Eurozone first-quarter recession shows need for speedier vaccine rollout

There are signs of recovery — but Europe's recent double dip recession has left it behind as the US surges ahead

The ECB's chief economist Philip Lane said it's not all bad news from the eurozone,  but it won’t reach pre-pandemic size until mid-2022, a year behind the US.

The eurozone tipped into a double-dip recession in the first quarter of the year, highlighting the cost of slow coronavirus vaccination rollouts that have left the economy lagging far behind the US.

The feeble economic data show the importance of accelerating inoculations and getting the bloc’s €800bn joint recovery fund under way as soon as possible.