The criticism of vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca is increasing.
Meanwhile, the EU authority gives the green light for the vaccine.
But the EU breaks down badly.
Some
blackened passages
from the published contract with Astrazeneca are still legible due to a breakdown
(update from January 29th, 5:52 pm).
After strong tensions, AstraZeneca boss Soriot suddenly strikes a more conciliatory tone
(update from January 29, 7.48 p.m.)
.
Northern Ireland
accuses the EU of an "act of hostility" in the AstraZeneca dispute
(update from January 29th, 10:27 pm)
.
This
news ticker
is updated regularly.
Update from January 29th, 10:27 pm:
Northern Ireland's
Prime Minister Arlene Foster
accuses
the
EU of
an
“act of hostility”
.
The background is the dispute over the
AstraZeneca corona vaccine
.
By controlling exports of vaccines produced in EU countries, the EU is creating a
hard border
between Northern Ireland and Ireland, as the Northern Ireland Protocol is actually supposed to prevent, Foster wrote on Twitter on Friday evening.
This is an "incredible act of hostility" and an
"aggressive and shameful procedure"
.
She will
call
on Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
to act.
The part of the country is
tied more closely to the EU
due to the
Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated
during
Brexit
and continues to follow the rules of the EU internal market.
In the course of the dispute over delivery cuts by the vaccine manufacturer Astrazeneca, the EU announced on Friday that it
would closely monitor
the
export of vaccines in future
and, if necessary, stop them.
Pharmaceutical companies that have also concluded supply contracts with the EU will have to
apply for
export permits in
future
.
The
WHO
had also criticized this approach.
"This is a worrying trend," said Mariangela Simao, who is responsible for medicines and vaccines, in Geneva on Friday.
"This is not good for public health or any country."
After a dispute with the EU - AstraZeneca suddenly changes course
Update from January 29, 7.48 p.m.:
After harsh criticism and a full-
blown
dispute with the
EU
, the
pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca
suddenly
strikes a
conciliatory tone.
"We are working 24/7
to increase capacities,
" said AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot on Friday evening in a video link with journalists.
Everything is being done to speed up the production of the vaccine and
to deliver
many vaccine doses to Europe as quickly as possible
.
In the next few days, the first batch with the first million cans will be delivered.
In addition, supply chains should be further upgraded and "material" should be relocated to Europe - Soriot did not want to give details.
Soriot described the initial problems as "teething troubles" that will soon be resolved.
In the past few days,
tensions
between the British-Swedish manufacturer and the EU had come to a head.
Because AstraZeneca announced that it would deliver fewer doses of its vaccine than had been agreed.
The
delivery bottlenecks
seemed to be limited to the EU, however, in
Great Britain
and other non-EU countries no reduction in doses had been announced.
EU Commission officially approves AstraZeneca vaccine for Europe
Update from January 29, 7:35 p.m.:
The
corona vaccine from
the British-Swedish manufacturer
AstraZeneca
can now also be used in the European Union.
The EU Commission
granted approval
, as announced by
Ursula von der Leyen
, head of the Commission
.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had previously recommended conditional approval.
The approval of the EU Commission is considered a formality.
Astrazeneca vaccine: In Germany only recommended for people between 18 and 64 years of age
Update from January 29, 6:35 p.m.:
The
Standing Vaccination Commission
(Stiko) recommends
the use of the
AstraZeneca
corona vaccine
for
Germany
only for people aged
18 to 64 years.
The
Robert Koch Institute (RKI)
published this recommendation
on its website on Friday evening.
According to Stiko,
there is not
yet
sufficient data
to
assess the effectiveness of the vaccination in older people
.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had previously recommended approval of the Astrazeneca vaccine for the EU.
It had waived a restriction for use in the elderly.
Apart from the age restriction, Stiko also classified the vaccine from the British-Swedish group as "suitable for
individual protection
and for
combating the pandemic
".
However, this assessment does not change
the
vaccination sequence
for the Stiko.
