The EU agency has approved the Pfizer Covid vaccine

BRUSSELS – From Stockholm to Athens and from Lisbon to Warsaw, European Union governments are gearing up to get a coronavirus vaccine this weekend, although cases are on the rise in some parts of the continent.

Blush’s Drug Authority, European Drug Agency, Pfizer-Bioentech approved the vaccine on Monday, opting for the logistics marathon, a move most officials in the field had not previously had to contend with.

The process of buying, approving and distributing shots across the European Union has been complex and politically charged, and the stakes cannot be high. The second wave of epidemics is still rampant in parts of the region, most Europeans are spending their holidays in some kind of lockdown, and the blockchain economy has been stripped.

To complicate matters further, many European countries are blocking travelers from Britain over the weekend in a highly contagious manner in England, although scientists say it has already reached the continent.

If the vaccine mission is successful, it can promote EU credentials, establish its administration as a real power with executive powers and capabilities that can carry out important functions on behalf of its members. If not, failure can lead to embarrassment and insecurity.

The Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine reviewed by the European Medicines Agency came under intense scrutiny for speed. With Britain approving the vaccine emergency weeks ago and then starting its inoculation program, the United States is still not far behind.

Finally, the European Agency decided to expedite the process, advancing the approval meeting, which was scheduled for December 29. The United States has also approved the vaccine from Moderna, but the European Agency will not consider an application for authorization until January 6, the company’s shots.

Now that the agency has authorized the Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine, the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, expects a rubber stamp after Monday’s decision. It will be a green light for Pfizer to start distributing the vaccine across that region.

The commission assigns responsibility for this first load, as cargo from Belgium’s purse, and Pfizer’s shipments to Mainz in Germany, will most likely depart for European capitals on Thursday. The company, which refuses to answer detailed questions about transportation plans for safety reasons, will play an active role in the transportation and storage of vaccines in each country.

From that point on, each government of the 27 members of the bloc will be responsible for distributing vaccines to its population in a way that suits the needs, priorities and capabilities of its country.

The first European inoculation is expected on December 27, 28 and 29.

The pressure to get this right and so quickly is growing as the European Union and its members try a collective approach to the crucial node in the fight against the epidemic. Most countries have been more nationalist.

Discussions on the European approach have begun this summer with a decision to capitalize on negotiations and empower the European Commission and delegations from each member country to reach agreements with pharmaceutical companies working on vaccines.

It is being criticized that the European Union, like the United States, does not provide adequate doses of the Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine when given the opportunity. But from a financial point of view, it seems that this approach has benefited the blush: it pays less than the United States for the Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine.

In Germany, the decision to empower the European Commission to negotiate a deal has been criticized, with some arguing that the country would be better off going alone. But most block members are mediocre countries or smaller, and for them, approach means. (Just as the clock is ticking in Brexit, some may also see a strong political message here, showing the strength of unity.)

However, if the process has become uniform at this stage, the rollout will now begin to look quite different from country to country.

Germany plans to start vaccinating people over the age of 0 and others who live in care homes. One or two days after the December, 5,000 dose. The first vaccinations are planned by teams of doctors visiting nursing homes. In the first week of January, hundreds of immunization centers set up in halls, gyms and theaters will open.

For many Germans, it was difficult to see a vaccine approved by their own citizens being approved, and Britain began to schedule its arrival in its own country weeks in advance.

But the country’s health minister, Jens Spa, has pushed against the criticism.

“It gives a lot of confidence and responsibility in Europe that we are doing this together,” Mr Schne told reporters last week. “We are stronger than I am,” he said.

France, the region’s second-largest economy, will also start shots by the end of the month. But officials there faced one more challenge: vaccine suspicion. A recent poll suggests that only 41 percent of those surveyed are planning to take an injection.

Italy and Spain, the two most affected European countries, are also moving fast, with at least the most vulnerable people vaccinated by the end of this month. Wholesale will begin in January.

It is not lost on health officials across Europe that the first vaccination could take a symbolic value in a campaign to increase the tedious and sometimes skeptical population.

In Greece, the inoculation drive by a government eager to win over reluctant citizens is called Operation Operation Freedom. There is a recent opinion poll suggesting that three out of 10 Greeks do not intend to be vaccinated, citing concerns about efficacy and safety, with another three out of 10 saying they are suspicious.

In Italy, the first person to be vaccinated there will be “a nurse and also a woman – just like in New York,” Alessio D’Amato, the top health care officer in the Lazio region, told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

So far, no EU country has announced plans to make the vaccine mandatory.

And while most people are under pressure to be vaccinated at the very least, experts warn that officials should not move too fast, especially if they do not trust the infrastructure of their countries.

Adviser to the European Medicines Agency Prof. of the University of Namur in Belgium. The best approach, especially if logistics are a concern, is to walk slowly and steadily, said Jean-Michel Dagny.

“Nothing can go wrong without vaccinating someone, for which we cannot guarantee quality,” he said.

The biggest challenge for any country will be to track the temperature of the Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine during its journey from factory to injection, said Professor Doug.

The inoculation campaign will move vigorously in the European Union in the first quarter of 2021, and most governments hope to have their population vaccinated by June.

Pfizer and the European Commission say they are working on a specific schedule for future vaccine delivery but did not give details. Improving production is a challenge for the company, which serves multiple customers, and European governments have expressed concern that supply will become difficult.

Professor Doug said there was more reason to make it right and to make sure none of the precious doses were disrupted.

“This is an unprecedented operation,” he said. “We shouldn’t waste a single drop.”

Reporting was contributed by Melissa Eddy of Berlin; Ure Relin Briden from Paris; Emma Bubola from Rome; Monica Pronkzuk from Warsaw; Nikki Kitsantonis from Athens; And Rafael Minder from Madrid.