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Measures for primary schools and students in last year of high school must be better than before Christmas / Allow lifting measures for outdoor activities as the next step

"If we lift he measures too quickly and too comprehensively now, we could see a dramatic explosion in the incidence of infections and a total overload of the health system within four to five weeks. That is why targeted openings are the right thing to do, but we must continue to be very cautious," explained the health spokesperson of the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), Dr med. Peter Liese, referring to the infection situation in other European countries such as Ireland and Portugal.

"Portugal has a total overload of health care system at the moment and therefore it is good that even the German Armed Forces are helping in Portugal. Until a few weeks ago, the infection figures were quite under control (28 December 2020). However, especially during Christmas, the measures were lifted generously: there were no restrictions on how many people per household one was allowed to meet during Christmas and the nighttime curfew was also shortened. This led to an almost eightfold increase (7.85) in the number of infections within four weeks (28.12.2020: 2,093 to 28.01.2021: 16,432). The spread of the B117 virus variant first detected in the UK has obviously played a role, and possibly also the Brazilian variant (also called V3).

In Ireland, there was an even more dramatic development, but those responsible stopped it early enough through targeted measures. In December, Ireland had the virus under control so well that on some days there were no deaths at all. Additionally, the number of infections was well below 50 in a country of 5 million people with a 7-day incidence of about 250 per day. Nevertheless, already in the beginning of December measures were lifted very generously: gyms, cinemas as well as restaurants were opened and even during Christmas, many more contacts were allowed than in for example Germany. This, in combination with the new British virus variant, which of course mainly entered the Republic of Ireland via the open border with Northern Ireland, has obviously led to an almost twenty-fold increase within 26 days (13.12.2020: 429 to 08.01.2021: 8,227).

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Novavax deal nears completion / AstraZeneca shows concession / Data for Johnson & Johnson not yet sufficiently clear / AstraZeneca approval leaves decision of Standing Commission on Vaccines open


“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).

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Instead of apportioning blame, tackle and solve the problem / European Commission and Novavax negotiating contract / both sides praise constructive talks

 
"I understand very well when people are frustrated that vaccination is not happening faster. But what is not okay from my point of view is when EU countries always compare itself with the countries where things are going faster and completely ignore the fact that there are also rich industrialised nations where things are going slower. A good example is Canada, also because the country is suffering just as much as we are. Canada is affected by the rebuilding of the Pfizer plant in Belgium because they don't get the vaccine from the US, because Donald Trump has stipulated that nothing will be exported and Joe Biden has unfortunately not changed it. Canada ordered earlier and more than the EU, but is at 0.4% in the ‘complete’ vaccination rate. The table shows the rate of people who are fully vaccinated, i.e. have also received the second dose. As you can see here, some EU countries like Italy and Germany are little ahead of the UK. The UK, in fact, is pursuing a quite risky vaccination strategy. They initially vaccinate many people only once (also with the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine), although this is not covered by the licence. In the worst case, this can lead to the development of new dangerous mutations. Countries like Canada, Singapore, Switzerland and Turkey are in a much worse position than EU countries. Now I can understand everyone who says it doesn't help me if I look at countries like Canada and Switzerland, I still want to get the vaccine. Unfortunately, it also doesn't help if you only look at and Israel1  or the U.S.2 We all have to get to work now so that Europe can move forward as quickly as possible, but also as safely as possible. This was stated by the MEP and health policy spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), Dr. med. Peter Liese in view of the debate on vaccine supply.

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Avoid risky contacts / AstraZeneca vaccine is good / Behaviour of the company is bad

 
“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.

  1. Patience and avoidance of risk contacts needed to keep mutated virus under control in Europe
  2. Peter Liese demands stricter controls on entries from the United Kingdom to the continent
  3. Another sign of hope in the fight against Corona
  4. BioNTech founder Ugur Sahin and many other experts at public video conference of EPP group in the European Parliament on vaccination, research and health in the EU
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