Von der Leyen: "The world will need more vaccines for the new variants"

Imperturbable smile, procession inside.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has come out this Monday in the face of the barrage of criticism that she has garnered for the slow start of vaccination campaigns in Europe.

"We are facing a daunting task but we will achieve it," says Von der Leyen during a meeting with EL PAÍS and other European media on the fifth floor of the Berlaymont building, headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels.

German policy, seriously questioned in recent days, defends that the European vaccination strategy is adequate, blames the unjustified delays on a single company (AstraZeneca) and remains convinced that 70% of the European population will be immunized by the end of summer.

Sources from the community body indicate that the expected 100 million doses this quarter will foreseeably be added another 380 million during the second quarter.

A figure that would immunize just over 200 million inhabitants.

Question.

In 2020, the year ended surrounded by successes, such as the Brexit agreement or the premiere of vaccines.

But everything has gone wrong.

Have you made a mistake?

Answer.

In politics there are always ups and downs and even more so in times of crisis, but what matters is the final assessment.

I remember that at the beginning of the pandemic it was also difficult for the Commission, which does not have health competencies, to convince the Member States of the need to coordinate and make a European approach.

Now we are starting a massive vaccination campaign, of a scale like we have never known before.

We are facing a titanic task, a marathon that requires nerves of steel, but I am convinced that we will achieve the goal.

Q.

But last Friday, the Commission's proposal to control exports set off alarms in Dublin and London over the risk of jeopardizing the Brexit agreements on the absence of borders in Ireland.

A.

I am aware of how sensitive the Northern Ireland protocol is.

It is clear.

And I am glad that a good solution was found in the end and that it had the support of the Irish Prime Minister.

In normal times, the procedures are slower.

But in this year of crisis we have had to make almost 900 emergency decisions.

And emergency decisions mean speed.

And there is always the risk that something may go unnoticed, but the important thing is that the end result is positive.

Q.

Do you think these setbacks damage your credibility?

R.

Let's wait until the end of the term to see the successes and mistakes and then we will take stock.

P.

The population and governments are impatient with the slow arrival of vaccines.

R.

I understand that people want to have the vaccine now, because the pandemic has subjected the population and society to enormous stress.

The pressure is understandable and I accept it.

But vaccines have been developed in 10 months, with a massive investment, when it would normally have taken 5 to 10 years.

And never has there been such a massive vaccination and vaccine production campaign.

It is a very complicated process.

We started in December and in a month 18 million doses have already been distributed.

33 million more will be distributed in February.

And in March, another 55 million.

And in the second quarter we will have even more.

P.

Outside of Europe there are countries that go faster.

Did you take too long to close the deals?

R.

The factor that has influenced the speed has been the authorization process, the negotiation of the contracts did not influence at all.

At the beginning of the pandemic there were some 160 institutions researching to develop the vaccine.

And we had to choose in the summer with whom to make the contracts.

And looking at it in perspective, I think we got the choice right.

All the companies that have come up with the vaccine are in our portfolio of contracts.

We signed our first contract with AstraZeneca in August, which seemed like the favorite.

But later also with BioNTech, for which almost nobody bet and was the first.

BioNTech waited for approval and, once obtained, immediately began deliveries.

The same happened with Moderna.

The conflict we have is with the third company [AstraZeneca] because once the authorization process was completed, we expected the delivery and we want a plausible explanation as to why it did not arrive.

Q.

Some sources point out that AstraZeneca had contracts with London that gave priority to the UK.

A.

Our contract is clear.

There are no preconditions.

It is a contract that the company has to fulfill.

AstraZeneca is a company with worldwide production.

It is up to them to decide how they organize to serve all their customers.

We don't even know or care who your other customers are.

The good news is that AstraZeneca has told us that it will bring the first delivery forward to February 7, with 3.2 million doses.

On February 17, another 4.9 million.

And until the end of February 9.2 million.

In total, more than 17 million this month.

And in March, it will be 23 million.

In total, 40 million in two months.

This describes the process we are in.

Q.

But that number is still below what was expected in the first quarter, which was around 100 million doses.

A.

Of course, we expect AstraZeneca to honor its contract.

We have made it clear that we want transparency and it will also be established through the Regulation on export authorization because that rule requires detailing what has been exported and where since December.

Once we have that data we can sit down with the company and tell them: these are the facts, let's work on a plan to make up for the delay.

We want the vaccines.

It is up to the company to explain and say how they are going to fulfill the contract.

With AstraZeneca we have had the worst.

They have understood that we are serious.

And it is positive that the company has already shown ways to get out of this difficult situation and improve and speed up deliveries.

Q.

Some people blame the EU for having invested too little in vaccines.

A.

We have invested 2.7 billion in the acquisition contracts, which were an upfront investment in the companies to develop their production capacities.

It was not the payment of the vaccines, only the investment in capacities, so that they could start manufacturing before receiving the authorization of the vaccine.

Add to that what the Member States pay for the doses, so it is a huge amount of money.

And it must be remembered that vaccinations have started earlier than expected.

In October of last year it was estimated that we would start in spring.

And it has been before, on December 27.

P.

Later than the United Kingdom, for example.

R.

It is true that others started earlier.

But the difference is that we decide, in agreement with the 27 Member States, that it is very important for a vaccine to be effective and safe.

That is why we do not allow shortcuts in scrutinizing and analyzing data.

Others approved an emergency clearance within 24 hours.

I think we were right to reject that possibility and go for a full review process that took two or three weeks.

We started a little later.

But vaccination is injecting a biological substance into a healthy person.

It is a huge responsibility.

So I think our formula with the provisional commercial authorization in two or three weeks has been a success, which is still faster than a normal authorization process.

Q.

Do you see the goal of vaccinating 70% of the European population still feasible by summer?

A.

Yes, of course.

It will be possible to have vaccinated 70% of the adult population by the end of the summer.

Q.

What is your biggest concern from now on?

A.

As a doctor I am amazed at the speed with which the vaccine has been reached, it has never happened.

It is miraculous what science has achieved.

What worries me now are the variants because I know that viruses mutate.

That is why I believe that we must prepare for scenarios that we hope will not arrive.

This Sunday I met with the CEOs of the pharmaceutical companies with which we have contracts, with scientists and with the EMA.

We want to speed up preparations in case variants appear that cause more problems.

First, increase or improve the use of data related to virus sequencing, to see if and how it changes.

Second, invest in research to try to tailor vaccines to suit possible variants.

Third, maintain close collaboration between the pharmaceutical companies and the EMA so that the Agency receives data on possible second or third generation vaccines and thus accelerates the authorization process.

And fourth, and most importantly, increase production capacity.

Because if there is something unquestionable, it is that the world will need more vaccines if we take into account the variants.

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