"It is gratifying that another vaccine is available in Europe." This stated the MEP and health policy spokesman for the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), Dr. med. Peter Liese, after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) today issued a positive risk assessment for the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. The vaccine was already approved by the EMA for Europe in March and was due to be shipped last week. However, following reports of possible severe side effects, the shipment to Europe was halted. Previously, U.S. health officials had recommended a stop of vaccinations.
"The side effects need to be taken very seriously, but first, they are extremely rare and second, they can be treated. It is important that people who have signs of side effects, for example, severe headaches after the fourth day or noticeable bleedings, present themselves immediately to a doctor or even to a hospital. Overall, the risk from Covid-19 is definitely greater than the risk of vaccine side effects," Liese said.
Today, the vaccine manufacturer Johnson & Johnson will begin with the shipment of its vaccine to the European Union. The health spokesperson of the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats) Dr. med. Peter Liese has received this information from sources from the European Commission and the company. The manufacturer has announced in contracts with the EU to deliver 55 million vaccine doses by the end of June. Most recently, it was unclear whether that promise would be kept. However, 50 million doses are certain. The vaccine has shown good efficacy in clinical trials not only against the original type of the virus, but also against the British and even the South African and Brazilian virus mutations. "It only takes one vaccination to achieve sufficient protection, so the vaccine will massively accelerate the pace in the EU. A total of 360 million vaccine doses have been announced for the second quarter, most of which (200 million) will come from BioNTech/Pfizer." Liese expects to exceed the European Union's promise of vaccination coverage for 70% of adults by the end of the summer.
The European Commission will no longer buy vaccines from Johnson& Johnson and AstraZeneca in the future, but will rely on the mRNA vaccines from BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna and CureVac for the long-term fight against the Corona pandemic. Corresponding reports were confirmed by the MEP and health policy spokesman of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), Dr. med. Peter Liese, following talks with the Commission.
The European Commission wants to buy 900 million mRNA vaccines for 2022 and 2023 and not renew contracts with other vaccine manufacturers "The vector vaccines from Johnson&Johnson and AstraZeneca are good vaccines and we need to use them to get the pandemic under control by the summer. The side effects are very serious and I support the decision of many Member States not to vaccinate AstraZeneca to younger people for the time being.
"The number of intensive care patients is increasing at an alarming rate, and we urgently need to take countermeasures”, said the health spokesperson of the largest political group in the European Parliament Dr med. Peter Liese (EPP, Christian Democrats) on Thursday. "We must proceed intelligently and reduce risk contacts, so that the incidence rate falls as quickly as possible, preferably below 50 per 100.000 per week. Only then targeted openings will be possible. We need to do this by focusing more than before on the areas where most infections occur, which means private indoor meetings and workplaces. Schools should not be completely closed as far as possible, but the concepts must become much more intelligent than before," Liese said. "Above all, we need to accelerate the pace of vaccination in the European Union. I am optimistic that things will get better in the next few weeks as BioNTech/Pfizer in particular will be able to deliver significantly more vaccine thanks to the new plant in Marburg, which will soon be running at full capacity, and in a few days we will also have the vaccine from Johnson&Johnson, with which we will only have to vaccinate once. Nevertheless, from my point of view, things have to move faster, so I propose the following five concrete points: