After Early Failures European Union Reaches 70% Vaccination of Adults Goal

BRUSSELS – The president of the European Union’s executive arm said the 27-nation bloc has reached its goal of getting 70% of the adults in the EU fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of the summer.

In a message posted Tuesday on Twitter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen thanked “the many people making this great achievement possible.”

The EU’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign got off to a slow start due to supply shortages and delays but now is among the most successful worldwide.

“But we must go further! We need more Europeans to vaccinate,” von der Leyen said. “And we need to help the rest of the world vaccinate, too. We´ll continue supporting our partners.”

She said the EU is the biggest contributor to the COVAX initiative, which aims to deliver vaccines to low-income nations.