coronavirus
President von der Leyen at the EU Health Summit
On 1 December, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave a speech at the virtually held EU Health Summit. In her address, the president emphasized the need for a common and global response to defeat the virus: “The challenge of this pandemic is unprecedented in modern times. We now know that defeating this virus is possible. But no country and no government can defeat the virus alone. This is true, first of all, at the global level. Secondly, inside Europe. And thirdly, between the public and the private sectors. The EU has taken the lead to convene a global response to COVID-19.”
President von der Leyen also recalled the “unprecedented co-operation on health issues” in the European Union during the past months, putting us on the path to establishing a European Health Union. This will improve EU-wide preparedness and responsiveness, give more responsibilities and resources to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and to the European Medicines Agency, and allow for close co-operation with the private sector in medicines development and supply.
“Governments alone cannot end this pandemic. That's why the Commission presented last week its Pharmaceutical Strategy. It is about creating win-win situations with the private sector. But we also want to put patients at the centre of medicines development and supply. Europe can take the lead in supplying ground-breaking medicines that are also affordable and widely available”, she said.
Finally, President von der Leyen repeated the mantra that “vaccines don't save lives, vaccinations do”, and that that “development of vaccines has been a remarkable team effort”, but that to deliver them to everyone in the world, we will need an even greater effort: “Vaccination is about self-protection and solidarity.”
Read the full speech here.
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