Second Mpox case outside Africa
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Peter Liese: At least individual cases to be expected in all European countries, but EU is well prepared / Vaccine for risk groups are already available / Member States should use EU instruments to act in a coordinated manner / Miles away from ‘corona’ scenario, but vigilance and targeted action necessary / Aid for Africa a humanitarian imperative and in our own interest
“The European Union is well prepared for the outbreak of the new variant of Mpox (formerly ‘monkeypox’) clade I type 2,” said Dr Peter Liese, health spokesperson for the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), in view of the second official case of Mpox outside Africa. On Thursday evening, it became known that a European who had travelled from Africa to Thailand had been infected with the new variant of Mpox. “Due to the intensive travel activity between the affected African countries and Europe, I expect that there will be at least individual cases in all European countries. Nevertheless, we should all remain calm. Vaccines are already available and the risk groups can be vaccinated at short notice. The European institutions, in particular the Commission's newly created unit ‘HERA’ (European Health Emergency Response Authority), have concluded a contract with the German-Danish vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic for the supply of 2 million vaccine doses in 2022. In addition, vaccine doses worth around 86 million euros are available via the RescEU mechanism. These are supplemented by contracts concluded by the individual member states. In addition to securing vaccine, the European Union has also strengthened the structures in the European ‘health authority’ ECDC and the European Medicines Agency EMA after Corona,” emphasised Liese.
Revision of the Medical Devices Regulation and Critical Medicine Act to combat drug shortages absolute priorities of the EPP for the next Mandate
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Cardiovascular Health Action Plan and Mental Health Action Plan should follow a very successful Cancer Plan
“The prompt revision of the Medical Device Regulation and the adoption of a Critical Medicine Act to fight and overcome the shortage of critical medicines are top priorities of the biggest group in the European Parliament (EPP Christian Democrats) for the next parliamentary term,” this has been announced in a video conference for journalists by the health spokesperson of the group, Dr. Peter Liese. To prepare the discussion with other groups as well as the talks with the Commission, the EPP discussed the priorities in their closed meeting last week. “The Medical Device Regulation was well-intended, but in some areas, it creates more harm than good. In particular, devices for children that suffer from heart diseases, for example, are really in danger because the bureaucratic burden is so high that companies cannot afford to produce those devices that are produced only in a few numbers.” Liese recently published a comprehensive proposal for the revision that intends not to weaken the protection and the safety but the red tape.
General Court of the European Union partially upholds EU Commission decisions on vaccine contracts
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But some points should have been better explained / Blackening of information was done at the request of companies, as need for vaccines was immense / Overall the joint vaccine procurement was a success
The General Court of the European Union (formerly known as the Court of First Instance) has largely upheld the European Commission's decisions in matters of vaccine procurement. Many points, which were legally contested by individual Members of the European Parliament and a group of vaccine opponents from France, were deemed unobjectionable by the court. However, the court also noted that the Commission should have better explained why certain passages were blackened.
“The vaccine procurement by the European Commission was, overall, a great success. It is unimaginable what would have happened if various European countries had vaccines while others did not. It was also important that the European Commission was actively engaged throughout the pandemic, especially in the spring of 2021, to quickly secure more vaccines,” explained Peter Liese, the health policy spokesperson for the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP Christian Democrats).
No separate full Committee on Health - ENVI Committee of the European Parliament stays with its current responsibilities
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Personally happy because I like to work on environment and health, but workload for staff must be reduced / The Commission should not repeat the pace and the amount of proposals on environment / Whoever becomes Chair of ENVI Committee should put more emphasis on health
“Personally, I am very happy about this decision, because I like to work on environment and health and feel obliged to deliver on my promises from the campaign, which would have been a bit more complicated with two separate committees. On the other hand, I think something has to change compared to the last parliament. At least 25% of all co-decision files landed in ENVI. This is challenging, in particular for the staff. That is why we need fewer proposals from the European Commission. This is necessary anyhow, because citizens, particularly those working in industry and agriculture, are overwhelmed by too many proposals. We also need a Chair of ENVI who puts enough priority on health and does not only look at environmental issues. A split could have been a good solution, but if the two above-mentioned conditions are met, I am also happy”, said the health policy spokesperson of the largest party in the European Parliament (EPP Christian Democrats), Peter Liese.