In the respective phases, the Astrazeneca vaccine is to be administered to people aged 18 to 64 years.
The EU made a serious glitch with the publication of the contract with AstraZeneca
Update from January 29, 5:52 p.m.:
The
EU Commission made
a
serious
glitch
when it published its framework agreement with the
vaccine manufacturer Astrazeneca
on Friday
.
The passages in the document that had been blackened out at the company's request were
partially readable
in a first version using the bookmark function of Acrobat Reader
.
It was a technical error, it was said from commission circles.
The published version was later replaced.
Astrazeneca initially reacted cautiously to the incident.
“We are aware of the reports in the media.
We have no further comments at this point, ”said a spokeswoman for the company in
Germany
.
The Commission had urged publication of the contract.
The background to this is the dispute over the
cut
announced by Astrazeneca
in the delivery of corona vaccine to the EU
in the first quarter.
EU & Astrazeneca: That is in the blackened passages of the contract
Specifically,
according to
Focus.de
, the
originally blackened passages
also contain
information that was previously hardly known.
The planned value of goods for the manufacture of the vaccine is around
870 million euros
.
If these costs are exceeded on delivery, Astrazeneca must not incur any loss.
In addition, Astrazeneca has undertaken to conclude manufacturing contracts with other companies if the contractually agreed delivery quantities cannot be met.
If the
price increases by over 20 percent
, this must be made verifiable.
In return, the EU has committed to pay 336 million euros.
Two thirds of this amount was transferred in August.
What is new is that the balance must be paid as soon as Astrazeneca
has
proven
that
the first installment has been
used.
In addition, according to
Focus.de
, the commission had to
submit
binding orders from the member states
30 days after the contract came into force
.
After arguments: EMA gives Astrazeneca vaccine the green light
Update from January 29, 4:20 p.m.:
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has
recommended
conditional marketing authorization for the corona vaccine of the British-Swedish group Astrazeneca
in the EU.
It applies to people aged 18 and over, the EMA announced on Friday in Amsterdam.
The EU Commission now has to make the final decision on approval - this is a matter of form.
In addition: The EU can in future
monitor
exports of
corona vaccines
and limit them if necessary.
The
European Commission
had adopted a corresponding "export authorization" on Friday, the Commissioner for External Trade Commission Vice Valdis Dombrovskis said in Brussels.
All pharmaceutical companies that have concluded supply contracts with the EU for corona vaccines must therefore register future deliveries to third countries in Brussels.
Vaccine manufacturer Astrazeneca: criticism is intensifying - news from US company Johnson & Johnson
Update from January 29th, 3:20 p.m.:
While the criticism of vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca is increasing, there is news from the US company
Johnson & Johnson
.
The company's corona vaccine candidate has an effectiveness of 66 percent.
The vaccine avoids serious illnesses up to 85 percent.
The company said on Friday after the completion of its phase 3 clinical study. Almost 44,000 people took part.
In contrast to the previous vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna,
only
one dose is
required
with the product from
Johnson & Johnson
.
"Our goal was to create a simple and effective solution for as many people as possible,"
Alex Gorsky
, general manager of Johnson & Johnson told the
Financial Times
.
The vaccine may be less effective with the South African variant of the coronavirus: In the clinical tests in South Africa, the effectiveness was 57 percent.
There, 95 percent of all Covid 19 diseases were due to the South African variant B.1.351.
Corona vaccine: EU blacks out important passage in AstraZeneca contract
Update from January 29, 2:15 p.m.:
The EU Commission published its framework agreement with the
pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca
on Friday
.
However, important passages of the document have been redacted with reference to trade secrets.
This also includes the delivery quantities planned for the first quarter.
This caused harsh criticism of AstraZeneca
(see first report).
The EU Commission welcomed the company's willingness to be more transparent.
This is important to build trust among Europeans and ensure that they can rely on the effectiveness and safety of
corona vaccines
in the EU.
