EMA said it has the most appropriate methods to approve a Covid-19 vaccine

Following the UK’s jab approval announcement, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) came out claiming that it has the most appropriate methods to approve Covid-19 vaccine.

The EMA made such a statement yesterday with relation to the UK’s approval of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

The regulatory body of the European Medical Agency is now planning to arrange a special meeting by December 29 to decide on whether to grant conditional approval for the vaccine.

Britain still stays under the EU drug marketing rules until 31 December. This is the end of a post-Brexit transition period, but using an emergency provision under the European law, the vaccine was approved.

Ministers in the UK appealed that Brexit had allowed them to accept the jab ahead of their European neighbors by freeing it from the union’s rules.

In a statement, the agency said that: “EMA considers that the conditional marketing authorisation is the most appropriate regulatory mechanism for use in the current pandemic emergency,”

There is a chance during the period of public health emergencies, the vaccine manufacturers and developers can approach EMA for a conditional marketing authorization to radically speed up the process. In normal terms this process will take years to complete.

The EU regulators said that this process involved a healthy and controlled framework of studying data from lab studies and large clinical trials. It will be after these steps that a final decision will be take regarding the vaccine.

The statement said that “These are essential elements to ensure a high level of protection to citizens during the course of a mass vaccination campaign.”

There was a shift of location for EMA. Last year it was located in London, but now due to the slow divorce of Britain from the EU, EMA has shifted its location to Amsterdam.

The German Health Minister, Jens Spahn said, “The idea is not to be first, but to have a safe and efficient vaccine.”

However, the UK’s medicines regulator fortified the country’s approval process. 

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) chief executive, June Raine said that “everybody can be confident that no corners whatso ever have been cut.”

“The public deserve nothing less.” June Raine added.