Europe, already beset by delta surges, now confronts omicron

PARIS — Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic nearly two years ago, Europe has notched up plenty of unhappy distinctions.

The continent saw the world’s first massive wave of COVID-19 fatalities in the early months of the outbreak. The European Union, although made up of some of the world’s most advanced democracies, got off to a slow start on vaccine rollouts earlier this year.

And a hard core of vaccine resistance, often tied to far-right populism, helped set the stage for a virulent fourth wave of infections now raging across Europe, triggering stringent lockdowns whose like hadn’t been seen for months.

Now comes omicron, and Europe once again finds itself in the coronavirus crosshairs.

Greece is making vaccines mandatory for over-60s.