EU ministers seek unity on fourth COVID shot

EU health ministers on Tuesday said they wanted to better coordinate scattered national policies on giving out fourth doses of the COVID vaccine and asked the Brussels executive to come up with a plan next week.

"Today we see states that have opened the fourth dose to over 75-year-olds, others to over 80 years, as is the case of France, while the Netherlands is at over 60 years," said Olivier Veran, the health minister for France which currently hold the bloc's presidency.

"Others have not yet started, so it creates legitimate questions," Veran told reporters.

Veran said that the ministers asked the European Commission to coordinate with the 27 member states, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) towards a common position.

"The COVID 19 pandemic is of course still with us. Vaccination is as important today as it was a few months ago," said EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides.

"Unfortunately, we are seeing vaccinations plateauing, at the same time as restrictions are being lifted and this is understandable" she said.

Kyriakides said there are still more than 100 million unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated people in Europe.

"Vaccination remains our best tool in combating the pandemic and we must be prepared for the autumn and winter months," she added.

© 2022 AFP