EU Chief Says 70 Percent of Bloc's Adult Population Now Vaccinated

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said Tuesday 70% of all adults in the European Union are now fully vaccinated — more than 250 million people.

In a video message from EU headquarters in Brussels, Von der Leyen called the milestone a “great achievement, which really shows what we can do when we work together." But she also cautioned the pandemic is not over and many more Europeans need to get vaccinated a soon as possible to prevent new infections and the possible emergence of new variants. On Monday, World Health Organization European Regional Director Hans Kluge warned about the slowing vaccination rate on the continent over the past six weeks. He said those stagnating numbers have been caused by a lack of access to vaccine in some lower income nations and a lack of vaccine acceptance in others.