Paris (AFP)
The American laboratory Moderna has started deliveries to Europe of its vaccine against Covid-19, the second to be authorized in the region after that of Pfizer-BioNtech, he announced in a statement Monday.
All vaccine shipments to the European Union and the countries of the European Economic Area, Norway and Iceland, will be carried out by the Swiss logistics company Kuehne + Nagel and will originate from its centralized pharmaceutical platform in Europe. , specifies Moderna, without indicating where this platform is located.
The vaccines will be delivered to a central point agreed with each state, from which the country's authorities will coordinate nationwide distribution.
"Distribution throughout the European Union is one of the biggest logistical challenges Moderna has had to face," said Dan Staner, vice president and head of the Europe region for the US company, quoted in the statement. .
The biotech vaccine - based on messenger RNA technology - received the green light from the French High Authority for Health (HAS) on Friday, two days after receiving that from the European Union.
It should be given as two injections - like the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine - spaced at least 28 days apart, but has fewer logistical constraints, since it should be stored at -20 degrees, instead of -80.
The production of the active principle of the vaccine is ensured by the pharmaceutical laboratory Lonza, in Switzerland, then the vaccine is finalized and bottled by the pharmaceutical subcontractor Rovi, in Spain, recalls the laboratory in its press release.
The French subcontractor Recipharm will also ensure the bottling during the first half of this year.
On Sunday, the French Ministry of Health announced that more than 50,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were to be delivered on Monday to be transported to the Grand Est, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in order to be used during the week.
By the end of June, "nearly eight million doses" of this vaccine must be delivered to France, according to the ministry.
© 2021 AFP