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After the approval of a corona vaccine in Britain, Health Minister Spahn calls on the EU approval authority to act quickly. But it also emphasizes that safety is the top priority.
In view of the first approval of a corona vaccine in Britain, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn expects swift decisions from the European approval authorities.
Nurses, doctors and others worked day and night and every weekend during the crisis, Spahn said after a video conference with his EU counterparts. Therefore, the EU approval authority can be expected to make a decision on the relevant applications as soon as possible.
At the same time, Spahn stressed that safety must have the highest priority in vaccine development and approval. It is not about “being the first somehow”. The key is getting safe and effective vaccines, which is important for confidence. Therefore, planned studies with tens of thousands of volunteers must also be completed.
Karliczek demands patience with admission
Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek also asked for patience with the approval. “We should wait in silence for the approval process from the European Medicines Agency,” Karliczek said. It is important to stress over and over again that a vaccine must be safe and effective. This must be determined for the EU and therefore also for Germany in the traditional and usual procedure.
In the EU, so far there have been applications for two vaccines: one from the Mainz-based company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer and another from the US company Moderna.
The slight delays between approvals in Britain or the US and the EU “are not dramatic if it’s a foreseeable period of time,” Spahn said. He also emphasized that the UK and the US refer to emergency approvals. The EU, on the other hand, relies on the tried and tested Regular Admission Procedure.
EU approval by the end of December at the earliest
German MEP and health spokesman for the EPP group, Peter Liese, also rejected the British Health Minister’s claim that the quick approval in Britain had something to do with his country’s greater flexibility due to Brexit. In principle, all EU member states have the option of granting national emergency approval in certain cases.
In the UK, the Biontech vaccine should be available from next week. Also in the US Emergency approvals for vaccines from Pfizer-Biontech and the American company Moderna are expected to be granted very soon.
The European Medicines Agency Ema, which is responsible for procedures in the EU, is currently targeting approval of the Biontech vaccine by the end of December at the earliest, and that of the Moderna agent not until mid-January.
