However, current scientific evidence suggests that while the approved COVID-19 vaccines stop disease, they do not entirely stop transmission, as shown by the multiple cases of vaccinated health care workers in Italy (and elsewhere) testing positive for the virus. COVID-19 vaccines – like all vaccines – prevent disease, not infection.
The vaccines approved for use in the EU are effective at preventing disease and thus the symptoms of COVID-19. Reducing the symptoms of the disease reduces the potential rate of transmission by those who have been vaccinated, but that does not make them fully ‘safe’ for non-vaccinated others. This is why epidemiologists insist that until a large enough percentage of the population is vaccinated, all other containment measures, such as wearing masks and social distancing, must continue to be observed.
‘Vaccine deserts’
The highly variable roll-out of vaccination programmes across the EU is also a problem, making some nationals far more likely to be vaccinated than others. Significant differences also exist within countries, with more difficult access to vaccines for people outside major urban areas, and divergences in the capacity of different regions to organise the administration of vaccines.
While most EU states have done their best to ensure that ‘vaccine deserts’ of the sort seen in the US do not develop, the territorial differences in access, even among priority groups, are still considerable. Deprived areas poorly served by health care services (whether urban or rural) are often more likely to also have much higher rates of vaccine hesitancy, as has been noted in the UK.
Priority categories: who are the frontline workers?
Such differences are multiplied when we examine how different member states select priority groups for vaccination. After the highest-risk categories such as medical personnel and the aged, each state is free to decide subsequent categories. Indeed, the definition of ‘essential’ or ‘frontline’ worker is not the same across the EU.
For example, while Italian and Austrian school teachers and university lecturers are already being called up for vaccination, those in the Netherlands will have to wait for several more months.
