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By the end of August, the highly contagious Delta variant of the new coronavirus is expected to account for 90 percent of the new COVID-19 cases in the European Union, Al Jazeera reported, citing the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The warning by the health agency on Wednesday echoed a similar statement by the World Health Organization last week, which said the variant first identified in India was becoming dominant globally.

The ECDC estimates that the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) is 40 to 60 percent more contagious than the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), first discovered in the United Kingdom, which is currently the predominant variant of the novel coronavirus circulating in the bloc.

Because of its increased transmissibility, Delta is a matter of concern for many governments across Europe even as most countries are moving to ease restrictions in the wake of an overall fall in new COVID-19 cases.

“It is very likely that the Delta variant will circulate extensively during the summer, particularly among younger individuals that are not targeted for vaccination,” the ECDC said.

“This could cause a risk for the more vulnerable individuals to be infected and experience severe illness and death if they are not fully vaccinated.”

The centre said it was “very important to progress with the vaccine rollout at a very high pace” in order to stop the spread of the variant and mitigate its health impact. To date, about 30 percent of those aged 80 and above and 40 percent of the above-60s in the EU are still not fully vaccinated, as per the ECDC data.