EU boost for vaccine production and paediatric use

Article written by Gary Finnegan.

A flurry of activity at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has provided a much-needed shot in the arm for European immunisation programmes. The EU drug watchdog approved an increase in batch size at a Pfizer/BioNTech production plant in Belgium and gave the green light to a Moderna manufacturing site in Spain.

Taken together, the announcements are likely to accelerate the availability of mRNA vaccines across Europe. After a slow start, national vaccination efforts in European countries have stepped up a gear since April, with supply issues receding and the number of mass vaccination centres rising strongly.

The EMA has also announced that it is evaluating an application from Pfizer/BioNTech to use its COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, in young people aged 12 to 15. The product is already approved for people aged 16 and older. A decision could be made as soon June, paving the way for the vaccination of teenagers ahead of the next school year.

Meanwhile, the Agency also confirmed that it has launched a rolling review of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Life Sciences. This represents a step forward for the China-based firm as it seeks EU approval which could unlock markets in Europe and beyond.

With supply of approved vaccines growing steadily, and new products inching towards approval, Europe could find itself with an abundance of vaccines by the end of the summer.

The European Commission has ordered more jabs than will be necessary and recently signed new deals for mRNA vaccines to be delivered in 2022 and 2023. Whether any surplus would be donated will depend on whether Europeans need booster shots to protect against new variants of SARS-CoV-2.