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Vaccinations against the coronavirus can now also start in the European Union. The EU Commission granted the preparation of Mainz-based company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer conditional marketing approval, as EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday. “Today we are adding an important chapter to the fight against Covid-19.”
It is the first coronavirus vaccine that can be used in the EU. In the afternoon, the European Medicines Agency recommended the conditional marketing authorization of Ema. The EU Commission has now followed this recommendation. Ema had carefully reviewed the vaccine, von der Leyen said. This test showed that the vaccine was safe and effective against the coronavirus. Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) had already spoken of a “milestone in the fight against the pandemic” after Ema’s recommendation.
The first cans will be injected in Germany on Sunday.
In Germany, the first cans will be injected this Sunday. Until then, the federally owned Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) should verify and approve vaccine lots. Initially, there should be around 400,000 cans for Germany. First, people over 80 years of age, nursing home staff and residents, as well as healthcare workers at very high risk of infection should be vaccinated. According to clinical studies, Biontech indicates the effectiveness of the vaccine with 95 percent.
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, three to four million doses could be available in January. In the first quarter, Spahn expects between 11 and 13 million doses of vaccines. Since the preparation has to be administered twice, this amount would be sufficient for approximately 5.5 to 6.5 million people. In total, the federal government has insured more than 300 million cans, from Biontech and other manufacturers, through national and key agreements across the EU.
In other countries such as the US or Great Britain, the Biontech / Pfizer preparation is already being used on the basis of an emergency approval.
