Alexandros Moutzouridis: Vaccine nationalism rattles the EU

The issue of EU vaccine supply is evolving into another European-wide fiasco. to the exact opposite effect. This was evident not only from the failed attempt of Hungary to turn to the Russian vaccine, but also the moves of the German government itself, which was accused of putting European interests above national ones (!).

The Commission originally aimed to procure two billion doses of seven different vaccines, enough to vaccinate the 450 million EU citizens at least twice. But delays in procurement and vaccination programs in several countries have sparked strong criticism from opposition forces, as the United States and the United Kingdom have moved much faster.

The representatives of the Member States are putting pressure on Brussels, asking for answers concerning the gaps and shortcomings of the policy pursued by the Commission. For example, the question arises as to whether larger Community funds should have been committed for this purpose or whether it should have preferred different vaccine manufacturers.

The leaders of the 27 are on hot coals for the coveted vaccination, thanks to which they have promised a return to normalcy. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, vaccinations in the EU until 12 January are as follows:

Denmark: 2.02 doses per 100 people
Italy: 1.19 doses per 100 people
Slovenia: 1.08 doses
Estonia: 0.9 doses
Spain: 0.87 doses
Lithuania: 0.83
Germany: 0.82
Hungary; 0.81
Croatia: 0.73
Ireland: 0.71
Portugal: 0.69
Cyprus: 0.69
Poland: 0.68
Romania: 0.65
Slovakia: 0.58
Greece: 0.48
Latvia: 0.44
Austria: 0.33
Finland: 0.32
Malta: 0.32
France: 0.21
Netherlands: 0.21
Bulgaria: 0.2
Luxembourg: 0.19
Czech Republic: 0.19
Belgium: 0.07

Other countries outside the EU have gone further, such as Israel, with 21.42 vaccinations per 100 people, the United Arab Emirates with 11.8, the United Kingdom with 3.94 and the US with 2.72.

The Commission is “on the ropes” concerning contracts

Meanwhile, the representative of the Commission in charge of the negotiation with pharmaceuticals, Sandra Galina, was called to explain before the European Parliament (via video conference), on issues of transparency and clarity. “We bought what they gave us,” was her clear answer to questions about the quantities concerning what her group ordered for the EU.

As for the contracts with the pharmaceutical companies, Galina assured the MEPs that they would have the opportunity to see them in a “special room in the European Parliament”. So far, however, according to official announcements, only one contract is available, the one with the German CureVac.

One of the crucial issues is who will be responsible in case of side effects of certain vaccines. It is known, for example, that the American-German duo Pfizer / BioNTech had sought immunity in such cases. The European Pharmaceutical Agency, however, has resisted rapid approval, as has been the case in Britain and the United States.

Nevertheless, the order from Pfizer / BioNTech eventually doubled to 600 million doses in the previous days, which was interpreted as an assumption that the EU could have ordered more vaccines from the beginning. In fact, there were political barbs, this time against the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who was accused of rushing to place the order after the political storm that broke out in Germany –  her country of origin – in view of the federal elections.

A report in the German magazine Spiegel also reported that the French government had pressed for Pfizer / BioNTech’s initial order not to be large, leaving room for Sanofi – something that Paris flatly denied, recalling that the order from the French company was clearly smaller.

Galina was also asked about the existence of bilateral or national contracts, following reports of the “unilateral” supply of vaccines by EU member states, saying she knew nothing about it… But it was the same German health ministry spokesperson who confirmed on January 8 that Berlin would receive “30 million [doses] from bilateral contracts regardless of agreements at EU level”.

Vaccine doses given per 100 people by 12 January 2021 (source: Our World in Data, with data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control).

Infrastructure problems

However, things will be clarified soon, when the data on how many people have been vaccinated so far in each member state are published. A comparison with the number of vaccines they have already received will show whether it is ultimately the fault of the Commission negotiating team or other factors such as the lack of preparation of the state authorities per country or of course the inability of the manufacturers to supply.

Because, if many of the vaccines that have been distributed are still in ttransit, criticism of Brussels is not justified. On the other hand, in some countries, such as France, the delay in vaccinations was chosen as a conscious tactic, so that there would be no negative reaction and fear on the part of citizens. Remember that in France people are very skeptical about the safety of vaccines, since in the polls the percentage of those who say they want to do it does not exceed 54%. For this reason, the authorities should be very careful in the way they communicate and promote vaccination.

In addition, the French government – possibly other governments – planned to implement a vaccination plan, initially with the vaccines of Moderna, AstraZeneca, CureVac and Janssen, for older people and healthcare workers, considering that it would be available by summer. the (French) Sanofi vaccine for other adults. This planning does not seem to be possible so far.

It should be noted, however, that in the second quarter the rate of production and distribution of vaccines in the EU is expected to accelerate, as the highly economical serum of AstraZeneca will be approved. The advantage of this company vaccine is that it can be stored in simple freezers, unlike Pfizer / BioNTech, which requires a temperature of -70 C  degrees. A vaccine purchase agreement will soon be concluded with Valneva of France and later with Novavax of the USA.

It is clear that the issue is a political hot potato for many governments across the Union, as the population in the highly virus-stricken Europe is showing strong signs of fatigue from the restrictive measures. In Community capitals, there are fears that social unrest will soon translate into political losses, especially given the irreparable financial damage caused by the lockdowns, which has not yet been fully reflected.