coronavirus
Coronavirus: Commission concludes exploratory talks with Novavax to secure a new potential vaccine
On 17 December, the European Commission concluded exploratory talks with the pharmaceutical company Novavax with a view to purchasing its potential vaccine against COVID-19. The envisaged contract with Novavax would provide for the possibility for all EU member states to purchase 100 million doses, and they could further purchase up to 100 million more doses. Today's finalization of the exploratory talks with Novavax come in addition to an already secured broad portfolio of vaccines to be produced in Europe, including the contracts already signed with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, BioNtech-Pfizer, CureVac, and Moderna.
This diversified vaccines portfolio will ensure Europe is well prepared for vaccination, once the vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective. Member states could decide to donate the vaccine to lower and middle-income countries or to re-direct it to other European countries. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “I am happy to announce that we continue to broaden our portfolio of diverse vaccines. Today's step toward reaching an agreement with Novavax demonstrates the Commission's commitment to ensure all possible options are explored to access vaccines against COVID-19. Access to more vaccines will lead to a sufficient coverage for beating the pandemic.”
Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said: “We are close to adding a seventh promising vaccine to our portfolio and therefore increasing our chances to have the best possible choice for a safe and effective vaccine. All member states must now ensure that they are ready to start deploying some of them as from early 2021 once proven to be safe and effective. Vaccination will determine how we will live and work in 2021. In the lead up to the festive period, we are asking citizens to continue their efforts to control the pandemic. Everyone must play their part in keeping further resurgences at bay while we wait for a vaccine.”
A full press release is available online.
Share this article:
EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter. Please see EU Reporter’s full Terms and Conditions of publication for more information EU Reporter embraces artificial intelligence as a tool to enhance journalistic quality, efficiency, and accessibility, while maintaining strict human editorial oversight, ethical standards, and transparency in all AI-assisted content. Please see EU Reporter’s full A.I. Policy for more information.
