“As of today, Friday, there is very good news concerning the vaccines and two pieces of news that are challenging, but do not yet give us a cause to cheer. The good news is that the vaccine from the company Novavax is working very well and that the European Commission has been negotiating supplies with this company for months. The contract is about to be signed. So this vaccine could be available, if it is actually approved in a few weeks, also for European citizens. The second piece of good news is that AstraZeneca has now finally signaled movement in the vaccine dispute with the European Union and has announced that it will begin deliveries a week after approval, which is a week from today. They are also continuing to work on getting the figure of 31 million vaccine doses up," said the health spokesperson for the largest political group in the European Parliament, Dr. Peter Liese (EPP, Christian Democrats).
Read more: Vaccine news: Two very good news / Two moderate news
"As difficult as it is, we all need to be very disciplined for a few more weeks now to stop the spread of the mutated virus in the European Union," said health spokesman for the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats) Dr. med. Peter Liese. Liese welcomed Belgium's decision to ban unnecessary travel and France's decision to allow entry only with a high-quality PCR test."Travel unfortunately promotes the spread of the virus and therefore unnecessary travel should definitely be stopped now. Further measures to spread risk contacts are also needed. The explosion in numbers in the UK, Ireland and Portugal must be a warning to us all," said the CDU MEP and physician.
Despite the publicized supply problems at vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca, Liese believes that there will be a significant increase in the number of people vaccinated in the EU in February and March. "AstraZeneca's announcement to reduce the planned supply for the EU from 80 million to 31 million doses in the first quarter must not and will not be the last word. AstraZeneca has been contractually obligated to produce since as early as October and they are apparently delivering to other parts of the world, including the UK without delay. The flimsy justification that there are difficulties in the EU supply chain but not elsewhere does not hold water, as it is of course no problem to get the vaccine from the UK to the continent. The company cannot be interested in permanently damaging its reputation in the world's largest single market. Many in the company seem to be embarrassed by the matter. That's why I expect a change in the delivery plans for the EU in the next few hours, and an accelerated one at that. Even the 31 million doses, however, would be a significant improvement in the situation in the EU.
“It is very important that we all understand: The virus does not care who is guilty for the shortage of the vaccine. It will spread if we do not avoid risky contacts”, insisted Dr med Peter Liese, health spokesperson of the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian democrats). Liese asked everyone in the European Union to try to avoid the spreading especially of the new mutated virus by being disciplined. “We all can help, for example by meeting friends and others outside and not indoors. Going for a walk or enjoying a hot drink on the terrace is the better option. If you keep a distance and be outside, the virus has no chance”, says Liese. He also insisted that unnecessary traveling needs to be avoided and that people that definitely need to travel have to be tested carefully.
Concerning the approval of the vaccine from AstraZeneca, Liese insisted: “The AstraZeneca vaccine has not as good data as the vaccines from BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna but still it is a good vaccine. In October, we would have been happy to have a vaccine that has an efficiency well above 50 %. WHO, EMA and FDA have set a threshold at 50 per cent and the AstraZeneca vaccine is definitely passing this threshold. It´s like in football: When Moderna and BioNTech/Pfizer are the finalist of the Champions League it is not that Barcelona or Juventus Turin are bad football teams. They are just not the number one and in October, we did not have even district league. There are also strong indications that the efficiency for elderly people is good. For example, they have a good immune response and no elderly person who was included in the clinical trials has suffered from serious conditions or was hospitalised. Unfortunately, there is a lack of data that would really guarantee 100 per cent that the vaccine works as good for the elderly as for younger people. That is why EMA and national authorities have to assess this and give a scientific recommendation.
Read more: The virus does not care who is guilty for the shortage of the vaccine
"We urgently need better and more systematic controls on all entries from the United Kingdom to the European continent," said the health spokesperson of the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), Dr med. Peter Liese.
"I find it intolerable that we have made it clear in the Brexit agreement that any import of potentially infectious food is prohibited and that we are even discussing whether a lorry driver can bring his ham and cheese sandwich into the EU continent, but that Member States have no systematic approach to preventing Corona infections from returnees from the UK. As far as I am aware, there is no uniform procedure for arrivals by plane. The question of how travellers arriving by ferry, through the tunnel or on the Eurostar are tested is also not sufficiently clarified for me. Obviously, only quick tests are used in many cases. However, a quick test does not provide sufficient information. In particular, it is possible for someone to be infectious shortly after a quick test even if he or she has had a negative quick test result.
The result of the quick tests is actually only certain for 24 hours. This means that a lorry driver or business traveller coming from the UK to the continent can have a negative quick test when arriving at the continent but can still infect his family and colleagues three/four days later," said the MEP and doctor.
Read more: Peter Liese demands stricter controls on entries from the United Kingdom to the continent