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Andrea Amon, director of the European Epidemiology Agency, announced on Wednesday that the Union hopes to distribute the first vaccines against Covid-19 on its soil “in the first half of 2021”, in an “optimistic” scenario, asking for prudence in return.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Amoun confirmed that the situation on the front lines of the epidemic in Europe is “very worrying” and “all our indicators are going in the wrong direction”, calling on Europeans to respect the restrictions imposed “by very difficult that is “.
And he warned that in the current situation, “it may be necessary to reduce the number of injuries for longer than during the first wave of injuries” in March and April. He added that the road to the first European vaccines is still long and uncertain, and “may take a few months.”
And confirmed in response to a question about the expected date of the first vaccines in Europe: “If we are optimistic, the first half of next year, but I cannot be more precise.” On Tuesday, a European source announced to France Press that the permission to use the vaccine in the European Union could take place “early 2021”, after the American “Pfizer” and the German “Biontech” announced that the effectiveness of their vaccine reaches 90%, reviving hope of stopping virus outbreak. The US authorities are talking about “weeks”.
“Of course the announcement from Pfizer is very promising. It is a press release and not a peer review, so we have to wait for the final opinion,” Amon said. Upon completion of the third phase trials, the European Medicines Agency must evaluate the results and grant a license to put the vaccine on the market. He added: “We have to start production later and only then will we start vaccination.”
And the European Commission announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to a contract with “Pfizer” and “Biontech”, which allowed it to buy 300 million doses of the vaccine. Meanwhile, European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides in Brussels called for caution even if “there is hope.” He added: “Even when we have a safe and effective vaccine, it will not be the treatment that will contribute to the disappearance of the Covid-19 epidemic in one day.” In cooperation with national authorities, the European Center for Disease Control is currently developing rules to determine which groups will be given priority. Amoun said: “In general, the weaker groups and health personnel will be. But we are trying to define them better because these groups are large.”
According to the latest figures from the European Center for Disease Control, all European Union countries except Finland and Estonia, as well as Great Britain, are raising “major concerns” regarding their epidemiological situation. Amoun said that all the indicators of the European Union, that is to say, the percentage of positive examinations, the proportion of elderly in the total injuries, the mortality rate and the number of patients who are transferred to hospitals, “are increasing” and “have not yet peaked.”
(Brush from France)
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