Dr. Véronique Yvette Miendje Deyi, left, and a collaborator (European Union photo)
Von der Leyen: EU world leader in vaccinations
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16 September 2021 The European Commission, as announced yesterday by President Ursula von der Leyen, proposes the creation of a new EU authority, the Hera, Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, the European equivalent of the Barda, established by the US in the early 2000s. after the attack of 11 September 2001.
The Barda made a difference in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, immediately funding the pharmaceutical companies in research on vaccines against the new disease. The EU, practically devoid of health care skills (it is almost all in the hands of the States), has found itself facing a global, and continental, emergency without tools.
Hera's task will be to anticipate threats and potential health crises, gathering information and preparing the means to deal with them, to avoid being still without masks and lung ventilators, as happened at the beginning of the pandemic caused by the Sars-CoV coronavirus. -2, or basic drugs such as paracetamol, which was in short supply in the spring of 2020.
Hera will also ensure the development, production and distribution of drugs and vaccines. The budget foreseen for the new agency is 6 billion euros for the period 2021-27, covered by the current MFF; in all, the total funds available to strengthen health systems are expected to amount to around 30 billion, according to the Commission.
The authority, which will be an internal Commission structure to speed up its launch, is expected to be "fully operational" in early 2022.