The Hague (AFP)

The director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) called on Friday for "the whole world" to have access to anti-Covid vaccines, while a pledge from the great powers of the G7 is expected to provide a billion doses to more destitute.

Emer Cooke also assured in an interview with AFP that the European regulator remains confident about the effectiveness of anti-Covid vaccines in the face of variants in circulation, while noting that the situation could "evolve rapidly".

The leaders of the G7 should formalize at their summit in Carbis Bay, England, a promise to provide a billion doses to the most deprived, a gesture considered encouraging but insufficient for several NGOs on Friday.

"This is not within the purview of the EMA, so I can only speak from a personal point of view, and I really think we need to ensure the availability and access [of vaccines] around the world, and not just in countries that can afford to pay them, ”Cooke said.

After a difficult start, the vaccination campaign finally took off in the EU, among other things thanks to the authorization since December by the vaccine regulator Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

"I thought we would be much less far than where we are today. The fact that we have four vaccines when the pandemic was declared 15 months ago is exceptional," said the Irishwoman, who arrived. at the head of the EMA in November 2020, when the EU was awaiting the authorization of the vaccines.

- "Effective against variants" -

The emergence of variants is raising many concerns today, particularly the Delta variant, identified for the first time in India.

"So far, we are convinced that vaccines remain effective against circulating variants, but the situation can change quickly," noted Ms. Cooke.

She assured that the EMA was working with vaccine manufacturers to ensure that the sera remain effective against variants.

AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, two vaccines based on the same technology authorized by the EMA, have come under heavy criticism for causing rare cases of blood clots.

In addition, the European regulator as a precaution on Friday recommended not to deliver a batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccines, after a batch of sera was contaminated with a product dedicated to another vaccine in the United States.

"This is of course not a situation that satisfies us," said Ms. Cooke while being optimistic that the situation could be resolved "in July or August".

For her, these problems will not affect public confidence in vaccines, and rather show that the regulatory system "works".

# photo1

Data from other vaccines are currently being assessed by the European regulator, including Russian and Chinese sera which are already administered in many countries around the world.

Russian officials this week said they were "optimistic" about the authorization of the Sputnik V vaccine by the EMA and warned against a "politicization" of the process.

In response to these criticisms, Cooke assured that the Amsterdam-based agency, "evaluates each vaccine on its scientific merits, according to an independent process which is not influenced by politics".

Ms Cooke did not give details on when the verdict on the authorization of the CureVac, Novavax and Sinovac vaccines could be expected.

© 2021 AFP