AstraZeneca could be distributed in the EU by mid-February

LONDON – AstraZeneca’s covid-19 vaccine could be available across the European Union in mid-February, an EU official said on Tuesday, after the pharmaceutical company requested approval for distribution in the 27-member bloc.

The European Medicines Agency said on Tuesday it was now studying the results of the AstraZeneca vaccine and Oxford University in an “accelerated timeline” and could issue its opinion as early as January 29. This jab has been launched in the United Kingdom since the beginning of January.

“If we had a successful authorization for the AstraZeneca contract … we hope that two weeks after the authorization, AstraZeneca will be able to receive the first delivery,” said Sandra Gallina, director general for health and food safety at the European Commission. lawmakers on Tuesday morning.

“And they’re thinking of saying two deliveries a month, but everything is going on, they need to discuss this with the Member States,” she added.

The EU has a contract with AstraZeneca to buy up to 400 million doses of its vaccine. One of its benefits is that it can be stored in normal refrigerators, rather than at extremely low temperatures, like some of its competitors. However, this jab was also criticized after the producers acknowledged an error at the end of November, which was then corrected.

This would be the third EU pandemic vaccine approval. The block vaccinates citizens with the Pfizer / BioNTech cage from the end of December, and the Moderna vaccine received a green light for distribution last week.

Gallina told lawmakers that the first Moderna blows began to be distributed among member states on Monday.

However, the European Commission has been accused of what critics describe as a slow release of coronavirus vaccines. On Monday, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin sent a letter to the commission asking the institution to speed up the distribution of vaccines.

“I’m confused again by the debate over why I didn’t buy more,” said Gallina, who was the chief negotiator with the pharmaceutical companies.

“I bought as much as I was offered,” she explained.

“Don’t just negotiate quantities, negotiate a specific quantity for that moment, so we have all the quantities that can be produced,” Gallina added.

Vaccination rates differed in the 27 countries, in part due to bureaucracy and a lack of government readiness.

According to Gallina, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control will provide figures on the number of citizens who have been vaccinated in the EU twice a week, starting next week.

AstraZeneca shares fell in early European trading.