Today, the European Commission has organised a meeting to inform the Co-Chairs of the Coalition for Vaccination (of which the EFN is co-chairing in the representation of the nursing profession) on the acquisition and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines across EU countries. The meeting was chaired by DG Sante Director-General Sandra Gallina. It was attended by the EFN President, Dr. Elizabeth Adams, the EFN Secretary General, Dr. Paul De Raeve, as well as the other Co-chairs of the Coalition for Vaccination, CPME and PGEU.
During this meeting, the European Commission briefed the EFN, CPME and PGEU on the challenges the European Commission faced relating the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines for the EU with the European Commission successfully creating a “portfolio” of different vaccines from different manufacturers. As of today, two of these have already been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and one of them is already being rolled out in the Member States.
The European Commission explained to EFN, CPME and PGEU the importance of an online portal they developed with the state of play of these vaccines, accessible for all healthcare professionals and citizens. This portal contains updated information on the COVID-19 vaccination programmes across Europe, as well as the latest scientific evidence, highlighting the safety and efficiency of these vaccines.
The Coalition for Vaccination is co-chaired by the European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN), the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), and the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU). It is also backed up by the European Commission which provides coordination and administrative support. The Coalition’s mission is to commit to delivering accurate information to the public, combating myths and exchanging best practices. The Coalition is based on the 2018 EU Council Recommendation on strengthened cooperation against vaccine-preventable diseases (accessible here).