Pfizer seeks EU vaccine approval as OECD sees recovery in ‘21
FRANKFURT: Pharma companies Pfizer and Biontech on Tuesday filed for European approval for their coronavirus vaccine, following in the footsteps of competitor Moderna, while the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD) predicted the world economy would bounce back to pre-pandemic levels by late 2021.
But the United Nations warned that the pandemic will pitch tens of millions more people into desperate need next year, saying around $35 billion is needed in humanitarian aid.
Companies have been racing to find a treatment for the coronavirus, which has killed almost 1.5 million people and infected over 63 million since it first emerged in China in December last year.
US giant Pfizer and German newcomer BionTech said their vaccine could be rolled out “in Europe before the end of 2020” if the European Medicines Agency grants so-called Conditional Marketing Authorisation.
Moderna had applied on Monday for both US and EU approval of its vaccine, based on the same new MRNA technology and with a similar level of effectiveness at around 95 per cent.
On the economic front, the OECD club of wealthy countries said that with anticipated global growth of around 4.2 per cent next year, the world should make up almost all the output shorfall suffered in 2020, in large part thanks to “massive policy support” from governments and central banks.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) on Tuesday announced that it has conducted 129,900 additional COVID-19 tests, which helped it to detect 1,289 new coronavirus cases.
The Ministry also revealed that 4 people suffering from COVID-19 died due to complications.
MOHAP also noted that an additional 768 individuals had fully recovered from COVID-19.
India may not need to vaccinate all of its 1.3 billion people if it manages to inoculate a critical mass and break the transmission of the coronavirus, senior government officials said on Tuesday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who toured the facilities of three vaccine makers over the weekend, has emphasized the importance of a vaccine to rein in COVID-19.
India recorded 31,118 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the lowest daily tally since Nov. 17, data from the health ministry showed.
France aims to launch a major Covid-19 vaccination campaign between April and June next year, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.
Early 2021 will see a first vaccination drive targeted at the most fragile and exposed groups, followed by a second campaign for the rest of the population, Macron told a press briefing at the Elysée Palace in Paris.