The development of a vaccine could be successfully completed by the end of the year, according to government sources in germany.
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June 13, 2020 10h46
Updated at 16: 35
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Europe secures its supply of vaccines
Mathieu Foulkes
AFP
BERLIN — The european Union has secured Saturday, its supply of vaccines against the novel coronavirus by entering into an agreement with the pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca, which guarantees the supply of 300 million doses.
The agreement was negotiated by Germany, France, the netherlands and Italy with the group born in 1999 from the merger of Swedish Astra and British Zeneca. It provides for the procurement of all member countries of the european Union, as well as other european countries volunteers, as soon as a vaccine against the Covid-19 will be discovered.
The number of doses could even go up to $ 400 million, said AstraZeneca in a statement.
The pharmaceutical group “is committed to do to achieve any benefit” to this agreement, for its part, accused the French minister of Health, Olivier Véran, in a press release.
Deliveries before the end of the year”
The laboratory has also promised to “put in place a supply chain localized in Europe”, according to the French government.
The development of a vaccine could be successfully completed by the end of the year, according to the AFP to government sources in germany.
The doses “must be distributed to all member States who want to participate, depending on the size of their population,” explained the German ministry of Health.
“To ensure that vaccines are available in large numbers very soon after the possible approval this year or next year, the production capacity must be guaranteed by contract as of now”, he argues.
The”quick action and coordinated a group of member States” will benefit “all citizens of the EU, welcomed the German minister of Health, Jens Spahn.
“Access to a vaccine will be an essential step to ensure the protection of our citizens against a return of the pandemic,” responded his French counterpart, promising first deliveries before the end of the year 2020″.
Race to the vaccine
The european Commission defended on Friday with the countries of the EU the idea of banding together to ensure a privileged access to a future vaccine.
It argued in particular for the implementation of contracts, anticipated purchases, a principle accepted by the member States, even if the health remains a national competence and not community.
The Commission was said to be ready to use around 2.4 billion euros available in the instrument, emergency aid released during the crisis to ensure these contracts.
At a time when the laboratories are trying to find a vaccine in record time-twelve to 18 months, against several years in normal times, these advance payments would allow them to invest in production capabilities, while clinical trials on humans are not yet finalized.
This commitment gives the right to member States to purchase a certain number of doses at a given price once the vaccine has been available, in return for the risk taken on investments.
Negotiations will continue with other pharmaceutical laboratories in order to maximize the opportunity to have rapid access to a vaccine in sufficient quantity and at a better cost”, said Saturday the French minister.
The main pharmaceutical groups are engaged in a race to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus, which has so far made more than 417 000 people dead and infected more than 7.4 million people in the world.
AstraZeneca had informed it on Friday that he was waiting for the September results on the efficacy of the vaccine against the Covid-19 on which it is working with the university of Oxford. Tests are carried out in Great Britain, as well as in Brazil, which became the epicenter of the pandemic.
In total, a dozen work on different vaccines have reached the stage of clinical trials in the world.
