Today ECDC is providing an update on the current status of COVID-19 transmission in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, and public health considerations for Autumn 2023.
Since January 2022, and as of 11 August 2023, 281 confirmed diphtheria cases, as per the EU case definition (2022: 224 cases, 2023: 57 cases), and four deaths were reported in the EU/EEA.
In 2023, after several months of very low rates of infection, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission has started to increase in some EU/EEA countries.
The new joint report by ECDC and Eurofound concludes that adult work-life balance was significantly affected by measures such as stay-at-home orders and recommendations.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have decided to formally retire the EASA-ECDC joint Aviation Health Safety Protocol (AHSP), while acknowledging its significant value during the high SARS-CoV-2 circulation periods during the pandemic.
ECDC and EMA have issued a joint statement on adapted COVID-19 vaccines and considerations for their use during the upcoming autumn 2023 vaccination campaigns.
ECDC presents lessons learned from the response of Europe’s public health sector to the pandemic and highlights follow up actions addressing relevant issues which could improve Europe’s pandemic preparedness.