A healthcare worker is waiting for visitors at a Covid-19 vaccination center in Gelnhausen, Germany, on March 31.
Photographer: Alex Kraus / Bloomberg
Photographer: Alex Kraus / Bloomberg
The European Commission has informed governments that the rollout of Covid vaccine earlier than expected could reach a key target, among new projections depending on people who accept AstraZeneca Plc’s shot.
The According to the European Union’s executive, most member states will have enough vaccine supplies by the end of June to immunize the majority of people, according to a memorandum distributed to the national delegations in Brussels.
Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands will be able to fully vaccinate more than 55% of their total population, according to the document seen by Bloomberg. The EU has said earlier that it wants to immunize 70% of adults by the end of the summer, which – depending on the demographics of each Member State – is about 55-60% of the total population.
The projections indicate growing confidence in Brussels that the vaccination campaign will improve after a year disastrous start to be dominated by delays, mixed messages and political battles.
But uncertainty over Astra’s vaccine could cloud the outlook. Messaggero, the European Medicines Agency, the EU’s medicine regulator, could point to a possible link between shots from the drugmaker and rare cases of blood clots. reported on Tuesday, quoting Marco Cavalieri, EMA’s chairman of the vaccine evaluation team. The UK regulator for medicines is also being asked to change its guidance on the use of the vaccine in younger people. Channel 4 News reported.
Vaccine abnormality
EU member states will not reach the immunity threshold at the same time
Source: EU memorandum of 1 April
Reports of side effects of the dose of Astra last month have already led to its temporary suspension in some EU countries. While use has resumed, some governments restrict it to certain age groups.
Vaccination centers in France have said that several people who are eligible for vaccination are reluctant to take an Astra shot and go so far as to cancel their appointments. The latest setback with Astra’s vaccinations could extend the closure further, with countries across the continent struggling to contain a third wave of infections.
In Germany, the leader of the Chancellor’s party, Angela Merkel, has stepped up his call to curb strict short-term curbs to curb the country’s resurgent outbreak. Armin Laschet said a hard two to three weeks’ hiatus was needed to control Germany’s presence Tuesday.
The EU forecast document, dated 1 April, details the exact number of doses that will be available to each government by the end of June. Although the overall picture is positive, some member states, including Austria, Croatia and the Czech Republic, will lag behind. Others, such as Denmark and Malta, will reach the immunity threshold much sooner.
The estimates that Bloomberg has seen are believed in an agreement last week to redistribute part of an accelerated amount of deliveries to countries where supplies are scarce.
The backlog did not draw the full allocation of the coronavirus vaccines to which they were entitled under the EU’s purchase agreements. BioNTech SE en Pfizer Inc., as well Moderna Inc., choose instead to focus on AstraZeneca Plc’s cheaper shot. With Astra deliveries behind schedule, these member states could experience delays in reopening their economies, even after the mechanism agreed to help them catch up.
Provide boom
The EU expects a large increase in vaccine delivery in the coming months
Source: European Commission
The commission expects vaccine delivery this quarter to increase to about 360 million doses of just over 100 million in the first three months of the year.
EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who has made the greatest efforts to increase production, said the bloc would have the ability to deliver enough doses to reach collective immunity by 14 July, provided the doses are injected. The date is symbolic of coinciding with Bastille Day in France.