[ad_1]
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said scientists should set out whether it’s necessary to vaccinate children against COVID-19, as opposed to politicians.
Speaking during a press conference following a Council summit of EU leaders, von der Leyen was asked her position on the debate around whether it would be necessary to vaccinate children in Europe, given limited doses globally.
The European Medicines Agency is due to make a decision before the end of the month on whether to recommend the BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents. Moderna has also reported positive results with its RNA vaccine in this cohort and is expected to file in June.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that rich countries vaccinating children is a “moral catastrophe” as health workers in lower-income countries await jabs.
“We need scientific advice on whom to vaccinate, how to vaccinate and in what order,” said von der Leyen, adding: “It’s not a political decision, it’s clearly [an] evidence-based, scientific decision.”
Von der Leyen said that regarding the availability of vaccines, the EU faced three major challenges in the coming two years: vaccinating minors, when to administer another booster, and preparing for escape variants — all main topics during EUCO, she said.
By the end of the week, over 300 million doses of vaccines will have been delivered to EU countries, she said; 400 million by the end of June. This meant the EU was “on track” to vaccinate 70 percent of the EU population by the end of July, allowing more freedoms, she said.
[ad_2]
Source link
