The European Commission announced, on Friday 30 June, the creation of ‘EU FAB’, a network of vaccine manufacturers in the European Union with sufficient and agile manufacturing capacities that will be able to quickly produce essential vaccines in the event of a health emergency.
‘EU FAB’ members are responsible for ensuring that facilities, staff and supply chains are maintained to enable them to quickly start manufacturing at the request of the Commission. ‘EU FAB’ will have the capacity to produce up to 325 million vaccines per year, within the EU.
The Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), in cooperation with the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), will finance ‘EU FAB’ to the tune of €160 million per year.
The number of vaccine doses reserved for ‘EU FAB’ per year varies between 50 and 140 million depending on the manufacturer. These doses will be produced entirely within the EU, in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for Europe to be better prepared for future health emergencies. The EU4Health programme provides funding to protect citizens against cross-border health threats.
For further information: https://aeur.eu/f/7ug (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)