GENEVA - As Europe confronts a rise in COVID-19 infections, a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms that vaccines do indeed save lives.

The study found that from the time they were introduced in December 2020 through to March 2023, COVID-19 vaccines reduced deaths due to the pandemic by nearly 60 per cent. As a result, more than 1.6 million lives were saved in the WHO European Region, which comprises 53 countries.

The report also revealed that the known COVID-19 death toll in the region, currently 2.2 million, might have been as high as four million without the vaccines.

“The results are clear: COVID-19 vaccination saves lives,” said Dr. Margaux Meslé, author of the study, which was published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.

“Without the enormous vaccination effort, we would have seen many more livelihoods disrupted and families losing the most vulnerable among them,” she added.

WHO said the findings are valid as several European countries have reported an uptick in cases in recent weeks, or “a summer wave of COVID-19”.

The agency said this serves as "a timely reminder that while COVID-19 is fading into distant memory for millions of people, the virus has not gone away.”