BRUSSELS. Hera, the operational arm of the European Commission, has signed a contract with the English pharmaceutical company Seqirus for the supply of 665 thousand doses of vaccine for human use against the transmission of avian influenza.
The vaccines – we read in a note from the Commission – are intended for people most exposed to the risk of transmission, primarily those who work on poultry farms and veterinarians.
The contract, which lasts 4 years, provides for the possibility of providing another 40 million doses. The Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (Hera), as part of its mandate – according to a Commission note – has signed on behalf of the participating Member States a joint framework contract for the provision of up to 665,000 doses of pre-pandemic Seqirus zoonotic influenza vaccine. Thanks to this contract, which will last 4 years, participating Member States will have access to medical countermeasures to prevent avian influenza.
The vaccine – intended for those most exposed to the potential transfer of avian influenza, i.e. poultry farm workers and veterinarians – aims to prevent the spread of potential avian influenza outbreaks in Europe by protecting citizens and livelihoods. That of Seqirus – we read again in the note – It is the only preventive vaccine against zoonotic avian influenza currently authorized in the EU. Fifteen EU and European Economic Area countries are participating in this operation.
The contract allows each participating country to take into account its own public health context and order vaccines based on its needs. Shipments to Finland are currently being prepared for the immediate vaccination of workers at risk of exposure and others will follow to other countries.
