavirus has been a struggle for many developed nations, with most North American and European countries starting their child inoculation drives between November and January.

Immunization rates are below 15 per cent among European children aged between five and 9, the youngest age group for which COVID - 19 vaccines have been authorized there. In the U.S., 27 per cent of children five to 11 as of April 20 were considered fully vaccinated, with 35 per cent having received at least one dose. 

"It is estimated that 60 percent to 80 per cent of the EU population has by now had COVID," EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said. The commissioner said reported cases covered about 30 per cent of the European population so far. But if unreported infections were added, cases could be as high as 350 million, about 77 per cent of the European population. 

With a recent drop in infections and deaths linked to COVID - 19, the EU is now shifting away from mass testing and reporting of cases, kyriakides said. However, as fresh surges are likely with the virus expected to continue mutating, countries should have in place plans to shift back into emergency mode, and ramp up vaccinations, the commission said. 

The commission's comments come on the heels of a U.S. nationwide blood survey released on Tuesday, which estimated that 58 per cent of the U.S. population overall and more than 75 per cent of younger children have been infected with the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. 

The commission also said it could back the development of new drugs against Covid - 19, especially antivirals that are easier to store and administer. Antiviral pills against Covid - 19 developed by Pfizer and Merck & Co have been approved for use in the EU, but they have not been used in large quantities so far. 

The EU executive also said it would work to support the development of the next generation of vaccines that would offer longer protection against the infection or its transmission.