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In the United States the FDA is ok with the Pfizer vaccine.
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Britain is the first to approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine
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21 December 2020 "The EMA has recommended conditional authorization of the vaccine for Covid-19 developed by Pfizer / BioNTech".
This is the announcement of Marie-Agnes Heine, director of communication of the European Medicines Agency, who has given the green light to the vaccine against the coronavirus developed by BioNTech and Pfizer.
It is the first Covid-19 drug to be authorized for use in the European Union.
The meeting, behind closed doors, came weeks after the vaccine was cleared by regulators in Britain, the United States and Switzerland, which announced that the vaccination campaign will start in the coming days, with a free offer. and without obligation.
The vaccine can therefore be inoculated in the 27 countries of the European Union and, in this regard, the Commission will have to validate the use of the drug before being able to start vaccinations (which should begin, according to German officials, around December 27) .
Pharmaceutical companies will also have to submit follow-up data on their vaccine for the next year.
"This is a defining moment in our efforts to provide safe and effective vaccines to Europeans! EMA has just issued a positive scientific opinion on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Now we will act fast."
So on Twitter the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
It's a decisive moment in our efforts to deliver safe & effective vaccines to Europeans!
The @EMA_News just issued a positive scientific opinion on the #BioNTech / @pfizer vaccine.
Now we will act fast.
I expect a @EU_Commission decision by this evening.
- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 21, 2020
The EMA came under severe pressure last week from European countries, especially Germany, to get the vaccine approved as quickly as possible.
The Agency had originally set the meeting to evaluate the drug for December 29 but anticipated the meeting after the pressing of Berlin.
Britain, Canada and the United States have authorized the use of the vaccine under the emergency provisions: this means that the temporary use of the drug is justified by the pandemic (which has killed almost 1.7 million people across the world to date, according to Johns Hopkins University).
The EMA approval process, however, is largely similar to the normal authorization procedure that would be granted to any new vaccine, only on an accelerated schedule.
So far, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported having six cases of allergic reaction on more than 250,000 doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine administered, including one person with a history of vaccination reactions.
BioNTech and Pfizer have offered the EU 400 million doses of the vaccine, but the bloc's executive committee has chosen to buy only 200 million doses, with an option for another 100 million.