EU,’self-help’ in front of vaccine… “A lot of quantity, AZ may not be necessary”

European countries that are in an emergency to re-proliferate the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) are still struggling over the vaccine issue. There is still confusion over the AstraZeneca vaccination, and members of the European Union (EU) are also showing a’self-dealing’ approach over the distribution of vaccines. On the other hand, in the United States, where the amount of vaccine is sufficiently secured, it is predicted that the entire national vaccination will be possible without using the AstraZeneca vaccine.

According to the Reuters news agency on the 1st (local time), the ambassadors of EU member states decided on the distribution method of 10 million doses of Pfizer vaccine to be supplied in the second quarter. In conclusion, after several days of meetings, it was decided to allocate more to the five countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia) that lack vaccines within the EU member states.

In addition to the distribution in proportion to each country’s population, 2.85 million batches will be distributed to five additional countries. The 19 member states that agreed to this agreed to reduce their share of vaccines. However, some member states, such as Austria, Czech Republic and Slovenia, said they could not give up their share.

In particular, Austria’s independent movement is remarkable. It was confronted with the EU Commission over the issue of securing a vaccine, and first jumped into the introduction of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, which has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Prior to the meeting, Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz suggested to the EU Commission that “some member states are getting more vaccines than their fair share.” An EU diplomat criticized AFP as “Prime Minister Kurz abandoned five countries by showing a lack of solidarity.”

According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 30th of last month, Austria is negotiating with Russia to introduce a million doses of’Sputnik V’. In this regard, Prime Minister Kurz said, “When considering the introduction of vaccines, we should only review the efficacy and safety, not the producing countries.” “If we secure an additional 1 million doses of vaccine (in Russia), we will be able to accelerate normalization and save many lives and jobs. I will.”

Following Austria, Germany and France also held meetings between the summits on the issue of introducing the Sputnik V vaccine. According to the UK Daily Guardian on the 1st, the leaders of Germany, France and Russia held a video summit on the 30th of last month to discuss the possibility of approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for Sputnik V vaccine and the possibility of local joint production after approval.

In Germany, there is still confusion over the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccination method. On the 30th of last month, Prime Minister Angela Merkel announced that the AZ vaccine would be given only to those over 60 years old. This is the fourth recommendation for AZ vaccine. At the end of January, Germany decided to inoculate the AZ vaccine only to those under the age of 65 due to’lack of safety data’, but temporarily stopped AZ vaccine when a case of cerebral sinus thrombosis (CVST) was reported. Later, when the European Medicines Agency (EMA) maintained the AZ vaccination recommendations, Germany resumed vaccination on the 19th of last month. This time, it announced a policy that was’extraordinarily’ from the policy that it had initially put out. As the case of cerebral thrombosis among those who received AZ was mainly young women, it was announced that they would only be vaccinated to those over 60 years old.

Prime Minister Merkel replied, “Honestness and transparency are the best means” after being asked,’Isn’t the entertainment policy adding to the confusion?’ at the presentation of the fourth recommendation on AZ vaccination. “There is a case, and ignoring it and not taking it seriously shakes confidence in the vaccine more than it is confused by changing recommendations.”

Corona 19 is spreading rapidly while Europe is struggling over the supply and demand of vaccines and the method of vaccination. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) European Regional Director Hans Cluj also warned about the speed of vaccination in Europe that it is “unacceptably slow.” “New infections are increasing in all age groups except those in the 80s or older (vaccinated) in Europe, and the burden is increasing due to the spread of the mutant virus,” he urged. “We should do our best to secure the amount of vaccine and get vaccination as soon as possible.” .

On the other hand, the US, which had relatively fast vaccine acquisition and vaccination rate, is relaxed. Anthony Pouch, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told Reuters on the 1st that the US may not need the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“It hasn’t been decided yet,” said Pouch, when asked whether to use the AstraZeneca vaccine. “Even if the US health authorities approve the AstraZeneca vaccine, I feel that the US may not need the vaccine.” “The United States has enough supply contracts with several other vaccine manufacturers to inoculate all populations without being supplied by AstraZeneca,” he said. “It seems to be enough for an additional vaccination (booster shot) this fall. “He said.

Reporter Jeong Eun-hye [email protected]