Brussels plans to extend the mandatory vaccination against covid-19 throughout the European Union. The president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, defended this Wednesday that it is “appropriate and reasonable” to discuss whether it is necessary to impose mandatory vaccination of member states.
“We must debate it,” he said at a press conference where he recalled that a third of EU citizens are not yet vaccinated. The stagnation of vaccination particularly worries Brussels due to the appearance of the omicron variant. Von der Leyen has acknowledged that it will take between two and three weeks to assess its severity.
The stagnation of vaccination worries Brussels especially due to the appearance of the omicron variant
The EU does not have the authority to impose vaccination, but it can try to bring member countries together to agree on a joint strategy.
Brussels raises mandatory vaccination throughout the European Union. (Xavier Cervera / La Vanguardia)
The bloc decided not to hold an emergency virtual summit of leaders, according to an EU official. Instead, health ministers will meet on Tuesday to discuss the covid situation and EU leaders will address it at their next summit scheduled for December 16, the official added.
However, he has warned that, in the meantime, we must act preventively by reinforcing vaccinations, giving booster doses and limiting social contacts “as much as possible.” “We must hope for the best, but we must prepare for the worst,” said Von der Leyen, paraphrasing the director of the European Medicines Agency, Emer Cooke, who earlier this week admitted that scientists do not have all the necessary information. to determine how this mutation can affect the transmission of the disease.
Precautionary measures
While waiting for the scientific analysis on the omicron, Brussels is committed to putting restrictions before Christmas and speeding up the administration of the third dose. The European Commission has issued a statement on Wednesday in which it defends “proportionate and localized restrictions” to reduce pressure on hospitals. “With the appearance of the omicron variant, it is necessary to apply specific measures for contacts during the final period of the year,” warns the community executive.
On the other hand, the European Commission is also making progress in the delivery of vaccine doses for children between 5 and 12 years old, which were approved last week by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Those deliveries to EU countries will start on December 13.
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