
EU: Vaccine misinformation will be 'big challenge'
EU officials warned that "one of the biggest challenges" ahead will be fighting the spread of vaccine misinformation and addressing vaccine hesitancy.
Tuesday
19th Jan 2021
EU officials warned that "one of the biggest challenges" ahead will be fighting the spread of vaccine misinformation and addressing vaccine hesitancy.
After the lack of coordination evidenced during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Commission put forward a set of proposals to strengthen the preparedness of members states in cross-border health threats.
I understand that the German-Turkish community - often subjected to condescension in Germany - celebrated the story. Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türecki represent scientific excellence and business success at the highest level.
The European Commission refused to comment on whether a bilateral deal between Germany and BioNTech for 30 million additional vaccines is a breach of EU collective purchase agreements - which forbid member states from negotiating separate deals.
The EU has demanded China cooperate with the international community to understand better the pandemic, after Chinese officials blocked the arrival of a group of World Health Organization (WHO) researchers investigating the origins of Covid-19 in Wuhan.
The Swedish king would have been better advised to use his annual Christmas interview to call for unity of purpose and shed light on the political roots of the country's response.
Let's expand the EU with a Health Union where cutting edge research and world-class applications go hand in hand. For this, it is worth being European, believing in Europe, working on Europe, writes European People's Party leader Manfred Weber MEP.
EU top negotiator on vaccines contracts defended the EU's joint approach on vaccinations - amid a wave of critics who blame the European Commission for not buying enough doses and calls for increased transparency.
National authorities have warned citizens about "difficult" weeks ahead, as more than a quarter of EU countries are seeing strained health systems - amid a blame-game over the slow rollout of the vaccine in some member states.
The European Medicines Agency has authorised the use of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by US company Moderna - while the EU is involved in a blame-game over a sluggish vaccine rollout across member states.
The EU Commission says the perceived slow roll-out of vaccines is due to production capacity, not the number of doses the EU has secured.
The Danish government has committed to reducing Denmark's CO2 emissions by 70 percent by 2030. These are not figures made up for the occasion. They are the targets that scientists believe are the bare necessity.
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.
France has resumed transport links with the UK, on condition travellers get a negative test result, as the EU tries to contain a new type of Covid-19.
The UN Agency for Palestine refugees has run out of money. For millions of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, Covid-19 is two pandemics in one: a health crisis and a pandemic of abject poverty.
After the UK approved the use of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNtech, the pressure is mounting on the EU. But how are these vaccines approved in the bloc - and what is the legal liability?
The pandemic has both hampered access to mental health services, while increasing demand for psychological support, particularly in countries with the most severe coronavirus lockdowns. Meanwhile, experts warn that 'teletherapy' is not a universal fix.
The European Commission says Hungary can secure the Russian vaccine Sputnik V but only if it invokes national emergency measures. It must also remain within the territory of the country.
The EU recently signed a huge contract for a US anti-corona drug which, the WHO says, might not work, but there's little transparency on how the deal was made.
Attempts by Amazon staff to unionise were met with court action in Poland, while in the UK the online giant checked workers' Facebook profiles for union activity. Meanwhile, extra coronavirus risk-pay for staff ended in May in most countries.
The Romanian study reveals that over 60 percent of parents in the countryside have not worked during the pandemic, and close to half are unable to provide adequate food, medicine, hygiene products or school supplies for their children.
A panel at the World Health Organisation said the antiviral drug remdesivir was 'ineffective' in treating Covid-19. But tens of thousands of doses have already been distributed throughout the EU and a €1bn contract signed with Gilead.
EU leaders also agreed on Thursday on the need to clearly communicate the importance of vaccines amid rising scepticism, and avoid prematurely ending confinement measures.
The European Commission recommended a slew of anti-corona measures, urging member states scale up testing capacity, by increasing the use of rapid antigen tests, in order to help ease travel restrictions and prevent laboratory collapses.
You hear voices already calling for the European Council to give in to the Hungarian and Polish demands, by coming up with supposedly 'technical' solutions allowing them to veto any corruption case or breaches of the rule of law .
The European Commission is about to sign a fourth contract for hundreds of millions of vaccine doses against Covid-19. The contracts include non-disclosure clauses, meaning things like price or even where they will be produced remains confidential.
After an experimental Covid-19 vaccine developed by the American giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech was found to be more than 90 percent effective, the EU announced that it will sign a contract for up to 300 million doses.
Slovak citizens are required to present their negative "Covid certificate" - which prime minister Igor Matovic tagged their "ticket to freedom" - at their work place, shops and other public spaces or even when casually checked by police when outdoors.
In the EU, only Portugal, Poland, Lithuania and Slovenia published all contracts signed by public authorities. Most countries held back information on prices paid, arguing it was necessary to preserve secrecy in order not undermine negotiations.
The EU Parliament suspended MEPs' €323 daily allowance due to the Brussels pandemic. But neo-Nazi MEP Ioannis Lagos finds that unfair and wants parliament to create "a central register in a Covid-19-free place" so he can still pocket the funds.
The burden on healthcare systems all across the bloc, as a result of the autumn surge in coronavirus infections, is triggering new nationwide lockdowns and restrictive measures in nearly every EU member state.
Belgian microbiologist Peter Piot offered a bleak assessment of available options to rid the world of the pandemic caused by Covid-19. Aside from wishful thinking, millions of possible deaths, and crushing poverty, a vaccine appears to be the only solution.
UN secretary general, António Guterres, discusses the Covid-19 crisis and the challenges the pandemic poses for the global community in a live meeting with Nordic Council party groups and prime ministers. Live on EUobserver today from 18:00 (CET).