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Omicron vaccines as booster doses / Recommendation for the vulnerable population / People over 60 and people with pre-existing conditions / Long-term care facilities and healthcare workers

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) now published a recommendation for the vaccination of the newly approved Omicron booster vaccines.
"Although the bivalent booster vaccines are approved for all persons above 12 years, the EMA recommends first protecting the vulnerable population with a higher risk for a severe disease course. I consider this recommendation to be very comprehensible. The EMA's recommendation is not binding for the member states. Still, I hope that the national authorities in member states will quickly come to similar recommendations," said the health policy spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), Peter Liese.

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I expect approval this week / No miracle cure but a significantly better protection


“For this week, I expect the approval of two adapted vaccines against the omicron subvariant of COVID-19”, said the health policy spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP Christian Democrats), Dr. Peter Liese, on Wednesday in a video conference with journalists. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency (CHMP) will discuss the two marketing authorization applications from Moderna and BioNTech starting Thursday morning. The committee is expected to give a positive recommendation before the end of Thursday.

Formal approval by the European Commission will occur either on Thursday evening or on Friday. Both companies have submitted comprehensive data, including through clinical trials, to prove the superior efficacy of the adaptions in comparison with prior vaccines. If approved, the companies will be able to supply the adapted vaccines within the next few days. Moderna will provide the EU with 70 million vaccine doses in the first two months, with eight to eleven million of those being available as early as the first week of September. Germany is scheduled to receive 4 million Moderna doses in the first two weeks after approval. BioNTech-Pfizer is expected to surpass the Moderna deliveries, as they plan to deliver up to 29 million vaccine doses in September to Germany alone. 10 million of those will already be available in the first two weeks after approval.

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Great news / Approval by European Commission is expected within hours / Booster vaccination for people 12 years and above after three months of last vaccination or infection / Urgent recommendation for people over 60 and people with pre-existing conditions whose last infection or vaccination is older than six months


"This is great news; the vaccines will help us to get an even better grip on the pandemic in the upcoming months," commented Peter Liese, the health policy spokesperson for the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), on the news that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended approval for two adapted vaccines against the Omicron subvariant of the coronavirus.

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Broad agreement on inclusion of maritime, increased ambition and many other points but significant differences in detail / Both sides have to move


European Parliament, Council of Ministers and European Commission will kick-start the trilogue on the revision of the emissions trading system on Monday at 12h45. “We want to send a strong signal that we don’t waste any time. I do not expect any decision at today’s first trilogue yet, but it is important to start the preparation at technical level as soon as possible and to prepare the important political decisions in the next months, definitely before the end of the Czech Presidency. To mitigate climate change, we need urgent action and all stakeholders including industry need clarity as soon as possible. It is very important that all the three institutions are aligned when it comes to the principal decisions of the revision. After many years of discussion, all three institutions agree that maritime industry needs to be included in the ETS applying not only to intra-European trips but also trips to and from third countries. It is very important that ships, that often burn very harmful fuels, will become cleaner and maritime has the opportunity to be a really clean and efficient industry. It is also agreed that we need a significant increase of ambition to align the ETS that is currently fit for achieving 40% target in 2030 to the climate law which demands us to go for at least 55%. Council and Parliament also agree on some elements for the protection of jobs, for example, a continuation of realistic calculations of benchmarks for the steel industry and it is very important that all the three institutions in principle agree on the ETS II for heating and road transport,” insisted Liese.

  1. European Parliament adopts largest climate change bill ever
  2. Emissions trading reform: EPP, S&D and Renew agree on new compromise
  3. Plenary vote on the ETS
  4. More breathing space for industry and citizens