Important that European Union had a more comprehensive evaluation of the vaccination / Now priority to convince vaccine hesitancy, medically justified advantages for vaccinated people are crucial

"Over the weekend, the European Union overtook the United States when it comes to the percentage of people that got their first shot,” announced the health spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats) Peter Liese, MD, based on data of Our World in Data. After many months of being ahead of us, the vaccination pace in the United States is very slow since already two months. On Sunday, 55.6% had gotten their first shot, in the EU is was 55.7%.
 
“I am very happy that after difficult months at the beginning of the year, the vaccination campaign in the European Union gained a lot of pace during the last months. Now it becomes clear that not only the pace of vaccination in the first months but also the long-term strategy is important. I am convinced that we have a good argument to explain to people still hesitating that the vaccine was properly tested in Europe. The European conditional market licencing foresees more safety than the emergency approvals in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Amongst others, it included liability for producers when they do a mistake.

The biggest challenge is now to convince those that are still undecided. The offer to be vaccinated must reach people conveniently in their daily life and we need to better communicate with people who do not speak the main language of the country they live in. Working with role models could be a good approach, here. In general, we definitely need a good implementation of the European Covid-19-Certificate. It was a wrong decision by the German government to put people that come from Portugal in quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated and it is good that the German government, after many interventions and criticism (including from my side), changed its position. People that are vaccinated must get benefits, because it is medically justified.  It is also important that in the foreseeable future, tests that will offer an alternative to vaccination will not be financed by the taxpayers when the respective people belong to a group that can be vaccinated according to European approval and national rules. Still, tests should remain free for children, because we do not have an approved vaccine here.  But for people above 16 years, the decision not to be vaccinated should not be a reason for the taxpayer to pay the tests,” expressed the doctor and MEP.