To prevent those most at risk from coming into contact with the virus of theavianthe European Union has signed a supply contract for 665 thousand doses of Vaccine pre-pandemic flu shot Seqirus. The initiative bears the signature of Hera, the Commission’s EU Authority for the preparation and response to health emergencies (Hera): the contractual option, should there be a future need, provides for the purchase of a further 40 million doses for the next four years.
Who is it intended for?
Given the numbers, it is clear that the vaccine is not intended for the general population but only for those who are most exposed to contact with birds and animals: primarily workers on poultry farms as well as veterinarians. The measure was taken so that possible outbreaks of avian influenza in Europe can be prevented. They are part of the agreement 15 EU states but not Italy: these are Denmark, Latvia, France, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Greece and Ireland and two non-EU countries but part of the EEA (European Economic Area), i.e. Iceland and Norway.
What is Seqirus
The supplier company, Seqirus UK Ltd, was founded in 1916 and the first challenge was the Spanish avian flu: for the moment, their vaccine is the only one that prevents avian flu currently authorized in the EU. No details regarding the purchase price have been disclosed: the Commission says that the countries that have joined will be able to freely regulate themselves based on the public context and place any orders for the vaccine based on future needs. The vaccine will currently be shipped to Finland to vaccinate workers who risk greater contact with the virus as Helsinki expressly requested: it will subsequently also be sent to the other countries mentioned above.
What are the purchasing mechanisms
We remind you that this vaccine protects against influenza derived from all H5 strains of the influenza A virus: the joint procurement was signed by all EU and EEA member states. In this way, the vaccination request can also be forwarded in the future by countries that have not requested vaccination doses today should there be a need to take countermeasures to stop any outbreaks. EU spokesperson Stefan de Keersmaeckerexplained that this contract offers “an additional capacity for countries to purchase vaccines, based on this mechanism“.
The Member States”they always have the possibility to use their national procurement mechanisms to purchase vaccines“. In any case, “Member States participating in joint procurement can also decide to use their own national procedure“.
