欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯·德·莱恩声称“隧道尽头终于有了光明”,他告诉欧盟立法者,“第一批欧洲公民可能已经在12月底之前接种了疫苗。”
欧盟的执行机构欧盟委员会与六家潜在的疫苗供应商达成了协议,并正在制定第七份合同。这些交易使其能够购买超过8亿剂,超过了该集团约4.6亿人口的数量。
周二,布鲁塞尔表示,将签署一份由莫德纳公司开发的高达1.6亿剂实验性冠状病毒疫苗的合同,该公司表示,根据其初步数据,该疫苗的有效性似乎为94.5%。
但是冯·德·莱恩说疫苗“重要的是接种疫苗。”
“会员国现在必须做好准备。我们在谈论数百万支注射器,我们在谈论冷链,我们在谈论组织疫苗接种中心,我们在谈论那里训练有素的人员。你说吧。所有这些都必须做好准备,”她警告说。
尽管如此,冯德莱恩敦促欧洲公民继续尊重限制,即使这些措施损害了企业,进一步损害了冠状病毒肆虐的经济,并使人们经历社会和精神困难。
“由于每天有近3000人死亡,新冠肺炎是上周欧盟的头号死因。医院仍然处于压力之下,在一些地区,一些重症监护室不堪重负,”她说。
“我们必须从夏天吸取教训,不要重蹈覆辙。过度放松是第三波浪潮的风险圣诞节冯·德·莱恩说,“这个圣诞节会不同,是的,会更安静。"
EU says first virus vaccinations possible by Christmas
Claiming that “there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers that “the first European citizens might already be vaccinated before the end of December.”
The commission, the EU's executive arm, has agreements with six potential vaccine suppliers and is working on a seventh contract. The deals allow it to purchase over 800 million doses, more than the population of the bloc, which stands at around 460 million people.
On Tuesday, Brussels said it would sign a contract for up to 160 million doses of the experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna, which the company says appears to be 94.5% effective, according to its preliminary data.
But von der Leyen said that while vaccines are important, “what counts are vaccinations. ”
"Member states must get ready now. We’re talking about millions of syringes, we’re talking about cold chains, we’re talking about organizing vaccination centers, we’re talking about trained personnel that is there. You name it. All this has to be prepared,” she warned.
Still, Von der Leyen urged European citizens to continue respecting restrictions, even as the measures harm businesses, further damage coronavirus-ravaged economies and put people through social and mental hardship.
“With nearly 3,000 deaths a day, COVID-19 was the number one cause of death in the EU last week. Hospitals remain under stress, and in some regions some intensive care units are overwhelmed," she said.
“We must learn from the summer and not repeat the same mistakes. Relaxing too much is a risk for a third wave after Christmas,” von der Leyen said, adding that “this Christmas will be different, and yes, it will be quieter.”