For Brussels, there is an explosion of criticism from Germany: it is difficult to explain

“Obviously, the European recruitment procedure is not adequate,” Soder, head of the Bavarian region, told Bild am Sonntag in an interview. “It is difficult to explain why a very good vaccine was developed in Germany, but vaccination started earlier.”

The politician’s comments only fueled outrage over the slow approval process for a vaccine produced in the European Union, according to politico.eu.

Due to the unforgivable delay, citizens of countries outside the bloc have been vaccinated for several weeks with a vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer and manufactured in Germany, and the Germans have had to wait a while for the green light to finally come on.

“The European Commission has probably planned too bureaucratically, so too little has been ordered and the debate on prices has dragged on,” Soder said, citing reasons for the delay.

The representatives of the Commission defended their position: they tried to draw attention to the enormous worldwide demand for the vaccine.

“The main problem at the moment is not the volume of orders, but the shortage of production in response to global demand,” Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told AFP.

The CEO of BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, assured that everything possible is being done to increase production, but in Europe, unlike other regions, the processes are not so fast and simple.

On Sunday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted that he expects tens of millions of people to be vaccinated in the first months of the year, and the Israeli leadership estimates that even a couple of million doses of the vaccine will be sold. before the end of January.

“Time is a very important factor,” warned Soder, who will likely run for chancellor in the September national elections. – If Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom can vaccinate people much earlier, these countries will also reap economic benefits. The response to how quickly the economy can recover from a pandemic depends largely on how quickly the vaccination process can be completed. “

On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with leaders from 16 German regions, including Soder. The purpose of the joint meeting is to decide the duration of the nationwide quarantine aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Mr. Soder is convinced that the measures, including the suspension of non-essential goods and services, are likely to remain in effect until at least the end of January.

After strong criticism for the lack of a vaccine, the European Commission defends its acquisition strategy.

“We will have enough vaccine,” Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said in Brussels on Monday. But the vaccine has yet to be manufactured and distributed, he said.

“We condemn this campaign as if it is already over. But the campaign is just beginning,” Mamer said. As early as fall, it was said that the vaccine supply would gradually expand from the end of 2020 and that large shipments could be expected in April.

“So it is quite surprising when we now say, ‘Why are not all doses of the vaccine on the market yet?'” The spokesperson said. This was said to be clear from the start. The Commission has confirmed this weekend that Biontech and Pfizer are being consulted on additional doses of the vaccine, in addition to the 300 million already ordered. The vaccine from these companies is so far the only one registered in the EU.

EEA: No decision has yet been made on the distribution of Moderna vaccine in the EU

The European Union pharmaceutical regulator said on Monday that it had not yet made a decision to allow distribution of a coronavirus vaccine developed by the American company Moderna, but said discussions would continue later this week.

The Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Wednesday that it was still considering whether a second vaccine against coronavirus infection should be allowed in the EU. Last month, the agency authorized community distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, developed by BioNTech and Pfizer.

“EEA Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use [CHMP] The debate on the Modern vaccine against COVID-19 has not been completed today. They will continue on Wednesday, the agency said in a statement. “The EEA will make no more announcements today.”

Under pressure from EU members over the deteriorating epidemiological situation, the EEA had previously decided to present a decision originally scheduled for January 12.

The EEA stated that it would issue an appropriate notice without delay, “if the CHMP ends today [pirmadienio] the meeting will take place [bendrą] opinion “.

As demonstrated by clinical trials with 30.4 thousand. The efficacy of the vaccines in the Modern American company is 94.1% compared to the placebo group.

The modern vaccine would be the second to be licensed in the European Union. On December 21, the EVA authorized the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, under an expedited procedure.

However, last week, the EVA said it is unlikely that the coronavirus vaccines developed by the British company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, which were approved in the UK last Wednesday, could be distributed in the European Union until next month.

With the approval of two vaccines each by Britain and the United States, the EEA has come under pressure to speed up its procedures. Germany was under special pressure.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccination campaign in the EU started on December 27, but at a much slower pace than in the United States, Britain or Israel.

The European Commission defended the bloc’s strategy early Monday, saying its plans would help the EU overcome “obstacles along the way.”

“Obviously, such a complex ambition will always bring difficulties,” EC spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters.

The European Commission highlighted that it had commissioned “almost 2 billion euros. six types of vaccines. This number is four times higher than the population of the EU.

The United States is currently vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, and the United Kingdom has also started vaccinating British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Monday.

Vaccination in EU countries is much slower than expected. In France, for example, only more than 500 people received the first dose of the vaccine. Germany, in turn, began vaccinating 200,000. people.

The Netherlands, the last country to start vaccination in the EU, has announced that the start of vaccination will be brought forward two days and the first doses will be administered on Wednesday.