Reuters :
A patchwork of campaigns for an extra COVID-19 shot are being rolled out across the European Union even before the region’s drug watchdog rules on whether they are safe and effective.
Italy, France, Germany and Ireland have already started to administer booster shots and the Netherlands plans to do so soon but only to people who are immuno-suppressed.
But several EU countries are waiting for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to give its opinion this week.
The fragmented picture mirrors the different approaches seen in the roll-out of shots across one of the world’s wealthiest regions at the turn of the year.
They also highlight the lack of consensus among scientists about how broadly they are needed, while governments seek to revive their ailing economies, fight the more infectious Delta variant, and avoid further lockdowns in the winter.
Underscoring what is at stake, the EU’s infectious diseases centre said on Thursday the region’s coverage of vaccines was still too low and there was a risk of a significant surge in cases, hospitalisations and deaths over the next six weeks.
Only 61% of the total population have been fully vaccinated, and only three countries – Malta, Portugal, Iceland – have vaccinated more than 75% of their total population, it said.
That compares with less than a quarter of the population in Bulgaria, one of the big laggards in EU vaccinations.
Still, the bloc’s push towards boosters will stir the debate over rich nations’ use of vaccines while poorer countries struggle to access supplies and inoculate their citizens.
The World Health Organization has called on countries to delay boosters until more people around the world have been inoculated.
If the EMA gives its backing for the Pfizer booster, the 27-member bloc will join the United States, Britain and Israel, which have already received the green light to administer them.
Those have relied on data from Israel where boosters are being offered to the whole population showing that more than 1.1 million people aged 60 and older received a booster dose of Pfizer, resulting in a decline in overall infections as well as severe illness from COVID-19 in that group.
Pfizer and Moderna have also each released analyses of clinical trial data showing that the effectiveness of their shots, initially estimated at over 90% against symptomatic COVID-19 infection, wanes over time.
Many vaccine experts say the data so far only suggest a need for boosters in older adults and people with compromised immune systems.
A decision by the EMA is expected on Monday, although the regulator is unlikely to provide detailed guidance on who should receive a booster shot.
The EMA and the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have both said there is not enough data on the issue.
On Thursday, the ECDC said additional doses may be given to people with severely weakened immune systems as they may not have adequate protection from standard vaccination.
As a precautionary measure, older frail people, in particular those living in care homes, could also get a booster, while healthcare workers and other staff who are exposed to the virus could also be considered, it said.
But it said it was still assessing data on waning immunity after vaccination and reduced vaccine effectiveness against the Delta variant.
