Coronavirus vaccines cross Europe as countries ready for rollout

BioNTech says it is readying 12.5 million doses of vaccine as EU countries get set to start jabbing their most vulnerable. Several countries will begin vaccinations this week, others will follow in the new year.

With European Union countries preparing to begin inoculation programs this week, German pharmaceutical company BioNTech said Tuesday that it is readying 12.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for delivery across the bloc by the end of the year.

On Monday, the European Medicines Agency approved the use of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine following its emergency approval in the US, UK and Canada earlier this month.

Several EU states will begin administering the vaccine this week in hopes of stopping the spread of infections as the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise dramat

ically. Initial shipments will go to Germany, France, Austria and Italy this week, with further deliveries to Switzerland and the Netherlands in January.

Doses will be delivered in Germany, France and Italy on Saturday, December 26, so that

each can begin vaccinating the most vulnerable, namely the elderly, on December 27. Germany will initially receive 150,000 doses with more to come later in the week. Meanwhile, vaccine doses will be delivered from a central storage facility in Belgium to 300

sites around Italy. It is expected that France's medical regulators will give their final national approval for the use of the vaccine on December 24.

Austria, Bulgaria and Spain are scheduled to begin vaccinations on the 27th as well.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he expects vaccinations in his country to begin on the 27th or 28th. Belgium and Luxembourg will begin vaccinations on December 28, with Switzerland (a non-EU country) expected to vaccinate only the most vulnerable this week before beginning a broader immunization campaign on January 4.

The Netherlands will begin its vaccination program on January 8. Last week, Health Minister Hugo De Jong told parliament, "We have opted for a plan that is careful, safe and responsible." Early approval of the vaccine in the UK and the US caused some commotion in the EU, but, ultimately, the bloc maintained its plan to conduct a slower, more comprehensive testing regime rather than rushing approval.

js/sms (dpa, Reuters)

tering 125,000 doses of the newly approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. For now, only medical staff in two out of Mexico's 32 states — Mexico city and the northern state of Coahuila — will be vaccinated. While the densely populated capital, with its 8.8 million residents, has been a coronavirus hotspot, it is unclear why the other state was chosen as there is no more urgent medical necessity to begin vaccinating people in Coahuila as opposed to anywhere else, said Lopez Cervantes.

Questions over availability

The government plans to have all medical staff tending to COVID-19 patients vaccinated by February 2021. By April, it wants to have have all remaining health care workers, along with Mexicans aged 60 and over, vaccinated. By May, Mexicans above the age of 50 will be vaccinated, followed by those over 40 in June. The goal is to vaccinate everyone else by March 2022. President Lopez Obrador has promised the shot will be free of charge.

It is unclear, however, whether and when sufficient quantities of the vaccine will become available for all 126 million Mexicans. The country has agreed to buy at least 7 million vaccine doses from Pfizer, though it remains uncertain when they will be delivered. Mexico has also agreed to buy 35 million doses from Chinese company CanSino, which is already testing its vaccine candidate on 6,000 Mexican volunteers. So far, however, the vaccine has not yet been approved in Mexico. Johnson & Johnson similarly launched final stage vaccine tests in Mexico in late November. Britain's AstraZeneca plans to establish a logistics hub in Mexico to distribute its vaccine once it is approved. It plans to offer 77 million doses.

Logistical challenges ahead

"Possessing the vaccine is one thing, but administering it is the real bottleneck," said Lopez Cervantes. "I know this from normal flu vaccinations, where people are willing to get the shot but do not fully understand where they need to go and when, which can lead to massive groups of people waiting, losing patience and never coming back."

That kind of confusion could prove risky. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, for example, is highly sensitive. It can only be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius and, once thawed, must be administered within five days. Each individual must receive two shots.

For now, Mexico's military is responsible for all logistical matters. Mexicans will receive their vaccinations in military barracks. It is an "unusual scheme," said Lopez Cervantes. This is because the armed forces have neither enough personnel, nor facilities, to carry out this large scale vaccination program. It would be sensible to coordinate the program with Mexico's public health departments, governors and mayors. "Running this vaccination program in a centralistic, vertical fashion will cause complications," said Lopez Cervantes.

Yet President Lopez Obrador is no longer on good terms with many Mexican opposition governors — and even some of his fellow party members. This could further complicate the vaccination program.

According to a poll published by Mexican newspaper El Financiero, 31% of Mexicans want to get vaccinated as soon as possible, while 55% plan to wait and see. A mere 10% reject the vaccination program.

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Mexico is one of the world's worst-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic