The death toll from the coronavirus in Europe has surpassed one million, a World Heath Organization official announced Thursday.
Dr. Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe at the WHO, reported the grim milestone, which represents over a third of the global death toll from the pandemic which has raged for over a year.
Citing data from Johns Hopkins University, Kluge noted that Europe continues to see 1.6 million new coronavirus cases each week.
However, he said that there are "early signs that transmission may be slowing across several countries” and declining case numbers among the elderly due to the rollout of vaccines against the coronavirus.
Kluge said that the percentage of coronavirus deaths among people over 80 had dropped to its lowest level since the pandemic.
He addressed concerns that the AstaZeneca vaccine which has been predominantly used in Europe may cause rare but severe blood clots, saying: “For now, the risk of suffering blood clots is much higher for someone with COVID-19 than for someone who has taken the AstraZeneca vaccine,”
“For now, the risk of suffering blood clots is much higher for someone with COVID-19 than for someone who has taken the AstraZeneca vaccine,” Kluge added, stating that the WHO would continue to recommend the vaccine's use for adults.