WHO "concerned" about vaccine effectiveness on virus strains

 Europe and pharma groups must work together to speed up Covid-19 vaccinations, head of the European branch of the World Health Organization Hans Kluge said, expressing concern about the effectiveness of vaccines on virus variants.

"We have to be prepared" for new problematic mutations of the virus "by expanding countries' capacity for genomic sequencing", the WHO Europe director told AFP in an interview.

In the European Union, just 2.5% of the population has received a first vaccine dose, though announcements by several laboratories of increased vaccine deliveries has raised hopes of an acceleration.

"We need to join up to speed up vaccinations ... with otherwise competing pharmaceutical companies joining efforts to drastically increase production capacity... that's what we need," he said.

Asked whether the vaccines available since December would be effective against new virus variants, Kluge replied: "That's the big question. I'm concerned."