New Delhi (NVI): The European Union (EU) is to start Covid-19 inoculations on December 27, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today said.
“It’s Europe’s moment. On 27, 28 and 29 December vaccination will start across the EU,” she tweeted.
It's Europe's moment.
On 27, 28 and 29 December vaccination will start across the EU.
We protect our citizens together. We are #StrongerTogether#EUvaccinationdays pic.twitter.com/6VxDumysBL
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 17, 2020
Von der Leyen confirmed the planned timetable for the start of inoculations for the European Union’s 450 million citizens.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is set to meet on Monday to authorise the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine even as the UK and US have already begun administering the vaccine amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
The EU is carrying out a coordinated vaccination programme across its 27 member states to ensure fair access to doses.
European Commission has sealed contracts with seven suppliers of potential vaccines to ensure all adult EU citizens will eventually be able to be inoculated.
However, member states will decide who gets priority for the injections, but the elderly and healthcare workers treating Covid-19 patients will be at the front of the queues.
The vaccine developed by US giant Pfizer and German firm BioNTech has proven to be 95% effective in global trials where two doses are injected three weeks apart.
In Europe, that vaccine is produced in a Pfizer facility in Belgium and sent out in trucks and planes. It must be stored at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit) to keep it viable, but can be transported for short periods at 2-8 degrees Celsius.
Britain and the United States are already inoculating people with that vaccine under emergency national authorisations.
-CHK