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Today the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, will present the Covid vaccination plan to Parliament: at the beginning there will be no obligation other than the work of persuasion and information. The goal of herd immunity means vaccinating 40 million Italians. The time is approaching when the first doses will reach Europe and all EU countries must be prepared. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) plans to decide whether to approve the vaccine developed by Pfizer and Biontech before December 29 and Moderna on January 12.
This is the first step, then the EU Commission will authorize the vaccines based on the scientific opinion of the EMA. AstraZeneca, which is developing the vaccine with the University of Oxford, announced that it will submit documentation for approval to regulatory agencies within a week.
Plan
Yesterday Minister Speranza, illustrating the plan in a meeting at Palazzo Chigi, also in the presence of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, explained – according to majority sources – that 202 million doses of anti-Covid vaccine will be available from the first quarter 2021 and that every dose, according to current knowledge, needs a booster and we do not know how much immunity there is. Among the first available vaccines will be that of Pfizer, which will arrive between January 23 and 26 and the doses will go to the 300 points identified, which are directly the hospitals. The distribution of the vaccine will be entirely state-owned: management will be centralized and the vaccine will be distributed in accordance with medical and scientific decisions. The army will be involved. The doses will initially go to the categories of greater risk: medical-health personnel and rsa, over 80 years old, then to the age range of 60/70 and to follow the other groups, such as essential workers, including schoolchildren. After there is mass vaccination, large public spaces, gyms, fairs will be used. There will be double monitoring, with vaccination surveillance and immunological surveillance. According to the plan, it will not be possible to make the third wave coincide with the vaccination campaign, so it is essential that the epidemiological curve falls.
The EU procedure
Following the opinion of the EMA, two very important phases will follow, explained a spokesman for the EU Commission at a press conference: First is the delivery of vaccines by producers to Member States, the terms of which must be agreed between the States and producers. Once the doses are delivered, EU countries may want to transport the doses from the central center to other vaccination centers. This is the responsibility of the Member States. Marketing authorization for a vaccine is a decision that must be made in an emergency, the spokesperson continued. So once the EMA has given the green light, the Commission will do its best to come up with a very quick decision, which could come, including consultation of member states in committee, in a couple of days. Opinions on both vaccines, the EMA said, will come if the data presented is robust and complete enough to demonstrate the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine. The important thing is that all Member States will have the same access to all vaccines, and they will be free, because the vaccine has been interpreted as a common good, explained Sandra Gallina, Director General of Health and Food Safety of the Commission.
The guidelines
While waiting for mass vaccination, it is necessary to continue with protective measures and precautions. There is a light at the end of the tunnel – said the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen – but we must be disciplined until we have a suitable vaccine. According to the president, if all goes well, the first European citizens could be vaccinated before the end of December and this would be a great step towards a return to normal life. Today the Commission will present the new guidelines for the Christmas holidays. According to a draft, Brussels will discourage crowded religious ceremonies and recommend extending school holidays to avoid outbreaks in classrooms.
December 1, 2020 (change December 2, 2020 | 00:08)
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