Booster vaccinations in Italy, EU may buy up to 60 million doses of a possible Corona vaccine from French company Valneva

Spread the love

Read Time:1 Minute, 43 Second

More than 251 million people have tested positive for the virus worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 5 million infected people have died. About 7.3 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.

Italy plans to offer booster vaccinations against Covid-19 to people between the ages of 40 and 60 starting Dec. 1. “The third dose is absolutely strategic for moving forward in the vaccination campaign,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said Wednesday (Nov. 10) during a question and answer session at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome. The booster is for those whose full vaccination was at least six months ago, according to his ministry. The booster vaccination had already been offered to about 2.5 million people as of Wednesday, Speranza said. In Italy, booster vaccinations have begun among vulnerable groups, people over 60, health workers and those who had previously received the single Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The more countries advanced in boosting, the better the pandemic could be controlled in the fall and winter, Speranza explained. As of Wednesday, nearly 84 percent of people over the age of 12 had been fully vaccinated, according to the Italian Health Ministry.

The European Union may buy up to 60 million doses of a possible Corona vaccine from French company Valneva. The EU Commission on Wednesday (Nov. 10) formally approved a contract for 27 million doses next year. A further 33 million doses can be bought if desired in 2023, subject to approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Valneva said it expects to deliver the vaccine by April 2022. The company has developed a vaccine based on inactivated viruses. It is “a classic vaccine technology that has been used for 60 to 70 years, with proven processes and very high safety,” the EU Commission writes. It is also used in most influenza vaccines and many vaccines for childhood diseases. It is currently the only Covid-19 vaccine candidate based on inactivated viruses currently being tested in clinical trials in Europe, it said.