A nurse prepares a syringe of the Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination campaign in a nursing home in Athens.
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The European Union has been criticized for its speed of use of Covid vaccines, as its two largest economies are extending their coronavirus restrictions due to worrying case numbers.
Several European officials have expressed their concerns about the bloc’s vaccination plans over the past few days and have asked the European Commission, the EU’s branch of action, to explain why it has not bought more jobs.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, more than 17 million cases of coronavirus have been reported in the region (including the UK) to date.
“It is difficult to explain that a very good vaccine has been developed in Germany but has been vaccinated more quickly elsewhere,” Markus Söder, director of the German department in Bavaria, said in an interview over the end. -weeks, according to Politico. The German company BioNTech, together with Pfizer, has developed one of the Covid frontrunner vaccines.
The European Union began its immunization program in late December, after receiving approval from the Pfizer / BioNTech injection. Despite being developed in Germany, however, the injection received approval in the UK and the United States long before it was blocked by European authorities.
Uğur Şahin, chief executive of BioNTech, told German reporters over the weekend “the process in Europe was certainly not as quick and simple as in other countries.”
In the meantime, the UK has agreed two more vaccines, but the European Medicines Agency has not yet regulated either AstraZeneca or Moderna ‘s offerings.
As well as concerns about times, there are also questions about whether enough vaccines have been purchased by the EU.
“The (European) Commission must rise to the event. To this end, how will the EU make up for the lack of purchased dosses in the Union?” Luis Garicano, a European lawyer, wrote in a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend.
The European Commission has signed six contracts with vaccine manufacturers on behalf of European countries. All EU countries receive the same vaccines at one time.
Among those contracts, the EU agreed to buy 200 million doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine with the option to buy an additional 100 million doses. The Commission also agreed to purchase 300 million doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca, with the option to purchase an additional 100 million. His contract with Moderna agrees to buy 80 million doses, as well as an option to buy up to 80 million more doses.
More than 447 million citizens live in the 27 EU countries, according to the region’s statistical office.
“Israel, a country with only 1 / 50th of the EU population, has vaccinated more of its citizens than all EU member states combined. President Madame, how is that possible?” Garicano asked in his letter to von der Leyen.
A spokesman for the European Commission said on Monday that the foundation was “strongly focused on ensuring that the implementation of our strategy is done, well done. “
“The commission has realized at an early stage that both the acquisition of vaccines and the immunization process would be a major effort for the European Union,” the spokesman told reporters.
France, one of the most vaccinated countries in the EU, announced last week that it was suspending its immunization process. The country is also reviewing curfew hours in the worst-hit areas in a bid to keep out the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, Germany, where there has been a national lockout since the end of November, plans to extend this emergency measure to the end of the month.
Queue of visitors outside the Covid-19 vaccine site at the Berlin Arena in Berlin, Germany.
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