EU ‘will not renew’ Covid vaccine contracts with Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson April 14, 2021 The European Commission will not renew Covid vaccine contracts with Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson beyond their current expiry dates, according to Italian media reports. The EU will instead prioritise contracts with pharmaceutical companies that produce mRNA vaccines such as Moderna and Pfizer, Italian newspaper La Stampa reported. “The European Commission, in agreement with the [...]
EU turns to Pfizer for more Covid jabs amid fresh vaccine shortage April 14, 2021 The EU has ordered an extra 50m doses of the Pfizer/Biontech Covid vaccine following Johnson & Johnson’s surprise announcement yesterday that jab deliveries to Europe face significant delays. European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen said this afternoon that the bloc will bring forward an order of 50m doses of the vaccine which had been [...]
Brexit: We must use EU divorce to slash tariffs for developing nations and boost UK trade, says PM adviser April 13, 2021 Brexit: We must use EU divorce to slash tariffs for developing nations and boost UK trade, says PM adviser
Google steps up fight against fake news with $29m contribution to new EU fund March 31, 2021 Google will pay $29.3m to the newly formed European Media and Information Fund in a bid to combat fake news, the company said on Wednesday. The contribution comes amid criticism that the tech giant is not doing enough to debunk online disinformation. The pandemic and the US election prompted a spike in misinformation last year, [...]
Coronavirus latest updates: EU boosts vaccine supply; Norway halts Astrazeneca jab; London R rate rises March 26, 2021 EU boosts production of Covid vaccines The European Medicines Agency announced this afternoon that it has approved the use of two European factories to scale up the EU’s vaccine supply. The Halix factory in the Netherlands has been cleared to produce doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine for the EU, while another in Marburg in Germany [...]
EU approves use of Netherlands factory to produce Astrazeneca vaccine March 26, 2021 The EU medicines regulator has approved the use of a factory in the Netherlands for the production of Covid vaccines for Europe, despite the fact that it is currently being used to make jabs for the UK. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in statement it had cleared the Halix production site in the Netherlands [...]
Johnson says UK is ‘on the side of openness’ following EU vaccine row March 25, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson today said that Britain is “on the side of openness” and that did he not want to see restrictions on the exchange of Covid-19 vaccines with the European Union. Yesterday the EU tightened its oversight of coronavirus vaccine exports, giving it greater scope to block shipments to countries with higher inoculation [...]
European Commission calls for reciprocity on vaccine exports with the UK March 19, 2021 European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen has called for reciprocity on vaccine exports amid an ongoing row with the UK and US over jab deliveries. “I ask for greater openness as Europe is among the regions in the world that exports the most, but reciprocity is needed,” she told Italian newspaper la Repubblica. She [...]
EU unveils vaccine passport plans in boost for summer holiday hopes March 17, 2021 The EU has unveiled plans to introduce vaccine passports to unlock international travel after months of closure, in a major boost for Britons’ hopes of holidays abroad this summer. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen outlined proposals for the EU’s Digital Green Certificate this afternoon, with the passports set to come into effect from [...]
WHO says countries should continue to use Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine as ‘benefits outweigh risks’ March 17, 2021 WHO says countries should continue to use Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine as 'benefits outweight risks'