Filenews 3 February 2021
Cyprus will proceed normally with the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine when it is received, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Cyprus, Nikolas Didis, told the CYPE, who said that the recommendation not to administer this vaccine to people over 65 concerns only the German authorities.
According to Mr. Didetis, this recommendation was made for Germans by Germans, explaining that the European Medicines Agency, which makes approvals for all medicines and vaccines in Europe, does not limit the ages at which the vaccine will be administered.
However, he noted that although the AstraZeneca vaccine is a safe vaccine, it has nevertheless shown lower efficacy than other vaccines.
Necessary planning on the part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Health
In response to a question about the effectiveness of this vaccine, Mr. Didis said that a design on the part of the Ministry of Health is necessary, so that with the advent of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Cyprus, people who are likely to become infected and seriously ill are not vaccinated with it.
As he said "it would be good if this vaccine were more effective, but it is over 50%, which is the limit of the European Medicines Agency and has been approved".
He went on to say that "once the AstraZeneca vaccine comes in and we have a vaccine with lower efficacy than the other vaccines, which are more effective, it is to at least define the vaccine use group."
Because, he explained, "we have dose shortages, we should not get to the point where we vaccinate an 80-year-old with AstraZeneca, just because we don't have doses from Pfizer."
He noted that "with the AstraZeneca vaccine only six out of ten are covered", adding that "we must not increase the risk to the elderly ourselves and while we vaccinate them there is a chance that they will become infected and seriously ill".
"To avoid this case I think such planning is necessary," he said.
In order to differentiate Germany from the other Member States, Mr. Didis said that if a country wants to diversify the approval of the European Medicines Agency for its citizens it does so with an announcement and with an approval of the National Medicines Agency.
"Cyprus does not intend to do anything special in the near future. Only the Germans did it," he said.
Cyprus will not follow Hungary's example for Sputnik V
In relation to the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, Mr. Detis said that Cyprus, like other countries in Europe, would go with its approval of the European Medicines Agency.
He explained that in order for this vaccine to come to Cyprus, the European Medicines Agency must give its approval, which must be validated by the EU.
However, he noted that in order to do this, the vaccine production company itself would have to apply.
"This request has not yet been made. The first step is therefore for the Institute producing Sputnik to submit its interest to the European Agency that it intends to apply. At the same time, the mechanisms will be activated and the European Medicines Agency, which will request data from studies and then set the date of approval. Then it will go to the EU for validation and then it is up to the Member States whether they choose to buy these vaccines altogether," he said.
In relation to Cyprus, he said the country would not follow the example of Hungary and other sites, "unless it reaches desperate limits and seeks vaccines out of nowhere."
Finally, he said that Cyprus is currently following the European Medicines Agency.
Source: eyenews/CYPE
