Mass Coronavirus vaccination program begins in EU; Bloc's chief calls it 'touching moment'

European Union on December 27 launched a co-ordinated vaccine rollout to fight against unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. Medical workers, nursing home residents, and politicians are set to be iculated, in what bloc’s top official says is a “touching moment of unity”. While taking to Twitter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine had been delivered to all 27 member states on Saturday. 

According to BBC, some EU countries had started administering jabs on Saturday and y had said that y were t prepared to wait ar day. Countries including Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia began EU immunisation a day earlier. rollout marks a moment of hope for a region that includes some of world’s earliest and worst-hit virus hot-spots and a region which so far has reported more than 335,000 COVID-related deaths. 

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EMA to deliver verdict on Moderna on Jan 6 

latest development comes after EU authorised Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on December 21. European Medicines ncy (EMA) had said that it was recommending shot be licensed for use in people over 16 years of with some exceptions. Von der Leyen had also said that EU drug regulator would deliver ir verdict on Moderna’s vaccine on January 6, potentially giving Europe a second tool with which to battle unprecedented pandemic early in new year. 

Meanwhile, iculation programme begins a new strain of coronavirus has been detected in countries across Europe. With over 1,000 cases of variant discovered in UK, scientists are puzzled to determine if variant, named as VUI-202012/01, falls into which category or if it represents an increased health risk especially when some nations began administering COVID-19 vaccines among people.  EMA’s head of Anti-infectives and Vaccines Marco Cavaleri said that it was “really too early” to say if new variant of virus would compromise strength of vaccine, but that “for time being we are t worried”. 

(with inputs from AP)

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