Who is not fast enough, loses human lives

The plenary session of the European Parliament held a debate on the EU Covid-19 Vaccine Strategy in the presence of European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. In her speech, Fidesz MEP Edina Tóth pointed out that slow vaccine procurement at EU level poses danger to European citizens’ lives and jeopardises kick-starting the EU economy in a fast manner. Thus, to be effective, the European Commission shall consider the use of alternatives to the American and Western-European vaccines.

The EPP Group politician emphasised: “Numbers are crucial in the fight against Covid-19, because lives of citizens depend on high vaccination rate. Vaccination level throughout the EU is still below 4%, whereas this number upsurges until almost 20 percent in the United Kingdom, while the USA, Israel or Serbia are also more effective than the EU. On these grounds, we can all admit that vaccine procurement at EU level was an excellent idea, and yet, it was a failure in practice.

“The populism represented by the Hungarian left only worsens this current, already very sensitive situation. They are conducting a campaign full of anti-vaccination demagogy in Hungary, and here in Brussels, they loudly attack the President of the European Commission, because of her affiliation to the European People’s Party”, Edina Tóth pointed out in the plenary.

“The European Medicines Agency has the duty to authorize the safest vaccines as soon as possible, whilst the European Commission is obliged to promptly purchase vaccines, regardless of the manufacturer, since it has nothing to do with ideological or geopolitical concerns. It is about human life. And the formula is simple: speed saves human lives, whilst hesitation takes lives away”, warned the Fidesz MEP.

We need short and effective negotiations, and a more pro-active Europe when it comes to vaccine procurement. Currently, there is a huge demand for vaccines all around the world, whilst only a small amount is available on the market. So why do we wait for manufacturers to roll out their submissions for EU market authorization? Why don’t we take contact with them? “In order to achieve a successful vaccine procurement, we need to act immediately. We support you in this, Madam President”, closed her remarks the Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.