Vaccinating against Covid-19 worldwide must be the top priority, says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Let’s make sure this doesn’t become the unvaccinated pandemic,” she said in her State of the Union address at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Instead, she calls for an acceleration of vaccination campaigns worldwide.
She announced that the EU is donating another 200 million corona vaccines to countries that find it challenging to obtain vaccines themselves. They can expect it before the middle of next year. The union has previously donated 250 million doses.
Von der Leyen warned that the corona times are not over yet. “The European Union will also be tested for its strength of character next year, she says. “A pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint.”
In the annual ‘speech to the throne’, the daily EU board looks back on the past year and unfolds its plans for the coming parliamentary year. “There is still a lot of sadness, there are hearts that we cannot heal, and we cannot give this time back to our young people,” said the German committee chairman.
Until 2027, the committee wants to invest 50 billion euros in health, including research into and the development of medicines and vaccines.