The informal meeting of EU Health Ministers on the evening of Wednesday 7 April failed to reach a common European position on the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
In the absence of clear recommendations from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), several Member States have chosen to restrict its use unilaterally (see EUROPE 12693/1).
During the meeting, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides called on ministers to “speak with one voice”.
“It is essential that we follow a coordinated European approach, one that will not confuse citizens or fuel vaccine hesitancy, because it will be based on science”, she said, urging Member States to follow the EMA’s advice. A few hours earlier, the Agency had stated that the benefits of vaccination with AstraZeneca continued to outweigh the risks. This is despite the fact thatAstraZeneca’s vaccine could cause thrombosis in some “very rare” cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO), for its part, followed up by stating that a link between the two was “plausible, but not confirmed”.
Several Member States are still restricting the vaccine
But nothing happened: Member States continued to restrict the use of the vaccine. Belgium has reserved it for the over-55s for 4 weeks. Italy, Spain and the Netherlands have joined Germany in recommending it for the over-60s. Sweden and Finland only administer it to people over 65, while its use is simply suspended in Denmark.
Faced with this diverse approach, European Commission spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker noted that vaccination policy was a national competence. “Member States can therefore decide to be stricter than what the EMA recommends”, he said, pointing out that the commissioner had nevertheless asked Member States to appoint experts to work with the European Medicines Agency to develop recommendations for different age groups.
For his part, the Belgian Minister for Health regretted that the EMA did not provide an in-depth analysis of the risks of side effects by age group in its opinion of 7 April, before stating that other ministers had brought this message to the informal health meeting.
No European approach to Sputnik V
Member States do not seem to be united on the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which is currently under continuous evaluation by the European Medicines Agency.
On Thursday 8 April, Germany announced that it would enter into discussions about a possible purchase of the Russian vaccine, provided that it is approved by the EMA. Hungary and Slovakia have already ordered 2 million doses of Sputnik V each, although the Slovak pharmaceutical agency SUKL said on Thursday that the doses received differed from those reviewed by the EMA.
On the other hand, the French believe that Russia is using this vaccine as a global propaganda tool.
The Commission has already announced that it does not intend to launch a group purchase on behalf of the Member States. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)