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▲ AstraZeneca Corona 19 vaccine. yunhap news |
[에너지경제신문 오세영 기자] A new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine jointly developed by multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University in the UK has set foot in EU member states.
Some countries, including France, started vaccinating immediately. The rest of the countries will start vaccination next week.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is the third approved vaccine for use in the EU, following the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer-German Bioentech and the US Modena vaccine.
According to the Brussels Times of Belgium and AFP on the 7th (local time), the first delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in France on the night of the 5th, and the first vaccination was started at the Lyon Hospital on the 6th.
The first volume supplied to 117 facilities in France is 275,600 doses, targeting healthcare workers under the age of 65.
Germany, Austria, Denmark and Sweden also received their first delivery the day before. Spain and Ireland will also begin vaccinating against the vaccine. Belgium also receives the vaccine on the weekend and starts next week. The first delivery to Portugal next week.
The European Union (EU) approved the conditional sale of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the EU on the 29th of last month, following the recommendation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), to all adults over the age of 18.
However, France and other Member States recommend vaccinations for those under the age of 65 because sufficient data are not yet available on the effectiveness of the vaccine within the elderly.
According to a daily report by El Pais on the 5th, the Spanish Ministry of Health approved the maximum age to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine at 55.
In addition, AstraZeneca recently announced that it would reduce its initial EU supply from 80 million to 31 million, causing a conflict with the EU executive committee.
AstraZeneca announced that it would increase its initial supply to 40 million units afterwards.
The EU Commission has been criticized by member states for the slower vaccination rate due to the relatively late approval of the Corona 19 vaccine compared to the United Kingdom and the United States and a lower initial supply than expected.
Despite this situation, the EU Commission is urging member states to vaccinate at least 70% of the adult population by the summer of this year.
The EU Commission expects that at least 300 million doses will be delivered in the second quarter, and the vaccination rate will increase rapidly in the coming months.