Susisiekti su mumis

koronavirusas

Interviu: ES vakcinų saga

Dalintis:

paskelbta

on

Mes naudojame jūsų registraciją, kad pateiktume turinį jūsų sutiktais būdais ir pagerintume jūsų supratimą. Prenumeratą galite bet kada atšaukti.

The European Commission has just launched legal action against AstraZeneca for not respecting the contract for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines. In the contract with the European Commission, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm committed itself to make the "best reasonable efforts” to supply 180 million doses to the EU in the second quarter of 2021, in reality in a statement last month AstraZeneca said it would aim to provide only one-third of doses by the end of June. In this challenging context, Federico Grandesso spoke with MEP Tiziana Beghin (nuotraukoje), head of Five Star Movement delegation in the European Parliament.

How do you judge the EU vaccine management so far and the overseeing of the EMA? With regard to Italy, could more pragmatic and operational choices be made to secure vaccines?

There have been lights and shadows in the EU management of vaccines. Surely the choice to leave the dialogue with the pharmaceutical companies to the European Commission was the right one because it prevented “the law of the strongest” from winning in Europe with an internal war between member states over vaccine grabbing. This did not happen and the vaccines are now purchased by the European Commission and then redistributed to individual states on the basis of transparent criteria such as the inhabitants or the health emergency that the country is experiencing. Having said that, we must change pace: there have been underestimations, perhaps in good faith, in the writing of contracts and we are suffering the blockade of exports from the USA and Great Britain.

Vaccines is turning into a business for Big Pharma Companies but in the meantime there have been over 800,000 deaths from Coronavirus in Europe. Citizens trust the opinions of the scientific world and the EMA but these must be communicated with full knowledge of the facts, timing and certainty, otherwise there is a risk of fueling a climate of mistrust. We think an acceleration is needed to increase the European industrial production of vaccines, while also guaranteeing certainty for the entire supply chain of the necessary raw materials. We can therefore only share the appeal of 100 Nobel laureates and 75 former Heads of State to the President of the United States Joe Biden for the suspension of patent rights on vaccines. The European Union also has its responsibilities and, in the World Trade Organization, must support this proposal of common sense. Faced with a pandemic that has so far killed almost 3 million people in the world, there is no profit: the same international rules provide for the legal instruments to suspend patents on anti-Covid vaccines and start a production that is still not enough today to cover the needs of citizens. It is also a public health issue to avoid the spread of new and more dangerous variants.

The Italian Deputy Minister for Health Pierpaolo Sileri, in an interview, suggested the possibility of using the Sputnik V after EMA approval. What do you think? Deputy Minister Sileri would also have extended the discussion to the Chinese vaccine as well. What is your opinion about that?

Vaccines belong to everyone and must be used to save lives. If the Russian and Chinese vaccines are effective in achieving these goals, I am convinced that Ema will authorize their use within the European Union. However, I remember that we already have four different vaccines currently authorized - Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen - and that these, if the pharmaceutical companies respect the commitments made, are already an excellent shield to protect all citizens and ensure that the vaccination campaign covers the highest possible percentage of the population by this summer.

reklama

Pasidalinkite šiuo straipsniu:

EU Reporter publikuoja straipsnius iš įvairių išorinių šaltinių, kuriuose išreiškiamas platus požiūrių spektras. Šiuose straipsniuose pateiktos pozicijos nebūtinai yra ES Reporterio pozicijos.

Trendai