Covid: EU launches mass vaccination in 'touching moment of unity'

 

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS

image captionA plane traced a syringe in the air above southern Germany on Wednesday to celebrate the arrival of the vaccine, a flightradar24.com image shows

The EU is launching a co-ordinated vaccine rollout to fight Covid-19, in what the bloc's top official says is a "touching moment of unity".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been delivered to all 27 member states.

Some countries started administering the jabs on Saturday, saying they were not prepared to wait another day.

The EU has so far reported more than 335,000 Covid-related deaths.

media captionThe Pfizer vaccine must be stored in ultra-low temperatures

More than 14 million people have been infected, and strict lockdown measures are currently in place in nearly all the member states.

The vaccine rollout comes as cases of the more contagious variant of Covid-19 are confirmed in several European nations as well as Canada and Japan.

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News of the new variant triggered travel restrictions around the world last week.

What's the latest on the vaccine rollout?

Mass vaccination for the EU's 446 million people is due to begin in the coming hours.

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS

image captionBoxes of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are unloaded in North Rhine-Westphalia

This comes after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Commission authorised the German-US Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The EU has secured contracts for more than two billion vaccine doses from a range of drug companies.

source bbc news https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55456795