Population immunity in the UE?

The European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton believes in the possibility of getting continent-wide immunity by July. Talks are underway at European level about a medical certificate, the so-called vaccine passport meant to ease travel in E

Mihai Pelin, 22.03.2021, 14:00

Anti-Covid vaccination
rollout continues in Europe. The European Commission has so far concluded
contracts for up to 2.6 billion doses and is having talks for additional
quantities. Vaccine deliveries towards countries in the EU have consistently
increased of late and vaccination rollout tends to gain momentum. Half of the
adult population in Britain has already received a first dose of the anti-Covid
vaccine.

The European Commission
has also kicked off a series of activities meant to support the development and
rapid production of effective vaccines against the novel variants. Furthermore,
the EU wants to get assured these vaccines can reach the remotest regions of
the globe.

Against this background
the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton said that it is
possible for the bloc to get population immunity by July 14th. The
European official has highlighted the envisaged increase in vaccine deliveries.
We’re in the home stretch because we know that to beat this pandemic there is
just one solution: vaccination. The vaccines are arriving, the European
official went on to say.

The commissioner has also
said that between March and June Europe is to get between 300 and 350 million
doses of vaccine. He has also mentioned the increase in vaccine deliveries, 60
million in March, 100 million in April and 120 million in May. According to the
EU official, vaccines are now produced in 55 plants across Europe.

At the same time, Breton
has voiced optimism regarding the observation of the European vaccination
rollout programme for the first quarter of the year. He has given assurances
that in spite of the issues the delivery process is still facing, no more
delays in the vaccination rollout are going to occur.

The European Commissioner
for Internal Market has announced that authorities in Brussels are presently considering
a medical certificate to ease travel across the EU during the summer season. The
document should be ready by June 1st and will be available in
electronic or printed formats. It will be issued in the language of every EU country
and translated in English allowing the recognition of an immunized EU citizen in
all EU countries.

Although the European Commission
insists the document is a vaccination certificate and not a ‘vaccination passport’,
its primary goal is to ease travel between EU members and even outside the
bloc.

The certificate proves that
a person tested negative for the Covid-19 virus, has been cured recently, has developed
antibodies or has got the vaccine. It remains unclear though when people at
large are able to use the ‘vaccination passport’. In order to come into effect,
the Commission’s proposal must be approved by the EU countries and also by the
European Parliament.

(bill)