The Federal Government has expressed shock at the European Union’s decision not to accept AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India.
It joined the African Union and COVAX, a coalition consisting of the World Health Organisation, Gavi and Epidemic Preparedness Innovations in criticizing the EU’s action.
The Director of the African Centre for Disease Control, Dr John Nkengasong, and the African Union Special Envoy on COVID-19, Mr Strive Masliywa, who stated this during a virtual press briefing with some journalists, urged the EU to review the decision.
Also on Thursday, COVAX, consisting of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund, lamented that the EU’s move was already undermining confidence in life-saving vaccines that were safe and effective.
On its part, the Federal Government described the EU’s decision as political.
Recall that the EU said that only those with the EU Digital COVID-19 certificate which enabled people who had received two doses of a vaccine approved by its medicine regulator, the European Medicines Agency, would be able to travel freely within the bloc.
But the pass only recognises AstraZeneca doses (branded Vaxzevria) made by EMA-approved manufacturers in Europe, United States, South Korea and China, not those manufactured by the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India branded Covishield.
The Federal Government described the EU’s decision on the digital COVID-19 certificate as political.
The Secretary of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Dr Mukhtar Muhammed, told PUNCH that the decision is not backed by scientific facts.
Muhammed said, “I think people have to make a distinction between a scientific decision and also a political decision and from a scientific decision, there is no difference between a vaccine that is got from COVAX and a vaccine produced in Europe
“The vaccines are the same. The manufacturing processes are the same, the storage and packaging are actually the same.”
