THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has criticised the rollout of coronavirus vaccines in Europe as being “unacceptably low.” 

Vaccination plans in many European countries have faced many delays while the number of infections is on the rise. 

Only 16 per cent of the European Union’s population has been vaccinated. 

WHO director for Europe Hans Kluge said: “Vaccines present our best way out of this pandemic ... However, the rollout of these vaccines is unacceptably slow and is prolonging the pandemic in the wider Europe region.

“We must speed up the process by ramping up manufacturing, reducing barriers to administering vaccines, and using every single vial we have in stock, now.”

French Prime Minister Jean Castex told the National Assembly that “the third wave is here,” and announced detailed measures of a new limited lockdown, which will begin on Saturday and last for four weeks. 

In Belgium, a court has ruled that all the country’s Covid-19 measures have to be lifted within 30 days because the legal basis is not strong enough following a lawsuit by the League for Human Rights. 

Eurovision will be taking place in Rotterdam in May. The Dutch government has said that it would use the event as a test, with 3,500 spectators allowed to attend rehearsals and the shows.