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State of the European Union address: President calls for a “European Union of health”
On 16 September, President Ursula von der Leyen gave her first State of the European Union address at the European Parliament.The President took the opportunity to call for 'a stronger European Health Union' by strengthening crisis preparedness and management and establishing an agency for biomedical advanced research and development. The President also called for extra funding in the area of health. "As a first step, we will propose to reinforce and empower the European Medicines Agency and ECDC – our centre for disease prevention and control."
COVID-19: European Commission boosts its vaccines portfolio
This month saw the entry into force of the second contract between the European Commission and a vaccine producer. The contract with Sanofi-GSK will allow all Member States to purchase up to 300 million doses of the vaccine. The Commission had previously signed a contract with AstraZeneca and continue discussions with other vaccine manufacturers. President von der Leyen said: "With today's contract with Sanofi-GSK, the European Commission shows once again its commitment to ensuring equitable access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines…".
EU joins the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX)
On 18 September, the European Commission confirmed its participation in the COVAX Facility for equitable access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines, following its expression of interest on 31 August and its announcement of a contribution of €400 million. Team Europe will contribute with an initial €230 million - equivalent to reserves or options to buy 88 million doses. The announcement follows the launch of the Facilitation Council by the WHO and the Commission to strengthen global collaboration.
COVID-19: Step up in the EU response needed
On 24 September, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published its updated risk assessment regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside a set of guidelines for non-pharmaceutical interventions such as hand hygiene, physical distancing, cleaning and ventilation. Commissioner Kyriakides said: “We are at a decisive moment, and everyone has to act decisively and use the tools we have. This means that all Member States must be ready to roll out control measures immediately and at the right time, at the very first sign of potential new outbreaks.”
70th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe
On 14 September, WHO Europe and the European Commission reaffirmed their partnership at this year’s session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, focusing on cooperation in five priority areas: health security; health systems; non-communicable diseases with a focus on cancer; sustainable food systems and health as well as health cooperation with non-EU countries. Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides stressed that: “Only multilateralism can bring us global solutions to crises such as the one we have been facing since the beginning of 2020.”
Informal videoconference of EU Health Ministers
EU Health Ministers resumed their discussions after the summer break in an informal videoconference organised by the German Presidency. Among other topics, they discussed the variations in Member States’ approaches and testing and contact-tracing capacity for COVID-19 across the EU. Commissioner Kyriakides underlined the importance of coordinated action and invited ministers to propose a well-coordinated, predictable and transparent approach to travel restrictions, as well as considering the option to top-up funding of the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI).
Evaluation of the legislation on medicines for children and rare diseases
Last month, the Commission published its report on the functioning of the EU Regulations on orphan and paediatric medicines (2000 – 2017). The evaluation found that both Regulations fostered the development and availability of medicines for patients with rare diseases and for children. The number of medicines for patients with rare diseases and for children has increased and have become available faster and reached a higher number of patients in the Member States. The evaluation indicates that the Regulation on medicines for children increased the number of clinical trials in children.
World Heart Day statement
On 29 September, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides marked World Heart Day by highlighting the dangers of cardiovascular disease in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis: “In these unprecedented times of COVID-19, taking care of your heart has become more important than ever before. More lives are already lost to cardiovascular diseases in the EU and in the world than any other disease. Among the 4.5 million deaths reported in the EU in 2016, over 540,000 were due to coronary diseases, including heart attacks.”.
