Coronavirus worldwide: don’t rush Pfizer’s vaccine, EU warns (timeline) – World

The EU Medicines Agency (EMA) and MEPs today warned of the risks of rushed approval of COVID-19 vaccines after Britain gave the green light to an experimental injection developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. ), Reuters reported.

Britain is the first Western country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine. The decision is seen by many as a winning political move by the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which has faced criticism for its handling of the coronavirus crisis.

The decision was made as a matter of urgency through an ultra-fast approval procedure.

The EMA, responsible for approving vaccines in the EU, said its longer authorization procedure was more appropriate as it relied on more data and required more checks than the emergency procedure chosen by the UK.

When asked about the UK approval of the Pfizer vaccine, the EMA said that a conditional marketing authorization was the most appropriate regulatory mechanism to use in the current pandemic emergency. Under this procedure, you will decide before December 29 whether to approve the Pfizer vaccine.

Members of the European Parliament also criticized the British decision.

Noted German MEP Peter Lise warned that Britain’s urgent approval of an experimental vaccine was “problematic” because it was done too hastily. I find the decision problematic and recommend that EU member states do not repeat the process in the same way. A week-long in-depth study of the EMA is better than a hasty emergency permit to put a vaccine on the market, said Lise, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.

According to EU regulations, the Pfizer vaccine must be approved by the EMA, but EU countries can use an emergency procedure that allows them to distribute a vaccine for temporary use in their domestic market. The EU rules still apply to Britain, which officially left the union on January 31, for which the union rules apply until the end of the year.

There is obvious competition around the world to be the first to deliver a vaccine to market as quickly as possible, said Timo Volken MEP of the Socialist Group, the second largest in the European Parliament.

However, I think it’s better to take the time to make sure quality, efficiency and safety are guaranteed and meet EU standards, Volken said.