EU says it achieves COVID-29 vaccination target

Seventy percent of adults in the European Union have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccines, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday.

"The EU has kept its word and delivered. Our target was to protect 70% of adults in the European Union with at least one vaccination in July. Today we have achieved this target," von der Leyen said in a statement.

The proportion of people aged 18 and over having been fully inoculated in the bloc now stands at 57%, she added.

"These figures put Europe among the world leaders. The catch-up process has been very successful — but we need to keep up the effort," she went on, warning that "the Delta variant is very dangerous."

Currently, 60% of American adults have been fully vaccinated with 69% having been administered at least one dose. In the UK, these figures stand at 70.5% and 88.1%, Euronews reported.