Europe's recent restrictions seem to be taking effect

The coronavirus pandemic "slowed down" last week, the World Health Organization said

Ursula von der Leyen, told EU legislators that "the first European citizens may already be vaccinated before the end of December"

Last week the WHO said that the number of new cases reported in Europe fell by about 6% after a decline of 10% in the previous week, suggesting that blockages across the continent are effectively slowing transmission, although the region still accounts for about half of new global deaths.