For the EPP Group, it is imperative that citizens continue to respect the measures put in place to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, even when the first doses of the vaccine are distributed in Europe. “Even though we will, in all likelihood, have a COVID-19 vaccine within the next week, we should remain cautious. Anyone that suggests otherwise is putting people’s lives in danger”, said Peter Liese MEP, the EPP Group’s Spokesman for Health, ahead of a debate in the European Parliament on the EU’s vaccination strategy.
“There are simply not enough vaccines available worldwide to relax the measures which are in place to protect people’s health and safety”, warned Liese, adding that the European Medicines Agency will authorise the first doses of the vaccine for the European market already on the 21st, instead of the 29th of December, as previously indicated. “This vaccine will be efficient and it will be safe. We are convinced that the procedure the EU agency is using is better and more thorough than the emergency approval procedure used in the United Kingdom”, he noted.
Liese also explained that starting vaccination earlier in the United Kingdom does not mean that the United Kingdom will end up with more vaccines than the rest of Europe. “The vaccine intended for the European Union is already partly produced and stored and will not go to the United Kingdom. No British person will receive a vaccine intended for EU citizens. It will take the United Kingdom a long time before it will have enough vaccines to be able to vaccinate a large part of its population”, concluded Liese.