Friday

29th Mar 2024

EU failing on tracking new Covid-19 variants, MEPs told

  • The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is now sequencing genomes on behalf of those member states that have very limited or none capacity (Photo: European Commission)

The majority of countries in Europe are falling short on tracking coronavirus variants, such as those first detected in the UK, South Africa and Brazil - meaning more contagious strains are spreading undetected.

"In the European Union, we are strengthening our ability to identify and monitor new variants, but we are not yet there," the chief of the surveillance section at European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Bruno Ciancio, said on Monday (15 March) during a public hearing in the European Parliament's health committee.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Only Ireland, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, and Finland, together with non-EU Iceland and Norway, have increased genome sequencing to at least 10 percent of positive test results - the level recommended for detecting and monitoring the emergence and dominance of these strains.

Genome sequencing reveals the virus' genetic information, which allows researchers to identify changes in genes. This is considered crucial to understanding the progress of the virus behaviour, and, accordingly, the role of adapted vaccines.

Meanwhile, the ECDC is itself sequencing genomes on behalf of those member states that have very limited or none genome-sequencing capacity - such as Bulgaria, Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia.

"We need to invest in member states abilities to perform this type of advanced diagnostic," Ciancio warned, adding that the current approach is "not sustainable in the long-term".

The EU agency is meanwhile considering supporting member states with sample collection.

"It is concerning that not enough countries are doing genomic sequencing of Covid-19, [but] it is clear that the strategy against variants needs to be global," leftwing MEP Silvia Modig said.

For influenza, for example, the WHO provides countries with guidance, technical support and coordination of activities essential to make their health systems better prepared for the next influenza season.

The so-called UK variant, which is up to 75 percent more transmissible, is spreading significantly across Europe - with some 24,000 cases officially registered in EU/EAA countries.

It continues to predominate in new cases reported in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Denmark, among others. In Germany, it is now responsible for 22 percent of new infections.

Liberal MEP Nils Torvalds warned "the more infections we have, the more variants we will have, meaning we will need to live with these variants for the next five to ten years".

Under its new HERA Incubator programme, the European Commission wants to mobilise €75m to support member states with genomic sequencing.

Modified vaccines to be approved 'in weeks'

The commission will soon propose speeding up the regulatory approval for adapted vaccines.

Marco Cavalieri, head of the European Medicine Agency's vaccine evaluation team, told MEPs on Monday that the approval of adapted vaccines will be "a matter of weeks" - maybe even shorter.

Under the proposal for adapted vaccines, companies will not be obliged to submit an entire file from scratch as the new shot would be approved as "a kind of variation" of doses that have been already approved by the EU agency.

Moreover, manufacturers will be able to ask for the approval of different modified vaccines under the same marketing authorisation application.

Cavalieri said that early studies show that vaccines approved in the EU are demonstrating high efficiency against coronavirus variants.

Until now, BioNtech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson&Johnson vaccines are the only jabs approved in the EU.

Covid variants put Schengen under pressure

The EU Commission also raised concerns about the proportionality of Belgium's ban on non-essential travel, for people wishing to leave the country.

EU rolls out vaccine, as UK-variant spreads

Most EU member states began rolling out the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 on Sunday, as a more contagious variant from the UK begins to spread on the continent.

EU fears 'alarming' third wave, as bloc back in lockdown

The European Commission has raised concerns about the "alarming" epidemiological situation in some member states, warning that it could worsen in the coming weeks as a third wave of the pandemic hits the continent.

Delta variant poses 'mandatory' vaccination dilemma for EU

The spread of the more contagious Delta variant has prompted authorities in member states to accelerate inoculation campaigns, and even make vaccination mandatory - in a bid to halt the new surge of cases and avoid lockdowns in the autumn.

EU commisisoner Šuica sounds alarm on demographic shift

The EU will have to step up its efforts to tackle looming demographic challenges over the next five years. If not, the bloc faces "sleepwalking into dark scenarios", warns EU commission vice-president Dubravka Šuica.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us