News
| Feb 7, 2021

Amid global shortage, EU ‘open to Chinese, Russian COVID-19 vaccines’

/ Our Today

administrator
Reading Time: < 1 minute
President of the EU Commission, Ursual von der Leyen.

The European Union (EU) is open to use coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines from China and Russia, reports the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

According to the report, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers during a meeting said that vaccine producers from China and Russia “could get … a conditional market authorization like the other ones” when they “open their books” and “show all the data.”

Meanwhile, a commission spokesperson said one prerequisite for the EU’s order for COVID-19 vaccines is that they can be produced inside the bloc, the AFP reported.

The vaccines approved so far by the EU are from US-Germany joint venture Pfizer-BioNTech, British-Swedish multinational AstraZeneca, and Moderna from the United States.

Europe is now facing a vaccine shortage as pharmacies including AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech are supplying vaccines less than anticipated, drawing public criticism and prompting demands for alternatives.

Many countries in the region have already delayed or even halted their coronavirus immunizations due to the shortage.

Tags
China Coronavirus Pandemic COVID-19 Vaccine EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyer Europe European Commission European Union Russia vaccine sourcing

Comments

What To Read Next

News JAM May 20, 2026

WHO worried about Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe World Health Organisation director-general openly worried Tuesday over the “scale and speed” of an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola in eastern Congo, where authorities reported a sharp increase in suspected deaths — to at least 134 — and more than 500 suspected 

The virus spread undetected for weeks after the first known death as authorities tested for a more common type of Ebola and came up negative, health experts and aid workers said.