Germany, France, Italy and five other European countries will coordinate the launch of vaccination campaigns against Covid-19, health ministers in those countries announced in a joint statement on Tuesday.
These countries will promote “coordinating the launch of vaccination campaigns” and exchange information quickly on how to proceed, the statement said, which also includes commitments on areas such as transparency.
The communiqué, which was published by Italy, was also signed by the health ministers of Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on Tuesday that it will meet on Dec. 21 to decide on the authorization of the vaccine against Covid-19 of the American-German alliance Pfizer/BioNTech, already approved in several countries, according to Reuters.
The EMA is one week ahead of its originally scheduled meeting on Dec. 29.
The EMA made the announcement following strong pressure from EU member states, especially Germany, which wants to roll out the vaccine quickly in the fight against the new coronavirus.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said following the EMA’s announcement that vaccination against Covid-19 in the EU could be launched before the end of the year.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that once the EU gives its approval to the vaccine, his country could start administering it within one to three days.
The United States and Great Britain have already begun inoculation using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Title image: The first vials of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine sit in a refrigerator at Ochsner Hospital on O’Neal Lane, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La. (Bill Feig/The Advocate via AP, Pool)
