Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
EU Regulators Gear Up To Approve Vaccine; Trucks Move Doses Into Place
AP: EU Regulator Meets To Discuss Approval Of COVID-19 Vaccine
The European Medicines Agency is meeting Monday to consider approving a coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer that would be the first to be authorized for use in the European Union. The closed-doors meeting comes weeks after the shot was granted permission under emergency provisions by regulators in Britain and the United States. (12/20)
Bloomberg: In Vaccine Drive, EU Turns To Super-Freezers, Church Leaders
Refrigerated cargo trucks carrying hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses are set to roll out of Pfizer Inc.’s factory in Puurs -- 15 miles south of Antwerp -- in the coming days, marking the start of an unprecedented effort to deliver the shot to 27 countries at the same time. From Malta to Finland, the EU is about to embark on an immunization campaign aimed at halting a pathogen that’s ravaged the continent this year. Trailing the U.K. and U.S., the bloc is feeling the heat, especially because the first vaccine was pioneered in Germany. A decision to clear the shot developed by BioNTech SE and Pfizer is due shortly, and the first Europeans will likely be immunized on Dec. 27. (Paton, 12/21)
In other global developments —
Stat: World Health Organization Says Its Covid-19 Vaccine Program Has Secured 2 Billion Doses
After months of effort, a World Health Organization program has reached an agreement to obtain nearly 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines and expects to begin distribution in the first quarter of 2021, which means shots can start reaching dozens of low and middle-income countries that must rely on patronage for supplies. (Silverman, 12/18)
AP: France's Macron Blames His COVID-19 On Negligence, Bad Luck
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday blamed his COVID-19 on a combination of negligence and bad luck, urging his compatriots to stay safe as critics called out slip-ups in his behavior to prevent infection, from a close-quarters handshake to repeated big-group meals over the past week. ... Macron said his infection “shows that the virus really can touch everyone, because I am very protected and am very careful.” Macron usually wears a mask and adheres to social distancing rules, and has insisted that his virus strategy is driven by science. But he has been captured on camera in recent days violating France’s virus-control guidelines. He shook hands and half-embraced the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Angel Gurria, at a meeting Monday. Both were masked, but Macron’s office acknowledged Friday the move was a “mistake.” (Charlton and Leicester, 12/18)
