“Every 17 seconds, someone dies of Covid-19 in the European Union. This situation could stabilise, but it is still delicate. As everything else, this year the New Year holidays will be different. We cannot jeopardise the collective efforts made in the last few weeks and months”. This was stated by the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, as she presented the EU Commission’s document with recommendations for the member states in the run-up to the forthcoming Christmas and New Year holidays. The title of the 15-page document is “Staying safe from Covid-19 during winter”. “This year, saving human lives must take priority over celebrating”, the Commissioner pointed out. “But with the vaccines on the horizon, there’s hope too. All the member states must now be ready to start vaccination campaigns and distribute the vaccines as quickly as possible as soon as a safe, effective vaccine is available”.