The EU's medicines agency EMA is speeding up the meeting on the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine and may approve it as early as December 21. This means that Swedes can be vaccinated already in the intervening days.
”"The first Europeans can probably be vaccinated before the end of 2020," writes EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter, following the announcement that the EMA will meet on December 21st instead of the 29th as planned.
After approval from the EMA, the pharmaceutical company is ready to send 10,000 doses to each EU country.
”"This means that the entire EU will likely have access to vaccines earlier than planned, and the hopes of vaccinating on a large scale soon look even more realistic," Sweden's vaccine coordinator Richard Bergström tells TT.
If the EMA meeting on December 21 gives the thumbs up, the European Commission can give its approval two days later. Bergström then estimates that the vaccine can be delivered to Sweden on Christmas Eve.
”"Then there is the possibility of starting vaccination in the intervening days. The Public Health Agency and the regions are discussing an effort around December 28-29, but in a very limited volume since we will only have 10,000 doses," says Richard Bergström.
After that, there are contracts with delivery schedules of several hundred thousand doses per month starting in January. And that's just from Pfizer-Biontech.
”We are waiting for another approval in January, another one at the end of January or beginning of February, and then two more in April,” says Richard Bergström.
The government has previously stated that five million Swedes could be vaccinated this summer. A plan that appears to be coming to fruition, according to the vaccine coordinator.
”I am becoming more and more optimistic every day.”
The EMA has previously said it has applied for a one-year, conditional license for the vaccine, while the UK, US and Canada have applied for shorter emergency authorization, without formal licensing.
EMA's newly appointed head, Irishman Emer Cooke, emphasizes that safety still comes first.
”"While speed is significant, safety is our first priority. These vaccines are to be given to millions of people in Europe, and we are well aware of the responsibility we bear," she said last week.
According to Richard Bergström, it is likely that the vaccine will pass the safety test.
”"In the EMA, several hundred experts from all member states have delved into the documentation, and when they bring the trial forward, it is very likely that it will be approved," he says.
According to the German newspaper Bild, the country's government has put pressure on the EMA to bring forward the approval date, partly citing the fact that it was developed in Germany and financed with hundreds of millions of euros from the German treasury. The fact that the vaccine is already being given to Americans and Britons on a continuous basis while other Europeans have to wait, according to Bild, has stirred up bad blood.
Source: TT
