The European Union’s mass vaccination campaign was attacked on Tuesday after Italians accused Germany of getting too much vaccine, and some health care workers received an injection five times the recommended dosage in a city 150 miles north of Berlin.
Politicians in Italy complained that the EU’s largest member state, Germany, could be receiving more than its fair share of the vaccine developed by the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer PFE,
and its partner BioNTech BNTX,
– the latter is based in the German city of Mainz.
Read: This is the schedule for vaccine approval worldwide, as the UK authorizes the COVID-19 vaccine
On Sunday, the EU organized the coordinated release of the vaccine in 27 member states, although Germany and Hungary had rushed in the day before, after a health-care worker said: “Every day we hope for is too many days. “
The EU stated in a statement: “All Member States will have access to the COVID-19 vaccines at the same time and distribution will be done on a per capita basis to ensure fair access”.
The European Medicines Agency, or EMA, which approves vaccines, was accused of acting too slowly and ended up being pressured by the European Commission and EU governments to act more quickly.
The UK Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency has become the first regulatory agency in the western world to approve the COVID-19 vaccine, replacing EMA because of the emergency situation. The UK exits EMA at the end of the month as part of Brexit.
Read: How was the UK the first to approve the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine, and are there any dangers in authorizing it so fast?
Months earlier, a group of academics, including Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, claimed that the United Kingdom would have to wait longer to acquire a coronavirus vaccine if it left EMA.
Separately, in Stralsund, on the far north coast of Germany, eight workers in nursing homes were injected with five times the recommended dosage of the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine.
Stefan Kerth, district chief, said: “I deeply regret the incident. This individual case is due to individual errors. I hope that everyone affected does not experience any serious side effects. ”Four people were taken to a hospital.
Another vaccine defect, this time in southern Germany, saw employees transport the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine, which needs to be stored at around -70 ° C, in a picnic cooler that was unable to keep it at the required temperature . About 1,000 doses had to be returned.
About 12.5 million doses of the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine are expected in the EU by Friday. A total of 200 million doses will be sent to 27 member countries by September.
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