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The World Health Organization has opposed the European Union’s restrictions on the export of the vaccine
The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticized the announcement by the European Union of its intention to impose restrictions on the export of any vaccine against the Corona virus produced in its countries.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that dealing with the vaccine on “national grounds” would prolong the pandemic.
The European Union had imposed the restrictions amid a dispute with some vaccine manufacturers over the delay in delivering the vaccine to the bloc countries.
The Union was subsequently forced to cancel its restrictions on the export of the vaccine to Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, following a diplomatic dispute.
The Kingdom’s Brexit deal provides for the export of goods from European Union countries to Northern Ireland without scrutiny, but the Union wanted to control the export of the vaccine to prevent its arrival in the UK.
Who gets export exemptions?
The European Union allows ninety-two categories of export exemptions, including: donations to Kovacs, which is the global program to help poor countries, exports to Switzerland and the countries of the Western Balkans, Norway and North Africa, as well as Mediterranean countries such as Lebanon and Israel.
But WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told the BBC on Saturday that all vulnerable groups and health workers around the world must be vaccinated before each country begins large-scale vaccination campaigns.
This means that rich countries like the UK should stop giving the vaccine as soon as it finishes vaccinating priority groups and help with vaccination in other countries.
“We ask all countries in these circumstances to wait and wait for others,” Harris said. “Instead of completing the vaccination task in one country, we have to achieve the global campaign together.”
So far, 95 percent of vaccinations have been done in just 10 countries, Harris said, while poor and middle-income countries have not started the vaccination program.
Pressure increased with NFAof the Patience of some countries
The BBC’s European Affairs editor Katia Adler says governments are beginning to express their impatience with Brussels, which hoped its vaccine purchasing program would be a beacon of European solidarity and strength.
The arduous process of negotiation and the delay in the licensing of vaccines in the European Union and the delay in the arrival of orders for vaccines to the countries of the Union caused the concern of European citizens and their requests for an explanation of what is happening, according to our correspondent.
Markus Söder, the Bavarian Prime Minister and one of the candidates for the position of Chancellor of Germany, told the German channel ZDF on Friday that his impression is that the European Commission requested the vaccines late and trusted a few companies and demanded an agreement on the price. for a long time due to bureaucratic obstacles and a misjudgment of the seriousness of the situation.
On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron questioned the efficacy of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, describing it as “almost ineffective for those over 65”.
Sir John Bell, a professor at the University of Oxford who was part of the team that developed the vaccine, refuted this claim.
Asked if he thought President Macron was trying to reduce the demand for a vaccine, he replied: “If you don’t have any vaccine, the best thing is to reduce the demand.
European Union vaccination policies
Analysis: Gavin Lee is a European correspondent for the BBC
Earlier this week, the European Union signaled a proposal that would introduce a “reporting system,” officials said, and demonstrate the degree of transparency.
This system has now become an export control mechanism, in part due to Germany’s insistence that the authority to grant export of the vaccine to manufacturers rests with the governments of the European Union, and whether companies with headquarters in the EU can export vaccines to other parts of the world.
What sparked this, in part, EU officials told me was suspicion of the validity of the vague justification AstraZeneca gave this week when its CEO insisted that the production problem was related to low productivity at its factories. in Belgium.
The export inspection regime may affect the supply of the vaccine to Great Britain.
Currently, Pfizer ships quantities of the vaccine from the Poor’s plant to the UK. In the future, Pfizer will have to fill out a form and wait 48 hours to grant the export authorizations from the Belgian government or deny the request. This will be subject to the company’s ability to demonstrate that the export of these vaccines to Great Britain will not affect the agreement signed with the European Union. The World Health Organization criticized the announcement by the European Union of its intention to impose restrictions on the export of any vaccine produced in its countries.
‘A moral imperative’
The organization called on Great Britain to suspend the process of vaccination against the Corona virus once the vaccination of the most vulnerable groups is complete, so that the distribution of the vaccine worldwide is a kind of balance.
This is a “moral imperative,” said Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the organization.
About eight million people have received the vaccine in Britain and the government wants the entire adult population to receive the first dose by autumn.
The World Health Organization said a fair distribution of 2 billion doses was necessary worldwide by the end of 2021.
And experts warned that not tracking the virus over large areas can lead to new strains of it.
What’s going on?
This news comes amid widespread controversy between the European Union and AstraZeneca, which manufactured one of the vaccines, over the slow pace of distribution of the vaccine.
Image posted, EPA
Health Organization urges fair distribution of Corona vaccine
The European Commission had published the text of a confidential contract between the Union and AstraZeneca to prove the claim that the manufacturer of the Oxford vaccine did not comply with the obligations to supply the vaccine to the countries of the Union.
And it is necessary that the companies producing vaccines, according to current laws, obtain a permit to export the vaccine outside the countries of the European Union, and the countries of the Union have the right to audit export operations.
The vaccine produced by Pfizer is being exported to the United Kingdom, and the European Union insists on exporting part of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in England to the countries of the Union.
There is another controversy between the European Union and Pfizer, due to the smaller quantity of vaccine that is expected to be available until the end of March than what is stipulated in the terms of the contract.
Pfizer says the reason for this is to expand operations at its plants in Bors, Belgium.
The deficit in the quantity of AstraZeneca vaccine for the European Union is expected to reach 60 percent in the first quarter of 2021
It is reported that the European Union Medicines Licensing Authority has allowed the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for those over the age of eighteen.
