Deployment of the anti-covid vaccine in the EU “slow”; Germany and France tighten restrictions

The European Union has been criticized for the speed of its deployment of Covid vaccines, as its two largest economies extend their restrictions on coronaviruses due to a worrying number of cases.

A number of European officials have expressed concerns about the bloc’s vaccination plans over the past few days and have called on the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to explain why it has not purchased more jabs.

According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, more than 17 million cases of coronavirus have been reported so far in the region (including the UK).

“It is difficult to explain that a very good vaccine is developed in Germany but is vaccinated more quickly elsewhere,” said Markus Söder, the leader of the German region of Bavaria, in an interview this weekend, according to Politico. The German company BioNTech has, together with Pfizer, developed one of the leading Covid vaccines.

The European Union started its vaccination program at the end of December, after the approval of the Pfizer / BioNTech jab. Despite its development in Germany, the jab was approved in the UK and the US long before it was enlightened by European authorities.

Uğur Şahin, CEO of BioNTech, also told German press over the weekend that “the process in Europe is certainly not as quick and straightforward as in other countries”.

The UK has meanwhile approved two more vaccines, but the European Medicines Agency has yet to decide on AstraZeneca or Moderna’s offers.

In addition to concerns about timing, questions also arise as to whether enough vaccines have been procured by the EU.

“The (European) Commission must rise to the occasion. To this end, how will the EU compensate for the lack of cases bought in the Union?” Luis Garicano, a European lawmaker, wrote in a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend.

The European Commission has signed six contracts with vaccine manufacturers on behalf of European countries. Each EU country will receive the vaccines at the same time and the distribution will be per capita.

Among these contracts, the EU agreed to purchase 200 million doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine with the possibility of purchasing an additional 100 million doses. The Commission has also agreed to purchase 300 million doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca, with the possibility of purchasing an additional 100 million. Its contract with Moderna provides for a purchase of 80 million doses, plus an option to purchase up to 80 million more.

There are more than 447 million citizens living in the 27 EU countries, according to the region’s statistical office.

“Israel, a nation with only 1 / 50th of the EU’s population, has vaccinated more of its citizens than all EU Member States put together. Madam President, how is that possible?” Garicano asked in his letter to von der Leyen.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said on Monday that the institution was “very focused on ensuring that the implementation of our strategy is well done”.

“The committee understood very, very early on that the acquisition of vaccines and the vaccination process would be major efforts for the European Union,” the spokesperson told reporters.

France, one of the nations most skeptical of EU vaccines, announced last week that it was stepping up its vaccination process. The country is also revising curfew times in the worst-affected areas to contain the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, Germany, where a national lockdown has been in place since late November, is expected to extend this emergency measure until the end of the month.