The Commission hopes to be able to publish all contracts with vaccine manufacturers.
Corona in Germany: 2.2 percent of the total population received the first vaccination
In Germany, 1,799,481 people have received their
first vaccination
since the start of the corona
vaccination
.
That corresponds to 2.2 percent of the total population.
416,646 people already received the second vaccination.
On January 28, 94,112 vaccinations were carried out in Germany (data status: January 29, 10:50 a.m.).
“Underground!” World Medical Director Montgomery railed - is there a new vaccination sequence in Germany?
Our first report from January 29th:
Munich - “The behavior of AstraZeneca is underground,” said
World Medical President Frank Ulrich Montgomery
to the editorial network Germany (RND).
The corona infection and death rates are still at a high level.
Last but not least, different virus variants are causing a stir.
The vaccine is one of the high hopes in the pandemic.
But vaccine
manufacturer AstraZeneca in
particular
has received a lot of criticism.
Vaccine maker AstraZeneca under fire - Montgomery calls for export ban
On Friday (January 29), the
AstraZeneca
vaccine,
the
third corona vaccine *
, is to be approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
It follows the vaccines from
Biontech / Pfizer *
and
Moderna
.
But AstraZeneca is heavily criticized across Europe.
The background: of the 80 million cans originally promised for Europe, only 31 million are to be delivered.
“It cannot be that the company keeps its delivery promises for Great Britain exactly”, criticized Montgomery and continued, “but only delivers a fraction of the promised vaccination doses for the EU.” The world medical chief told RND: “If the vaccine is on continental European Soil is produced, you have to give the company
forbid extraditing him outside the EU. "
Von der Leyen criticizes vaccine manufacturers - contract with companies to be published
EU Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen
also accused AstraZeneca of failing to keep the delivery commitments.
The EU's contract with the company was “crystal clear” and “clear delivery quantities” had been agreed, the politician said on Friday on Deutschlandfunk.
To prove this, the contract should be published as soon as possible.
AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot
justified the delays with the fact that the EU concluded its supply contract three months later than Great Britain.
In addition, his company has not committed itself to fixed delivery quantities, but only to "do your best" as part of a so-called "best effort clause".
Von der Leyen confirmed that there was such a clause in the contract, but it only applied for the time the
vaccine was being developed
.
“That time is behind us, the vaccine is here.” In addition, the vaccine manufacturer had given assurances “that no other obligations would prevent the fulfillment of this contract” - and therefore no earlier contract with Great Britain.
Vaccine debate in Germany: Esken calls for a new sequence of vaccines
Meanwhile, another critical point about AstraZeneca's vaccine is causing a stir.
In Germany, the drug is expected to be administered only to people under 65 years of age.
This emerged from a recommendation by the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko).
The committee justified this by stating that “currently insufficient data” are available to assess the effectiveness of the product in people aged 65 and over.
In view of this, SPD leader
Saskia Esken
demanded
consequences.
"We now have to immediately procure alternative vaccines for people over 65 and, on the other hand,
re-coordinate
the
vaccination sequence
for the AstraZeneca vaccine that will arrive shortly," Esken told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
“Above all, hospital and nursing staff should be the first to benefit from the resources that are now available,” she demanded.
New vaccine from US manufacturer - effectiveness of almost 90 percent
Another
vaccine manufacturer
has reported success in the
fight against the coronavirus
.
The US pharmaceutical company
Novavax
has announced a high rate of effectiveness of its corona vaccine candidate.
As the company announced on Thursday, the agent had shown an effectiveness of 89.3 percent in the third and final study phase in test subjects in Great Britain.
The vaccine is also said to be effective
against the
virus mutations *
, but to varying degrees.
The EU is also considering supply by
Novavax
.
Like AstraZeneca, the compound has the advantage that it does not have to be stored at temperatures as low as the vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna.
Meanwhile, RKI boss Wieler said on Friday: "The more we vaccinate, the more mutations will occur."
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network (dpa / mbr)
