Germany pushes EU to approve vaccine before Christmas
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Germany continued to pile pressure on the EU’s regulatory agency, asking it to approve a coronavirus vaccine before Christmas, The Guardian reported this morning.
“Our goal is an approval before Christmas so that we can still start vaccinating this year,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said late Monday. Spahn had already expressed impatience with the European Medicines Agency on Sunday, noting that Germany has created more than 400 vaccination centers and has activated about 10,000 doctors and medical staff and was ready to start mass vaccinations as early as Tuesday.
Spahn is pushing for quick approval of a new vaccine developed by Germany’s BioNTech and American drugmaker Pfizer that has already been authorized for use in Britain, the United States, Canada and other countries. But Germany cannot use it because it is still waiting for approval by the EMA, which evaluates drugs and vaccines for the EU’s 27 nations.
Britain, Canada and the United States have started to vaccinate their populations. The European agency was so far expected to make a decision by December 29 at the latest. Regulators in the agency’s Amsterdam headquarters and in each EU country are working around the clock to ensure the safety, efficacy and manufacturing quality of the vaccine.
