On Thursday the European Commission, via its Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, signed a framework contract for the joint procurement of Adjupanrix, a pandemic influenza vaccine, with the pharmaceutical company GSK. 12 Member States and other joint procurement countries are participating in the agreement, under which they can purchase up to 85,000,000 vaccine doses if necessary, in the event of an influenza pandemic.
Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “Preparedness is key in a health emergency. COVID-19 has shown this beyond any doubt. Today we secure up to 85 million influenza pandemic vaccine doses through our Health Emergency and Preparedness Response Authority, to protect our citizens should such an emergency arise in the future. This is a true European Health Union in action.”
An influenza pandemic would be a global epidemic caused by a new influenza strain to which there is little to no pre-existing immunity in the human population. While it is difficult to predict an influenza pandemic, it is important to be prepared.
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