Volunteers prepared doses of Modern COVID-19 vaccine at Forand Manor in Central Falls, RI on December 30, 2020.
Boston Globe | Boston Globe | Getty Images
European Medicines Agency on Wednesday recommended the Moderna coronavirus vaccine for use in the European Union, at a time when criticism is growing about the slow release of blows across the block.
“The EMA’s Committee for Human Medicines has thoroughly assessed the data on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine and has recommended by consensus a conditional formal authorization for the European Commission to be placed on the market,” the EMA said in a statement.
Emer Cooke, executive director of the EMA in Amsterdam, added that the Moderna vaccine “provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency”. It paves the way for the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to follow suit.
The Moderna vaccine is the second to be given the green light by European regulators, but vaccinations have already begun to be distributed in the UK and the US, where it was previously approved.
Some parliamentarians have expressed concern that the EU is too slow to distribute coronavirus vaccines among its citizens.
The course of the Covid-19 shots varies throughout the block. France reported 516 vaccinations in the first week of its launch, while Germany has carried out about 240,000 vaccinations since Sunday. The Netherlands has not yet started vaccinating people against coronavirus.
In addition, there are questions about whether the EU has purchased enough vaccines.
A number of officials have asked the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to explain why it has not bought more jabs.
A European Commission spokesman said on Monday that the institution was “very focused on ensuring that the implementation of our strategy is done, is well done”.
Moderna’s shares rose slightly in pre-market trading on the back of the ad.