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The meeting was attended by representatives from the Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry Association, the American Local Working Group (LAWG) and AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in Lithuania. Preliminary agreements with these companies for the purchase of vaccines currently under development have been signed or are being negotiated by the European Commission (EC).
Lithuania has already decided and has joined the agreements initiated by the EC with AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson for the purchase of the vaccines they are developing, and in the near future it will be decided to join the third agreement of the EC with another company.
According to Minister A. Veryga, the day is coming when the world will have a tried and tested vaccine against this insidious virus that can be used safely, so Lithuania is preparing for that too.
“It has been said many times that vaccination against the coronavirus will be voluntary and the highest priority in this process is human health and safety. Although the vaccine is expected to be developed in record time, its safety and reliability will be held to the highest standards and the screening process will meet the same standards as any other drug. This is a challenge for everyone, whose goal is to find the fastest and most efficient solutions to control the spread of this virus ”, says Minister A. Veryga.
Last week, the EC presented a strategy for the rapid distribution of coronavirus vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency among the member states of the European Union (EU). At the same time, the EC called on states to start preparing for future vaccination now, so that the public is protected from the virus as soon as the opportunity arises.
So during this meeting, we talked about the homework that will need to be done to prepare for the rapid transport and distribution of vaccines, to train health professionals, to inform the public, to think of many other details.
Representatives of associations and pharmaceutical companies present at the meeting reported that the development of part of the vaccines against coronavirus has reached the stage of large-scale phase III clinical trials. These studies are being monitored by scientists and medical professionals and involve tens of thousands of volunteers.
It is stressed that new vaccines will only be introduced into the EU for vaccination once their safety has been demonstrated by studies and their safety and efficacy have been confirmed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The EMA has started to analyze the results of several vaccine trials.
The EC is committed to ensuring that the successful approval of the vaccine is available to all Member States and that the available doses of the vaccine are distributed in proportion to the population of the country. However, due to the potentially limited number of initial doses, national governments are urged to identify priority groups in society that would have the opportunity to be vaccinated first. These can include medical workers, people at higher risk due to age and illness, etc.
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