EU: ‘Vital’ and ‘urgent’ vaccinations and booster doses

The European Council, in its conclusions on the coronavirus pandemic, described the continuation of vaccinations and the provision of boosting doses, in the wake of the new Omicron variant, as “vital” and “urgent”.

With regard to travel, European leaders in their conclusions point out that any restrictions should be based on objective criteria and not undermine the functioning of the single market or impede free movement between Member States.

In particular, the conclusions adopted by the European Council following the debate on the COVID19 pandemic are as follows:

What is said about vaccination

“The European Council has dealt with the deteriorating epidemiological situation in the EU and the impact of the emergence of the new variant of concern, Omicron.

Reiterates the vital importance of vaccination in combating the pandemic.

The development of vaccination in all and the administration of booster doses is vital and urgent.

In this context, the key is to overcome hesitation about vaccines, including tackling misinformation.

In addition to vaccination, the implementation of the EU strategy for COVID-19 therapies, including joint procurement, should be promoted.

“Continuous coordinated efforts are required”

“Continued coordinated efforts are needed to respond to developments based on the best available scientific evidence, while ensuring that any restrictions are based on objective criteria and do not undermine the functioning of the single market or disproportionately impede free movement within Member States or The European Council calls for the swift adoption of the revised Council Recommendation on Safe Movement and Non-essential Travel in the EU. The European Council emphasizes the importance of a coordinated approach to the validity of the EU digital vaccination certificate against COVID and takes into account the fact that the Commission will adopt a delegated act on this subject “.

International cooperation

“The European Council emphasizes that the pandemic can only be overcome through global cooperation on trust and mutual assistance. of the latest Omicron variant which is a concern so quickly and emphasizes the importance of scaling up the global capacity for genomic sequencing.

The EU is committed to playing its part in achieving global vaccination. The EU is the largest donor and exporter in the world. We will continue to export and distribute vaccine doses and excipients and strengthen our support in countries most in need, particularly in Africa, by continuing to provide support to the COVAX facility on a bilateral basis, in partnership with partners.

In order to address barriers to vaccine sharing and management and to remove barriers to the rapid circulation of vaccines, the European Council calls on the Commission to further strengthen its support to Member States and third countries, to further cooperate with manufacturers and strengthen coordination with the World Health Organization, with COVAX and other partners. The European Council calls on the Council to monitor the implementation of the vaccine commitments with all transparency and to return to the issue as appropriate.

The European Council welcomes the agreement reached by the World Health Assembly on 1 December 2021 to launch a global process of drafting and negotiating a convention, agreement or other international instrument for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, with a view to its approval of Article 19 or under other provisions of the Constitution of the World Health Organization as may be deemed appropriate by the intergovernmental negotiating body “.