Von der Leyen says EU has reached COVID vaccine target

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen urges members to increase vaccinations as the Delta coronavirus variant spreads across the bloc.

The European Union has delivered enough coronavirus vaccine doses to member states to reach a target to fully vaccinate at least 70 percent of adults in the bloc, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has said. Von der Leyen, who had tweeted on May 9 that the EU was on track to meet its goal of inoculating 70 percent of adults by summer, urged EU countries to increase vaccinations and said about 500 million doses would be distributed across the union by Sunday. “The European Union has kept its word. This weekend we have delivered enough vaccines to member states to be in a position to vaccinate fully at least 70 percent of the EU adults this month,” von der Leyen said in a video statement on Saturday.