A Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) waiver is neither useful nor effective in solving global vaccination issues, and comes with plenty of negative consequences, writes Pieter Cleppe.
We need better tools to end TB and AMR, and the EU can and must lead these efforts, writes Nicolae Ștefănuță.
The rapid spread of the Omicron variant has reminded us that the pandemic will not be over until all countries have vaccinated their people. The EU should focus its attention on vaccinating Africa, writes Professor Alberto Mantovani.
Marathon runners say that the real difficulties, what they call "the wall", appear between km 30 and 35. At this point, physical and mental exhaustion forces some runners to withdraw. We have reached this point with COVID-19. We must find the tools and the strength to keep on running. Finishing this race is critical for all of us. It is critical to the entire world.
The EU's decision to only allow people to travel to the region if they are fully vaccinated with a European Medicines Agency (EMA) recognized COVID-19 vaccine is discriminatory and puts vaccine uptake at risk, writes Thabani Maphosa.
In the innocent pre-pandemic world, who would have imagined that the EU would one day sue a pharmaceutical giant for not delivering on a contract for 300 million vaccine doses?
Instead of being sidetracked by the debate on waiving patents on COVID vaccines, the EU must come up with a new pharma strategy and strengthen its pharmaceutical industry, writes Pernille Weiss.
The decision of the Serbian authorities to open the door to their neighbours for vaccination has nothing to do with reviving warm memories of the former Yugoslavia, writes Orhan Dragaš.
The EU's Biodiversity Strategy is a defining moment not only for conservation but for setting out the parameters within which people and planet can be protected, writes Fredros Okumu,
While Western vaccine nationalism condemns the world to a lose-lose situation, India, the pharmacy of the developing world, has clearly the potential to come to the rescue, writes Gauri Khandekar.
Instead of public fights and trade wars, it is high time the EU considered enforcing shared licenses on vaccine patents that were partly paid for by European citizens. To fix the fiasco, the EU needs a European vaccine – and the world will need it, too, writes Dr Antonios Nestoras.
Over the last few weeks, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced they have begun a “rolling review” process on COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University, Moderna and from Pfizer in partnership with BioNTech. The announcements are indicative …
A coronavirus vaccine must be accessible to all. EU leaders must ensure that patents do not put profits ahead of people, writes Marc Botenga.
Vaccination is a success story. Over the last century, vaccines have eliminated or nearly eliminated many diseases that were once widespread and often fatal, such as smallpox and polio, writes Nanette Cocer, the Global President of Pfizer Vaccines.
Communicable diseases such as measles can spread incredibly rapidly, requiring protecting those who are more susceptible to illnesses. But the responsibility to immunise children rests not just with parents and vaccines don’t solely protect the person who receives them, writes Ulrike Sucher.
With momentum growing for a European Cancer Plan, there is a real opportunity to make a difference for cancer patients in Europe in the next term of the European institutions, writes Deepak Khanna.
Vaccination is one of the most powerful and cost-effective public health measures developed in the 20th century. But unless Europe shifts towards a life-course approach and ensures equitable access for everyone, vaccination policies will fall short of achieving their full potential, writes Patricia Massetti.
The UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Africa calls on European institutions to live up to their leadership role in development cooperation, by providing predictable and long-term funding for vaccination of the poorest children.
