Vaccines are now considered an important weapon to cope with the pandemic, as the UK variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus not only threatens the containment efforts in Europe, but is also of concern. world.
The decision of the European Commission comes just hours after the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was licensed by the European Drug Administration. This agency was forced to meet 1 week earlier due to pressure from member countries, especially Germany. According to European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, Europe’s goal is to receive 200 million doses of vaccine between now and September 2021.
“As we promised, the vaccine will be available to all member countries at the same time, under similar conditions. The first batch of vaccines will be shipped from Pfizer’s Belgian production site in the coming days. Ever since the outbreak, I have always said that we must be together. So vaccinations can be started almost simultaneously in Europe on December 27, 28 and 29. This is a great way to end a difficult year.”
Many European countries, including Germany, France, Austria and Italy, are expected to start the immunization program from this weekend (December 27).
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson affirmed that the country could deal with the delays in the movement of goods inland following the decisions to close the border due to the emergence of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus.
He also emphasized that half a million people in the UK received the first dose of the vaccine: “More than half a million people in the UK have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine. As we have seen during a pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 virus can spread rapidly from country to country. However, a strong international response will bring the hope of vaccines to the world and the UK will continue to play its role in this joint effort. “
The European Commission’s decision to license the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine comes at a very significant time, when the UK variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus does not only threaten efforts to contain the epidemic in Europe, but also cause worldwide concern. Only in the past 2 days, in a row, European countries announced their closure with the UK. According to the European Drug Administration, the vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech could be protective against this new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
However, all the claims are now predictive, because a new variant has just appeared and there hasn’t been enough time to scientifically and firmly study the preventive effect. Experts themselves also made conflicting statements and expressed the kidneys while assessing the impact of the new variant. The European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides warns, the vaccine is not a miracle solution, because in the beginning, the supply of vaccines is certainly relatively limited. Countries need to continue to respect fencing measures such as wearing masks or social stretching. And it is more important to learn from the response at the time of the outbreak earlier this year, this time Europe has consulted and acted more quickly./.