COVID-19 vaccination developments in Europe – 1st four-month period 2021

Vaccination against COVID-19 started on 27 December 2020 across the European Union, in a moment of unity.

To date, 4 safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines have been licensed for use in the EU, following positive scientific recommendations from the European Medicines Agency:

BioNTech-Pfizer: On 21 December 2020, the European Commission granted conditional marketing authorisation to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, thus becoming the first COVID-19 vaccine licensed in the EU.

Moderna: On 6 January 2021, the European Commission granted conditional marketing authorisation for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna, which became the second COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU.

AstraZeneca: On 29 January 2021, the European Commission granted conditional marketing authorisation for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, making it the third COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU.

Johnson & Johnson: On 11 March 2021, the European Commission granted conditional marketing authorisation to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, which became the fourth COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU.
Vaccination in the EU

Although the vaccination process is progressing steadily in all EU countries, the pace of vaccination is uneven across Europe, with some countries being more effective in vaccinating their populations.

Population with 1 dose

As of 30 April, 34.4% of the EU population had received at least one dose of any of the EU-licensed vaccines. The countries with the highest percentage of the population vaccinated with at least one of the doses required to achieve immunisation against COVID-19 were: Hungary (44.6% of the population with at least one of the doses), Malta (43.5%), Finland (34.6%), Belgium (31%), and Austria (29.4%).

Countries where the rate of vaccination is slower were: Czech Republic (21.6%), Romania (19.4%), Croatia (18.8%), Latvia (13.4%) and Bulgaria (10.2%).

Population with a full pattern

As of 30 April, 12% of the EU population had received the full course of one of the EU-licensed vaccines and have therefore been immunised against COVID-19.

The countries which, to date, have vaccinated the highest percentage of their citizens are: Malta (23.4% of its population vaccinated), Hungary (20.6%), Denmark (12.5%), Iceland (11.6%) and Liechtenstein (11.6%).

The countries where the number of people immunised through the administration of vaccines were: Norway (7.1%), Croatia (5.1%), Finland (3.5%), Bulgaria (3.3%) and Latvia (2.4%).

More information

COVID-19 Patients in Hospitals and Vaccination and in Europe