Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described the implementation of EU vaccination as “very slow” in announcing that his country and Denmark would work with Israel to protect its citizens against new variants of the coronavirus.
The decision by the two member states to form a partnership for vaccine manufacturing comes at the time when the latest figures show that 7.5% of the EU population received a dose of the vaccine, compared with 52% in Israel and 31% in the UK.
“We must prepare for new mutations and we must no longer rely solely on the EU for the production of second-generation vaccines,” said Kurz.
He added that Austria and Denmark “will no longer depend on the EU in the future and, in the coming years, will produce doses of second generation vaccine for future coronavirus mutations together with Israel, in addition to researching joint treatment possibilities.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that unilateral action is needed in view of the difficulties in recent months in terms of vaccine supply.
“I do not think [the EU strategy] we can be alone, because we need to increase capacity, ”she said. “That is why we are now fortunate to start a partnership with Israel.”
The EU’s vaccination strategy has suffered from uneven supply due to production problems and public perceptions about the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron described the substance-free jab as “almost ineffective”, while several national officials recommended its use only among younger age groups due to a lack of data on its effectiveness for older people.
In recent weeks, several EU Member States have expressed an interest in using vaccines not yet approved by the European Medicines Agency. The Hungarian government has already started vaccinating its population with jabs from Russia and China.
A spokesman for the European Commission denied suggestions that the EU’s solidarity is crumbling in the face of frustrations with the difficulties faced in recent weeks among the 27 member states.
“It is not that the strategy has strayed,” said the spokesman. “For our vaccines, we turn to the European Medicines Agency because we want to guarantee efficacy and safety. What member states do in addition is their responsibility. “
A spokesman added that Member States are free to find additional vaccines, as long as they do not seek to negotiate side agreements with major EU suppliers, namely AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer.
He said: “The point is that none of them signaled in any way that they want to receive fewer doses based on our vaccination strategy.
“Everyone wants to be a part of this. [What] certain member states are looking at is how to prepare [for] the future. This is what I understand that was said by the leaders, in preparation for the variants. “
In the meantime, the French government has confirmed that it would allow people under the age of 75 with health problems to receive the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, in a reversal of its previous policy of providing it only to those under 65.
French Health Minister Olivier Véran told France 2 television that raising the age limit would allow an additional 2.5 million people to be vaccinated in the coming weeks.
Officials justified the change in position after a study conducted in Scotland covering 5.4 million people showed that injections by Pfizer / BioNTech and Oxford / AstraZeneca were highly effective in preventing serious infections.