Only 2% of vaccination rates in EU member states
“Underestimated that it is difficult to mass-produce vaccines”
Prefer Russian rather than Chinese
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Russian and Chinese vaccines, which had not been bothered in the face of a vaccine shortage in Western Europe, are now an option and are weighed on the observation that they will be introduced soon.
The Washington Post of the United States (WP) said on the 6th (local time) that “the European Union (EU) new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccination is sluggish, and Russia and China are poised to make up for the sluggishness.”
EU member states have not been able to speed up vaccination. According to Bloomberg News, the proportion of the population who received more than one vaccination relative to the total population was 2.7% in France, 2.6% in Germany, and 2.3% in Italy. Compared to non-member countries such as the United Kingdom (16.4%), which broke up with the EU this year, and Serbia (7.3%), which have not yet joined the EU, the inoculation rate of EU member countries is low. The UK is vaccinating Pfizer-Bioentech and Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccines, while Serbia is vaccinated by Russia’s Sputnik V, which has not yet been approved by the EU, and China’s Sinopam (Chinese Medicine Group).
The biggest reason for the drop in vaccination rates in EU member states is the shortage of supplies. According to the European Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), approximately 1,2877,000 doses of vaccines have been distributed to EU/EEA (European Economic Area) member states to date. Considering that the amount of vaccines that the EU has pre-purchased from each pharmaceutical company is 1.45 billion doses, this is not enough.
In an interview with the press on the 4th, the head of the EU administration, Urzula Ponderaien, admitted that he underestimated the difficulty of mass-producing vaccines and admitted that it was a’mistake’. “In the industry, starting a vaccination doesn’t mean that the vaccine is delivered very smoothly,” said Ponderrayen. “This is a bitter lesson, something we clearly underestimated.”
There was a movement to introduce Russian and Chinese vaccines in Europe while the vaccination rate was not fast due to lack of vaccine. “If Russian and Chinese (vaccine) manufacturers submit all the data and show transparency, they will be able to obtain conditional marketing approval (from the European Medicines Agency) like any other vaccine,” said Ponderrayen.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview with German ARD broadcaster on the 2nd that Serbia, which uses Chinese vaccines, admits that the vaccination rate is fast and that “a vaccine that has been approved by the European Medicines (EMA) has always been welcomed.” He also revealed the fact that he had talked with President Vladimir Putin over Sputnik V, saying, “I had good data on Russian vaccines.” There have also been reports that Russia recently explored the possibility of joint production of Sputnik V with a German biotechnology company.
French President Emmanuel Macron had a contradictory reaction to Chinese and Russian vaccines. President Macron drew a line at the US think tank Atlintech Council discussion on the 4th that China’s Sinoparm and Sinobac did not share the vaccine clinical trial results, so the efficacy was unknown. On the other hand, Sputnik V emphasized that the results of clinical trials will be published in Lancet, an international medical journal, so that more information can be obtained.
According to a paper published in Lancet, Sputnik V showed a 91.6% preventive effect in a phase 3 trial involving 20,000 participants. This is slightly lower than the Pfizer vaccine, modder or vaccine, and much higher than the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Sinopharm received conditional approval from the Chinese authorities at the end of last year, and Sinobag received the same approval that day.
Russia and China could leverage vaccines to expand their influence in Europe.
At a debate earlier, President Macron pointed out that China’s development of vaccines and exports to the world is “an obvious diplomatic success” and “a bit of humiliation” to Western countries.
“Russia barely conceals that vaccine diplomacy is part of President Putin’s widespread efforts to cement its global influence,” said the WP. “Russia took the name of the satellite that served as a spark for space competition between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War. I have seen it as a representative example. The newspaper said, “The prospect of Sputnik V’s introduction to Europe came out amid increasing pressures for Germany to show a strong form against Russia in prison for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalni.”
“The current EU’s primary goal is to ensure that people get the vaccine,” said Joanna Hosa, deputy director of the European Association for Foreign Relations. “The EU will try to close its eyes on the negative side when introducing a Russian vaccine.”
/ Intern reporter Jisu Kang [email protected]
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