The European Medicines Agency expects COVID vaccination campaigns to take place once a year, similar to the approach with flu shots, it said on Wednesday.
Although the virus that causes COVID does not yet behave like a seasonal virus involved in winter waves in temperate climates, the EMA’s head of vaccine strategy and health threats, Marco Cavaleri, told a press conference that “This could be the direction it will take.” “.
In Europe, there is a marked decline in new COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the lowest levels seen in the European Union in the last 12 months, he said, citing data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
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The exterior of the European Medicines Agency in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on December 18, 2020. Some agency officials believe that vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 will become annual, similar to the approach of vaccines against the flu. (REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File photo)
Still, the virus continues to evolve and an organized approach is needed to maintain the vaccine portfolio to confer adequate protection to emerging variants, he said.
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The EMA is currently in discussions with the World Health Organization and other regulatory agencies about the criteria and the process that will lead to the possible updating of the vaccines in view of future vaccination campaigns, he added.
