Why are European governments struggling to contain the pandemic?

Europe saw a downturn in COVID-19 cases at the beginning of this year.

But now infections are soaring in the majority of countries, with more than 1.6 million cases recorded last week.

The World Health Organization says the rapid surge is worrying.

And it has warned that the continent’s “unacceptably slow” rollout of vaccines could prolong the pandemic.

The European Union’s inoculation programme has been hit partly by delivery delays.

And that has led some countries to reimpose restrictions and lockdowns with many tightening their rules for the Easter holiday.

So, what went wrong with the rollout of vaccines?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Simon Clarke – Associate professor in cellular microbiology at University of Reading

Bary Pradelski – Associate professor of economics at the National Centre for Scientific Research

Ulrich Brueckner – Political analyst and Jean Monnet professor for European studies at Stanford University in Berlin