Millions of vaccine doses arrived today (Saturday) in EU countries ahead of the start of the population vaccination campaign against coronary heart disease in most EU countries, which is expected to begin tomorrow.
The vaccine packages, made by the American company Pfizer and the German Biontech, have reached logistics centers in Germany, France, Spain, Greece, Italy and the Czech Republic. The vaccines were manufactured at a special factory of Pfizer in Belgium, a factory entrusted with supplying the vaccine to customers on the continent. The vaccine was transported in special trucks inside freezer containers where the temperature is below minus 70 degrees.
German Health Minister Jan Spann said: “Vaccines are here and this is the good news for this Christmas. At this time, across Europe, Germany and its provinces, trucks are making their way to deliver the vaccine. More deliveries are expected later this week. The vaccine is the key to treating the plague, is the key Get our lives back. ”
The vaccination campaign included logistical cooperation and assistance with equipment and transportation centers from all 27 member states of the European Union and all are expected to benefit from it. Despite this, the amount of vaccines available to the Union is currently limited and each country has been allocated a little more than 20,000 vaccine doses by the end of the month.
Each country has received approval to prioritize vaccine recipients at its discretion and France has decided to start vaccinating the most vulnerable seniors in the country’s nursing homes. In Germany and Spain, too, the first vaccines will be delivered to nursing homes.
In Italy, medical staff are expected to be the first to receive the vaccine, with a nurse in the emergency room at Splenzani Hospital in the Roman capital being the first to receive the vaccine. The Prime Minister of Poland, Matyasz Morawiecki, called on his countrymen to get vaccinated and said: “It is the patriotic duty of every Pole to receive the vaccine when required.”
Rotem Bar, who lives in France, said: “There is a great sense of relief here before the vaccines arrive. My husband is over sixty, so we hope to get the vaccine in January. Local industries like tourism and restaurants need to stop the plague and everyone here is very hopeful that by spring They will be able to start getting back to normal. ”
In Russia, the use of the country’s flagship vaccine, Sputnik 5, has been approved for the first time among people aged 60 and over. The Russian Ministry of Health has announced that the vaccination of the country’s older population will begin in the coming days.
The mutation spreads
The new corona mutation is spreading to more and more countries. The Spanish government confirmed today that the first four cases of the British corona mutation had been discovered in Madrid, according to the news agencies. In all cases, these are people who have recently returned from the UK, said the deputy head of Madrid’s health chief Antonio Zeptero at a press conference.
“Patients are not in a serious condition. We know this strain is more contagious, but it does not cause a more serious disease,” Zeptero said. There are other cases in Spain where the new mutation has been suspected, but the test results will only be available on Tuesday or Wednesday.
France also announced the first case of the mutation in the country. A man who returned from London about a week ago returned without symptoms. After performing a test it was found to be positive for the mutation. In addition to this case, there are a number of other positive corona tests, the results of which may hint at the presence of the new mutation.