The Hague: The European Union’s drug watchdog said on Thursday that Europe must “close the gap” on vaccinations to stem the rise of its COVID-19, a surge in hospitalizations with non-jab driving.
warning from European Medicines Agency (EMA) came as the continent battles a new wave of the pandemic with record cases in several countries.
“We are seeing extreme cases of COVID – including severe COVID and hospitalization or admission to the intensive care unit – especially in the unvaccinated,” Marco Cavallari, head of EMA vaccine strategy, told a news conference.
He added that some European countries still have “unacceptably low” vaccination rates with a large proportion of the uninsured population, including those over 50 at risk.
“We must not forget that we must close this gap and ensure that as many people as possible get vaccinated.”
But the EMA official warned that it is “well known that there is no vaccine that is 100 percent effective” so countries should take other measures to stop the virus spreading during the risky winter season.
While several EU countries have taken or are considering steps to target unvaccinated people, Austria has imposed a lockdown on those who have not received the Covid jab.
But efforts are also underway to promote the vaccine and look for new treatments.
With cases of children rising, the EMA said it expected to decide early next week whether to approve pfizer-biontech Vaccine for age group 5-11.
Cavallari said Amsterdam-based regulator Pfizer would start looking at the new anti-Covid pill from Friday “given the dire situation in several member states”.
This would allow countries to provide scientific advice on using it before formal approval. A full review for drug approval, which could take months, is expected to begin next week.
“This drug is showing some promising preliminary results,” Cavallari said.
pharma giant MerckMeanwhile, the rival pill could get approval by the end of the year.
COVID pills are considered potentially important because they can be easily and relatively inexpensively given to protect people at risk, such as the elderly or those with immune system problems.
Meanwhile the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday sought approval for its monoclonal antibody treatment, which is also an intravenous treatment for people at risk of severe COVID-19.
This will be the third such drug after two new treatments using lab-made antibodies were approved last week.
warning from European Medicines Agency (EMA) came as the continent battles a new wave of the pandemic with record cases in several countries.
“We are seeing extreme cases of COVID – including severe COVID and hospitalization or admission to the intensive care unit – especially in the unvaccinated,” Marco Cavallari, head of EMA vaccine strategy, told a news conference.
He added that some European countries still have “unacceptably low” vaccination rates with a large proportion of the uninsured population, including those over 50 at risk.
“We must not forget that we must close this gap and ensure that as many people as possible get vaccinated.”
But the EMA official warned that it is “well known that there is no vaccine that is 100 percent effective” so countries should take other measures to stop the virus spreading during the risky winter season.
While several EU countries have taken or are considering steps to target unvaccinated people, Austria has imposed a lockdown on those who have not received the Covid jab.
But efforts are also underway to promote the vaccine and look for new treatments.
With cases of children rising, the EMA said it expected to decide early next week whether to approve pfizer-biontech Vaccine for age group 5-11.
Cavallari said Amsterdam-based regulator Pfizer would start looking at the new anti-Covid pill from Friday “given the dire situation in several member states”.
This would allow countries to provide scientific advice on using it before formal approval. A full review for drug approval, which could take months, is expected to begin next week.
“This drug is showing some promising preliminary results,” Cavallari said.
pharma giant MerckMeanwhile, the rival pill could get approval by the end of the year.
COVID pills are considered potentially important because they can be easily and relatively inexpensively given to protect people at risk, such as the elderly or those with immune system problems.
Meanwhile the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday sought approval for its monoclonal antibody treatment, which is also an intravenous treatment for people at risk of severe COVID-19.
This will be the third such drug after two new treatments using lab-made antibodies were approved last week.
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