EU sees immunity to viruses by the end of June, despite Astra’s doubts

Photographer: Alex Kraus / Bloomberg

The European Commission has told governments that the roll-out of the Covid vaccine could reach a major goal sooner than expected, under new projections hinged on accepting AstraZeneca Plc shot.

The According to the executive of the European Union, most member states will have enough vaccine stocks by the end of June to immunize the majority of people, according to a memo distributed to national delegations in Brussels.

According to Bloomberg’s document, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands will be able to fully inoculate more than 55% of their total population. The EU had previously said it wants to vaccinate 70% of adults by the end of the summer, which – depending on the demographics of each Member State – corresponds to about 55-60% of the total population.

The projections indicate growing confidence in Brussels that the vaccination campaign will improve after one disastrous start dominated by delays, mixed messages and political strife.

But uncertainty about Astra’s vaccine could cloud the outlook. The European Medicines Agency, the EU’s drug regulator, may point to a possible link between the drug manufacturer’s injections and rare cases of blood clots, Messaggero writes. reported Tuesday, citing Marco Cavalieri, EMA’s chair of the vaccine evaluation team. The UK medicines regulator is also urged to change its guidelines on the use of the vaccine in younger people, Channel 4 News reported.

Reports of Astra dose side effects already led to the temporary suspension in some EU countries last month. While use has resumed, some governments limit it to certain age groups.

Vaccination centers in France said several people eligible to be vaccinated were reluctant to take an Astra shot, going so far as to cancel their appointments. The latest setback with Astra’s vaccines could further extend lockdowns, with countries across the continent struggling to contain a third wave of infections.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party leader reinforced his call for strict, short-lived curbs to contain the country’s resurgent outbreak. A hard stop of two to three weeks is needed to get the incidence in Germany under control, Armin Laschet said Tuesday.

The April 1 EU forecast document outlines the exact number of doses that will be available to each government by the end of June. While the overall picture is positive, some Member States, including Austria, Croatia and the Czech Republic, are expected to lag behind. Others, such as Denmark and Malta, are much more likely to reach the immunity threshold.

Bloomberg’s estimates take into account last week’s agreement to redistribute part of an accelerated batch of deliveries to countries where supplies are scarce.