Another 700,000 Europeans could die from Covid this winter, the World Health Organization warned today.
WHO officials suggested the continent's death toll was set to spiral from 1.5million to 2.2million by March amid a ferocious fourth wave.
This figure includes 53 countries in Europe, including EU member states, the UK, Kazakhstan and Russia, among others.
If this prediction is correct, it means that Europe is facing a winter only slightly better than last year, despite vaccines now being widely available.
The WHO said the new wave of the Indian 'Delta' variant, vaccine scepticism and relaxing Covid restrictions were to blame for the gloomy prediction.
Some 66 per cent of people in the European Union are already double-jabbed, and many countries are now rolling out booster doses.
Surging cases have also sent several nations scuttling back into lockdowns and tighter restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
It comes after an AstraZeneca boss suggested that Europe's hospitalisations are surging because it was slow to roll out their jab to older age groups, unlike the UK.
But scientists say Europe's fresh wave is likely due to a number of other reasons, including slower booster roll outs, longer lockdowns in the summer and shorter vaccine dosing intervals.
In a sign of a growing crisis the Netherlands today began moving Covid patients to Germany to help ease pressure on its hospitals.
The above graph shows daily Covid cases per million people across several countries in Europe
And this graph shows the cumulative deaths per million people in selected European countries. It reveals that Belgium, Italy and Poland have all suffered a higher proportion of Covid deaths than the UK
WHO officials said Covid deaths in Europe had already doubled since September to some 4,200 a day.
And that the virus was now the leading cause of death on the continent, citing a report by the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
Its regional director for Europe Dr Hans Kluge called on European nations to take a 'vaccine plus' approach and impose more restrictions including face masks, social distancing and regular hand washing.
