BRUSSELS

Over 50% of all adults in the EU have received a booster shot against COVID-19, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday.

“More than half of the adults in the European Union have now had their booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine,” she said in a video statement marking the “important milestone” of the bloc’s fight against the pandemic.

But she warned that “the pandemic is not over and the omicron variant is spreading really fast in many EU countries.”

She called it a "good" achievement that 82% of the adults are vaccinated, but called on people who have only completed their primary vaccination series to get an extra dose.

“If all vaccinated Europeans get a booster, we could avoid around 1 million hospitalizations,” von der Leyen explained.

According to the scientific opinion of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, boosters give the best protection against the virus and significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization.