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AMSTERDAM (REUTERS) – The European drug regulator will evaluate on Monday (December 21) the Covid-19 vaccine jointly developed by the American company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, with the green light to put Europe on course to begin inoculations in one week.
European Union countries, including Germany, Austria, and Italy, have said they plan to start vaccines from December 27, as Europe tries to catch up with the United States and Britain, where deployment began earlier this year. month.
If the European Medicines Agency (EMA) grants the authorization, the final hurdle is approval from the European Commission, which is expected to follow on Wednesday.
The head of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has already pointed to the start of vaccinations in the period from December 27 to 29, almost immediately after Christmas.
Medical students, retired doctors, pharmacists and soldiers are being recruited into a European vaccination campaign on an unprecedented scale.
A gradual approach means that frontline healthcare workers and elderly residents of nursing homes are being prioritized, and most national schemes do not reach the general public until the end of the first quarter of 2021 at the latest. soon.
However, the goal of the 27-member European Union is to reach 70% coverage of its 450 million inhabitants.
The Swiss drug regulator authorized the vaccine for use in people over 16 on Saturday.
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