Filenews 27 January 2021 - by Ferdinando Giugliano, Source: Bloomberg Opinion
It is difficult not to look with disappointment at the weak start of the vaccination campaign against Covid on the part of the European Union.
The 27-country bloc managed to administer only about 8.9 million doses in total, according to Bloomberg's global vaccinations record - about two doses for every 100 EU citizens. The US and UK move in seven and 10.5 doses, respectively, while Israel is at 43. Given that all vaccines approved so far require two doses each in order to function effectively, we see that the EU has before it a very difficult "ascent" to a very steep "mountain" in order to make the vaccination programme of its citizens successful and smooth.
Bad vibes
Unfortunately, the future does not seem particularly prospering. The EU has set a target of completing two doses of vaccination for at least 70% of the population of each of its Member States by the end of the summer, but achieving this target is at risk.
Europe has approved two vaccines, that of Pfizer - BioNTech and that of Moderna, but their supply is so far insufficient. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is due to examine data on the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine this week, but the British pharmaceutical company now stresses that it may have to reduce the reserves of vaccines it had agreed to send to the EU in the first quarter of 2021 by almost 60%. Another vaccine candidate, that of French Sanofi, will not be ready until at least the end of 2021 due to a major failure in its clinical trial.
The consequences of this failure could prove disastrous if they are not dealt with quickly. The bloc of 27 has recorded nearly 426,000 deaths due to Covid-19 so far, according to the European Center for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control. The longer it takes to bring the pandemic under control, the more lives will be lost. And the EU's own reputation is at stake: how can it boast of its "social model" if it cannot even protect its most vulnerable citizens?
A successful vaccination effort is also the only viable way to help the economy recover. The combination of deep uncertainty, lockdown and other social distancing measures contributed to a 7.6% contraction in Europe's gross domestic product in 2020, according to International Monetary Fund projections in October.
THE EU has plenty of room to do better in the field of the vaccination campaign
Failure started early
The EU's failures began with pre-orders of vaccines. Although it has amassed a comprehensive portfolio long before vaccination preparations were approved, the Union has been very slow and conservative in the face of the most promising developments: vaccines based on pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's innovative messenger RNA (or mRNA) technology. The EMA fell far behind the UK and US in its approval of Pfizer's vaccine. The delay in the AstraZeneca vaccine is more understandable, given the problems that cast "shadows" on its clinical trials (AstraZeneca has not yet applied for approval from US regulators).
The development of the vaccination campaign on the part of Europe has also been slow, especially in countries such as France and Belgium. There are also questions as to whether member states are making the right decisions about who gets the vaccine first. In Italy only one in 10 doses has been directed to elderly residents of welfare structures, while almost one in four has been directed to health workers who are not doctors or nurses. It makes sense to protect hospital staff, but the balance here does not seem right. Another issue that has been mentioned concerns vial waste.
Pharmaceuticals in the crosshairs
So what can be done? The EU is targeting pharmaceutical companies. On Monday he met with AstraZeneca's management, demanding detailed explanations of the delay in deliveries and calling for the commitments made to be fulfilled. Astra blames the problems it faces at one of its production sites in the EU, but the European Commission fears the company may have prioritised the supply of vaccines to other countries. "EU member states are united," Stella Kyriakidis, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said on Monday night. "Vaccine producers have social and contractual obligations, which they must fulfil."
European governments have every right to try to enforce the fulfilment of the contracts they have signed. After all, they have paid large sums in advance, expecting timely deliveries. However, they need to make sure that they do have a solid legal push. Contracts with pharmaceutical companies are confidential, but they are likely to give pharmaceutical companies certain escape clauses in the event of supply chain problems. Furthermore, Brussels must be careful to distinguish between random behaviours and problems that can reasonably be expected when dealing with the release of a new vaccine at 'light speed'.
One danger is that politicians will use vaccine producers as a scapegoat to cover their own indities. This type of behaviour is also encountered in earlier stages of the pandemic, with responsibility for the spread of Covid to everyone else, from citizens to foreign visitors to each country and not to bad and inadequate policies.
Last week, several governments of EU member countries became angry with Pfizer after pfizer announced a temporary reduction in the tranches it will provide to the Union as it reorganises production at its factory in Belgium. It turned out that Pfizer would make up for lost ground later in the first quarter of 2021.
There are significant risks when it comes to political big mouth. There is nothing wrong with putting some pressure on vaccine manufacturers, but it is much more dangerous to undermine a key relationship with them when there are many other countries wishing to buy their doses of vaccines.
Close cooperation between Pfizer and Israel has enabled the country to achieve miraculous results in the availability of vaccines. This offers lessons learned. The EU must be ready to work more closely with vaccine providers, for example by offering financial assistance to those contractors who choose to turn their factories into vaccine plants. While most money will not solve the problem of bottlenecks in the production chain, they can solve other regional problems in the production process.
It is not too late to deal with past failures, but EU politicians must act quickly. The pursuit of normality is a struggle that must be won, both for health and economic reasons. Those who come "second" in this race will suffer the consequences for a long time.
