Tag: EU:

Researcher Urges UK to Donate Vaccines Rather Than Give Boosters

LONDON (Reuters) – Booster shots for COVID-19 vaccines are not currently needed and the doses should be given to other countries, Oxford vaccine chief Andrew Pollard said on Tuesday in contrast to the position taken by Britain’s health minister. Pollard, who heads the Oxford Vaccine Group, said that a decision to boost should be based

EU to get 40 mn more Moderna jabs in Q3: medicines agency

The EU’s medicines watchdog said on Friday that the bloc was likely to get 40 million more Moderna vaccine doses by October, after an output boost at two new US sites. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) in June gave the green light for the US sites in Massachusetts and New Hampshire to produce ingredients needed

EU wants faster vaccine production in "age of pandemics"

FILE PHOTO: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sticks an EU flag label during a visit at the factory of U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer in Puurs, Belgium April 23, 2021. John Thys /Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoBRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union plans to boost its early warning system and have a permanent capacity to

EU summit welcomes COVID certificate to unlock travel

EU leaders on Tuesday welcomed the introduction of a bloc-wide COVID-19 pass that they hope will unlock a tourist surge this summer. The 27 member states want the EU Digital COVID Certificate, to be launched July 1, to turn the page on coronavirus restrictions that have crimped Europeans’ cherished freedom of movement. Coupled with a

EU sceptical of US push to lift COVID vaccine patents

The EU voiced scepticism Friday over the United States’ sudden push to waive COVID vaccine patents to boost supply to poorer countries, while defending its own record as the world’s biggest exporter of doses. French President Emmanuel Macron led the charge as he arrived at an EU summit in Portugal, stressing that the bigger problem

EU regulators start review of China’s Sinovac vaccine

The European Union’s drug regulator announced Tuesday that it has started a rolling review of China’s Sinovac coronavirus vaccine to assess its effectiveness and safety, a first step toward possible approval for use in the 27-nation bloc. The European Medicines Agency said Tuesday that its decision to start the review is based on preliminary results

EU drug agency starts COVID jab evaluation for 12 to 15-year olds

Europe’s medicines watchdog said Monday it had begun evaluating the use of Pfizer BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, after a similar request in the United States. Its possible authorisation for children is seen as a crucial step towards achieving herd immunity. The European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee “will carry out an accelerated

EU sues AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery shortfall

The European Union said Monday it has launched legal action against pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca over coronavirus vaccine delivery shortfalls that hampered efforts to kickstart inoculations across the bloc. “The Commission has started last Friday a legal action against the company AstraZeneca on the basis of breaches of the advanced purchase agreement,” EU spokesman Stefan De

EU agency says people should get 2nd dose of AstraZeneca too

The European Medicines Agency said Friday that people who have received a first dose of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine should get the second one too, despite the rare risk of blood clots that have been linked to the shot. In new guidance, the EU drug regulator said people should continue to get the second AstraZeneca dose

EU regulator opens review into CureVac’s COVID shot

The European Union’s medicines regulator said Friday it had started a “rolling review” of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by German firm CureVac, the first step towards a possible authorisation in the bloc. “Preliminary results from laboratory studies and early clinical studies in adults… suggest the vaccine triggers the production of antibodies and immune cells that

With China’s help, Serbia overtakes EU in vaccine rollout

Inside the dome of Belgrade’s concrete fair hall, dozens of nurses in hazmat suits inject COVID-19 shots into young and old alike, working with an efficiency that has turned Serbia into continental Europe’s fastest vaccinator. The small Balkan country has inoculated more than 450,000 of its population of seven million in almost two weeks, a

EU demands that vaccine makers honor their commitments

The European Union on Tuesday warned pharmaceutical giants that develop coronavirus vaccines to honor their contractual obligations after slow deliveries of shots from two companies hampered the bloc’s vaunted vaccine rollout in several nations. The bloc already lashed out Monday at pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, accusing it of failing to guarantee the delivery of coronavirus vaccines

Covid deaths at record high as EU approves second vaccine

The European Union’s medicines watchdog on Wednesday approved a second coronavirus vaccine, in a relief to struggling European countries as the world reached a grim new record of 15,700 deaths in 24 hours. The Moderna vaccine is now set to join Pfizer-BioNTech’s jab for use in the 27-nation EU, where governments are grappling with soaring

More EU nations ban travel from UK, fearing virus variant

A growing list of European Union nations and Canada barred travel from the U.K. on Sunday and others were considering similar action, in a bid to block a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England from spreading to the continent. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Bulgaria all announced restrictions on

EU signing Pfizer contract ‘soon’ for 300-million doses

The European Union said Monday that it was very close to signing a contract with drugs firms Pfizer and BioNTech for 300 million doses of a future new coronavirus vaccine. “European science works!” declared Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, congratulating the US and German companies after they claimed a breakthrough.

Spain becomes first EU nation with one million virus cases

Spain has become the first European Union nation to surpass a million coronavirus infections, official data showed Wednesday, as the government mulls fresh restrictions on public life to curb the spread of the disease. The country recorded 16,973 confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, the health ministry announced Wednesday, taking the total

EU countries adopt common travel guidelines amid pandemic

European Union countries on Tuesday approved a series of guidelines aimed at facilitating free movement across the bloc and avoiding further disruption during the coronavirus pandemic. During a meeting in Luxembourg, envoys for the 27 member states agreed on a common approach to travel restrictions and testing to help citizens and workers get more clarity

EU sees ‘moderate to high’ risk of more virus clusters

EU health officials foresee a “moderate to high” risk of more new coronavirus clusters of the type happening in northern Italy, they said in a statement after a meeting Monday. The warning, by the bloc’s Health Security Committee, echoed one by the World Health Organization which said countries around the planet should prepare for a