Volunteers prepared doses of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine at Forand Manor in Central Falls, RI on December 30, 2020.
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European Medicines Agency on Wednesday, recommended the Moderna coronavirus vaccine for use in the European Union, at a time when criticism about the slow deployment of jabs across the block is growing.
“The EMA Human Medicines Committee thoroughly assessed data on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine and recommended by consensus a formal conditional marketing authorization granted by the European Commission,” said the EMA in a statement.
Emer Cooke, executive director of the Amsterdam-based EMA, added that Moderna’s vaccine “provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency.” It paves the way for the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to do the same.
Moderna’s vaccine is the second to receive the green light from European regulators, but vaccines have already started to be distributed in the United Kingdom and the United States, where it was previously approved.
Some lawmakers have expressed concern that the EU is being too slow in delivering coronavirus vaccines to its citizens.
The deployment of Covid-19 jabs varies across the block. France reported 516 vaccinations in the first week of its launch, while Germany carried out about 240,000 vaccinations by Sunday. The Netherlands has not yet started vaccinating people against the coronavirus.
In addition, there are also doubts about whether enough vaccines have been purchased by the EU.
Several officials asked the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to explain why it did not buy more jabs.
A European Commission spokesman said on Monday that the institution was “very focused on ensuring that the implementation of our strategy is done, is done well”.
Moderna’s shares rose slightly in the pre-market trades due to the announcement.