OREANDA-NEWS. In the European Union, more than 78% of the adult population has been vaccinated over the past year. Such figures were shared by Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission. Today marks one year since the start of the vaccination program in Europe. She stressed that against the background of the spread of the omicron strain, the European Union has a sufficient number of vaccines for everyone, including the third dose.

«We express our gratitude to the health workers and volunteers who ensured the safety of us and our communities during these times», the head of the European Commission said.

In particular, vaccination against coronavirus continued in Germany on Christmas days. The Federal government has reached the goal set in mid-November — to make 30 million vaccinations by the end of the year, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced on December 26. To date, about 147 million doses of the vaccine have been administered.

According to official data, currently 21.7 million people (26.2 percent of the population) remain unvaccinated in Germany. Of these, 4 million are aged 0 to 4 years (4.8 percent of the population) for whom vaccines have not yet been developed. Already in January, the Bundestag may hold the first debate on the introduction of mandatory vaccination in the country, without which, according to experts, it is impossible to stop the pandemic. To date, it has been decided to make vaccination mandatory for employees of clinics and nursing homes. By March 15, all their employees must confirm that they are fully vaccinated.