In a statement from the European Commission published by Brussels on March 24, the European Commission said it has put in place an accelerated approval process for coronavirus vaccines that are effective against COVID-19 strains. The statement reads:
“The European Commission introduces a regulation to accelerate the issuance of approvals for adapted vaccines against COVID-19. It will include provisions in the relevant EU legislation to allow companies to focus on collecting the necessary evidence in a timely manner and to allow the use of adapted vaccines with fewer complementary data submitted to the European Medicines Agency. ”
Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, explains that such a measure will enable the EMA (European Medicines Agency) to quickly make decisions on the approval of drugs that successfully affect the mutated coronavirus. After the fast-track procedure is approved by the EU Council and the European Parliament, the decision will enter into force.
Currently, the supply of drugs to the EU countries is greatly delayed. The reasons are cited as a shortage of raw materials and problems with logistics. In addition, the United States and Britain have imposed restrictions on cross-border shipments.
In the first quarter of this year, from January to March, all 27 EU countries received only 40 million doses of the vaccine instead of the planned 106 million. Taking into account the second quarter, the EU should receive about 200 million doses, but it is very doubtful. It is already known that Europe will not receive tens of millions of doses of AstraZeneca.
More Stories
Secret minutes of RKI meetings during the covid pandemic have been published – about lockdowns, vaccinations and masks
2,000 deaths and 20,000 hospitalizations avoided thanks to self-diagnosis
Will Greek ground forces go to Ukraine?