European countries begin vaccinations to end COVID-19 ‘nightmare’

European countries begin vaccinations to end COVID-19 ‘nightmare’

A woman gestures as a nurse injects her with one of the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in Bucharest, Romania, on Sunday. AP



European Union (EU) countries on Sunday embarked on a vaccination campaign to defeat the "nightmare" of COVID-19, with the first to be immunised expressing emotion after their jab and leaders hailing a milestone in the fight against the pandemic.

The vaccine is a glimmer of hope for a continent yearning for a return to normal from a pandemic that has killed 1.76 million people worldwide since emerging in China late last year and caused at least 80 million confirmed cases, according to an AFP tally. But polls have shown many Europeans are unwilling to take the vaccine, which could impede its effectiveness in beating the virus, while it will take months for large chunks of the population to be immunised.

"It is with deep